Looking for a nice picture of Portable CDEV 1.3

[Mk.558]

Most people never seen the Portable CDEV because they don't own a compatible model.

Mac GUI :: Downloads :: Portable Control Panel 1.3

Apple news, photo galleries, downloads, and discussion forums.

macgui.com

Apparently this Portable 1.3 control panel incorporated the backlight control into the M5126 model. I do have images of what the Portable CDEV looks like under System 6 (but not System 7) and was curious if anybody would like to fire it up and send me some screenshots I can include in the next major update of the Guide. Useful/interesting stuff in the background is nice so they're not all just grey backgrounds with nothing going on.

 

[Mk.558]

Might be a tough problem...

I couldn't get MAME to run a Mac Portable. The missing keyboard ROM is only a minor problem, but can't get it to boot floppies since I have no idea what it supports for floppy disk images and SSW6 hard drive images caused it to go bonkers. In the meantime I whipped up a SSW6NAD that has the Portable 1.3 CDEV on it. Made in Mini vMac, should boot just fine. DC 6.3.3. BinHex 4.0.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

I have an Androda screen grabber, but my prototype Portable is non-backlit.

 

[Mk.558]

Hmmm. We'll wait and see. Should I cross post on 68kmla? Surely there has to be at least a *few* M5126s out there.

 

[dramirez]

I can get you the picture until Sunday. If I remember correcly, looks exactly as 1.2!

 

[Mk.558]

Cool. Only one way to find out!

 

[dramirez]

Here we go!
1.2:

1.3:

I could swear booting without extensions and going to the Portable cdev showed 1.3.3b or something like that, couldn't replicate to take a screenshot though.

Both version support the "Rest/Don't Rest option when you Option-click over the "Minutes until Automatic Sleep":

Here's the file information for both versions:

1.2 doesn't do anything on my 5126 backlight, only 1.3 controls the backlight.

Hope this helps, it took my a while to transfer the files to a Windows laptop and make the file conversions.

 

[Mk.558]

Wow that's pretty nice, glad you were able to make the time. I think I only need the 1.3 image for the Guide, as I have 1.2 shown already, is that ok to use?

I'm curious though. How do you adjust the screen contrast on a 5126 if the Contrast isn't available? Looks like they replaced Contrast with Brightness, which aren't the same thing the last i checked.

Weirdly, although Apple says it won't, the Macintosh Portable will boot 6.0.8L. Here's a screenshot of one:

Since the Portable does not support SCSI Disk Mode, it's blanked out, and the Portable CDEV doesn't have the Brightness/Contrast adjustment because the Macs it was intended for use the Brightness control panel (Classic, Classic II), does it in hardware (PowerBook 100/LC/LC II).

EDIT: I saw it about 2 weeks ago in ResEdit, but can you refresh my memory on what the Shortcut button does in 1.3? I think it pulls up a DLOG that provides you a way to adjust the brightness with a key combo?

 

[Mk.558]

@dramirez pardon the ping, was wondering if you caught my last reply.

 

[dramirez]

Wow that's pretty nice, glad you were able to make the time. I think I only need the 1.3 image for the Guide, as I have 1.2 shown already, is that ok to use?

EDIT: I saw it about 2 weeks ago in ResEdit, but can you refresh my memory on what the Shortcut button does in 1.3? I think it pulls up a DLOG that provides you a way to adjust the brightness with a key combo?

Sure, sharing is caring, right?

Correct a dialog with "Choose key combination to adjust screen brightness : Control | Shift | Option" so adjusment is made with whatever you choose + arrow up/down. Do you want a screen picture?

No way to adjust contrast that I'm aware of, only brightness.

 

[Mk.558]

Sure a picture would be nice (a phone picture is good enough, i just want to see it so i can word it properly). Does the Brightness control panel do anything if you have Portable 1.3 installed?

 

[nottomhanks]

@JDW This thread might be of interest

 

[JDW]

@nottomhanks Thank you for tagging me. I might have missed this thread if you handn't. If anyone else wishes to tag me to alert me to something, please go ahead. I appreciate things like that.

---

Earlier in this thread, a question was put forth about how to adjust CONTRAST on the 5126. I too have often wondered about that. I've never owned a 5120, so I am quite curious how and why that screen's contrast can be adjusted, whereas the screen in the 5126 cannot. Both are active matrix LCDs, so it's odd only the non-backlight would have a contrast adjustment. I guess Apple thought the backlight was enough to make the 5126's display perfectly viewable from any angle???

Next...

The opening post provides a link to MacGUI (a great site I visit often, mind you), but as of this writing the link appears to be down. The good news is you can grab the v1.3 control panel at the Macintosh Garden here.

Next...

Because "Sleep" was mentioned earlier in this thread by @dramirez , I should mention another of my threads which talk more about that:

https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/portable-sleeps-even-when-it-shouldnt-solved.3523/

Lastly...

