Logic Board - Macintosh SE Reloaded

JDW

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I'll make a proper post and github repot for the interrupt/reset switch back but until then here's the latest models. I updated the height slightly.

License for the models are CC-BY-SA
Thank you for that!

By the way, I see in your photo that you didn't yet melt the two posts, as is the case on the stock switch mount...

1658439466018.png


That would need to be done, once the switch is installed into the mount, to ensure the switch remains firmly affixed.
 

JDW

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Care to swallow the Red Pill to learn what happened during testing of my hand-made SE Reloaded motherboard? I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Here. Take a look. I promise, by the time you're done watching it, you'll feel right as rain.

 

iPhil64

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Care to swallow the Red Pill to learn what happened during testing of my hand-made SE Reloaded motherboard? I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Here. Take a look. I promise, by the time you're done watching it, you'll feel right as rain.


For all the others, I'm progressing with the Blue Pill.
Your choice ;P

I'm just stuck because my PowerBook 15 mid-2015 suddenly decided he needed to get to ICU... and unfortunately passed away. (well fortunately, it's just some hardware... or... no, it's part of my life). Well there was also KansasFest over the last week, so it took a bit of time.

Oh, by the way, the coils did get through the blue board after just some sanding of the leads.

@JDW video is just awesome as usual, thank you for going over all the aspects of testing. Sounds like a test plan for when I'm done ! Also all the tools we discover regularly are outstanding.

IMG_1616.jpeg
 

JDW

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For all the others, I'm progressing with the Blue Pill.
Your choice ;P

I'm just stuck because my PowerBook 15 mid-2015 suddenly decided he needed to get to ICU... and unfortunately passed away. (well fortunately, it's just some hardware... or... no, it's part of my life). Well there was also KansasFest over the last week, so it took a bit of time.

Oh, by the way, the coils did get through the blue board after just some sanding of the leads.

@JDW video is just awesome as usual, thank you for going over all the aspects of testing. Sounds like a test plan for when I'm done ! Also all the tools we discover regularly are outstanding.

View attachment 7006
The mid-2015 15" MacBook Pro is a power-house! I still have mine. It takes WAY TOO LONG to export 4K video, let me tell you, but for everything else it is still amazing. Even so, I dislike the fans going full blast a lot of the time. You can't get away from that until you go with an M1 (now M2) Mac. The M2 Pro models probably won't be out until next year due to Chinese lockdowns and supply chain delays, so if you have the money to replace it now, the 16" MBP M1 Max can't be beat from what I read! The younger gen complain that it's too big and heavy, but that's crazy. These young folks forget that people not only lugged around the original Macintosh Portable in the past (and hey, so did NASA aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis), but people even lugged around compact Macs! That is what the handle is for. You also get the advantage of a small workout for your muscles too in the process.
 
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iPhil64

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so.... now I have matching red SIMMs :)
OK, slightly different red, but they will look nice. If any is building a red version, I have some spare, as I did not feel like ordering only 4 from JLCPCB :)

So, @JDW it will be a matter of matching blue or glowing red pill !
BTW, I don't see many people talking about SE reloaded boards, do we have an idea on how many did or are playing with it ?

Oh @alxlab the battery replacement PCBs are just a great idea ! I also made a lot for all the Macs I need to repair (even though I could fin 1/2 AA without much issue). Just keep green, this is much cheaper.

Fixing a IIsi (motherboard below) first so I have more room... The PSU was the Italian version, not Teac or Sony and honestly, one of the worst PCB I had seen, looking like cardboard. anyway, the capacitors that smoked are all replaced now, I hope I survive powering it back up ! lol

IMG_1622.jpeg
 

JDW

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I don't see many people talking about SE reloaded boards, do we have an idea on how many did or are playing with it ?
Only @MacEffects and @Kai Robinson would know that based on the sales numbers of the SE Reloaded boards, and based on the boards Kai sent out to people.

One thing I have learned is the life is largely what we make of it. If we sit around with a house full of parts and do nothing with them, that's on us. Also... None of us really have time to do anything. We need to MAKE TIME to do just about everything.

Steve Jobs once said that The Journey is the Reward. Life won't be very rewarding if we never embark on the journey of trying something new. I hope my words aren't perceived as being overly harsh, but I do wish to strongly encourage others in our vintage computing community to try something new.

SE Reloaded is a wonderful thing to try, and now with a complete video walkthrough series, it's just a matter of acquiring the parts and doing the work. To me, it's like climbing Mount Fuji. It's not going to magically transform your entire life, but at least I can say that I've done it. That is true of the SE Reloaded project and many other things too.

We also need to not allow the fear of failure dissuade us, or give up when we are half way through a project either. That's why I appreciate the advice of Yoda...

Do or do not. There is no "try."

Folks, if you're pondering a project, be like @iPhil64, take the bull by the horns, and like Nike says, JUST DO IT! It really is a rewarding experience and you will learn a lot in the process.
 
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YMK

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After watching @JDW's excellent series, I ordered one each of the Classic and SE boards.

I have a bombed Classic that I reinstalled every chip on and still doesn't work 100%, that could use it.

I have no immediate use for the SE board, but it's a nice diagnostic tool for fixing other boards, by checking continuity or just seeing where a trace goes when it disappears under a chip.

Great job @Kai Robinson! I look forward to them arriving. :)
 

JDW

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Speaking of "taking the bull by the horns," @iPhil64, if you don't already have a MacSD, I highly recommend you give it a try. You will see the fastest performance on Macs faster than the 8MHz SE, but it still has a pretty amazing feature set. And if you have an OverEasy II ( created by @Stephen , assembled and sold by @Kay K.M.Mods ), you can more conveniently use MacSD as an external drive solution for quick tests among multiple Macs. I showed the merits of that in SE Reloaded Part IV here.
 

fred1212

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I have found this thread totally fascinating. My SE has just died in the last couple of weeks (will no longer boot and when it did once the adb is locked up) I'm thinking a new built board might be my saviour.
 

retr01

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fred1212

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Hi everyone Were can I source an ADB chip other than a working board. I have a board with failed ADB I want to repair and I have purchased a red reloaded board to build so really need 2 chips. Thanks
 

JDW

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Hi everyone Were can I source an ADB chip other than a working board. I have a board with failed ADB I want to repair and I have purchased a red reloaded board to build so really need 2 chips. Thanks
Explained in green at the bottom of page 4 in my BOM here. I have not built or tested one of those boards because I have never bought the required programmer. I assume @Kai Robinson has programmed and tested at least one of them though.
 

Kai Robinson

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OK again - to clarify - the ADB chips are pre-programmed PIC16CR54's. I made an adapter board to use the newer PLCC ADB in place of the DIP part (which is only used on the SE). @Branchus has used one of these adapters in an SE and it worked fine. The adapter PCB is open source, you just need a replacement ADB chip from UTSource.
 
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