I would like to encourage @Mk.558 and all other 5126 Portable owners reading those to check out the thread I starter in April 2024, which also discusses the v.1.3 "Portable" CDEV. Specifically, I would appreciate your kindness in testing your portable, both via the Headphone jack and speaker to see if you can hear what I mention in my thread:

https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/macintosh-portable-pop-noise-every-10s-from-speaker-headphones.3425/

 

[Mk.558]

@JDW, our friend dramierz probably is too busy to answer my last request, post #11. Would you happen to have time to look into that? I can't imagine it taking too long.

From reading that thread of yours it seems that without Portable 1.3, you get no backlight. The last I heard from Apple, if you have a M5126 or M5120 with the backlight upgrade, you use the Brightness control panel to adjust the brightness of the backlight.

I feel bad for you because the pool of people with M5120/M5126s seems to be smaller than I thought it was. Surprising considering how much they go for. I must admit similar difficulties in preparing the Guide, of which, this thread was seeking to fulfill a slight curiosity.

I do know of someone else who has a M5126. He's the ideal contact for your problem, if he has time, which he seems like a busy man, but in real life he's a very nice person who showed me a lot of his collection. Even though I knew he had all kinds of obscure stuff, I felt myself wondering throughout: "Where did you get all this?" He also has a M5120. And clear transparent case versions of both. A Portable with Developer ROMs on it. He's got every type of Portable made.

EDIT: if anybody ever needs anything from magui and can't get it, don't be afraid to send me a hollar. I have the 14GB macgui dump.

 

[JDW]

@JDW, our friend dramierz probably is too busy to answer my last request, post #11. Would you happen to have time to look into that? I can't imagine it taking too long.

I spent my lunch break on it today, and I made this video for you:

 

[Mk.558]

@JDW (I normally don't ping people, and this will be my last ping owing to the information below)

Thanks for the video. I was looking to figure out what this DLOG looked like outside a resource editor.

Seems like it uses the arrow keys? Dunno. Apparently you can use the arrow keys or a numpad. shrug

As far as brightness goes, I think your video clears up more than what I'm told on the internet, and is a good demonstration of why I like to double-check nearly every single claim I think about including in the Guide. The Apple Fandom wiki says Brightness was used by the Macintosh Classic (true) and the backlit Macintosh Portable. It leads to a MacGUI page for Portable 1.3, which has this message:

"Version 1.3 of the Macintosh Portable Control Panel is required for the backlit Macintosh Portable with System 6.0.x. It wasn't included with System 6.0.7. If you're using System 6.0.7 or System 7.0.x, you can use the Brightness control panel to adjust the brightness.

Version 1.3 of the Macintosh Portable control panel shipped only with new Macintosh Portable computers, or with the Macintosh Portable Backlight Screen Upgrade," and later via AppleLink. - Apple Support

It took some time to dig up the exact TA article to source this. Fortunately, there is a huge catalog of obsolete TAs from Apple up there, and through some digging, I found it, along with some more that may interest you.

Here's the Apple TA article about Portable 1.3.

I don't see any indication from your example there that such a statement is true. The only way to settle for sure is a plain clean vanilla install of 6.0.7/6.0.8 for every mac (fits on a floppy disk if you don't include printer drivers). It says "Shipped with" meaning "Not included with a normal install of 6.0.7/6.0.8". ... but the Brightness CDEV, as you showed, doesn't even show up.

Moving on. TA46714 has this more to say about Portable 1.3:



TA46774 and System 7 screen dimming.



Modifying the Portable for handicap use, by detaching the screen and putting unit under the wheelchair? Interesting.



Sound from speaker at startup. TA46280.



EDIT: still rummaging through 700+ results, TA47651 mentions Portable 1.3 and KanjiTalk 6.0.7.1

 

[JDW]

First, I should mention something for everyone reading this. It's just FYI... Some people don't like to be pinged or tagged, but I am different. I want to be tagged. Otherwise, I won't notice something important at all, or not in a timely manner. Being tagged is a huge help to my aging brain. Because I do unto others as I like others to do unto me, I often tag other people when I think they need a prod, or to get them to possibly reply more quickly. So if anyone reading this needs to get my attention, tag me in the public forum, or send me a PM. I don't mind which. And if I tag you, please don't get upset. I'm just trying to grab your attention for a few seconds about something.

---

@Mk.558
Wow! A host of useful info there. Thanks for posting it! So I see that:

1. "Portable" CDEV v1.3 aids with modem troubles. Interesting. Doesn't affect me because I have a Portable Battery Eliminator socked into the Modem slot, but I honestly never would have imagined the CDEV would aid in Modem troubles.
   
   
2. Dimming of the screen disables AppleTalk under System 7.0.
   
   
3. Being connected to AppleTalk under System 7.0 prevents the screen from automatically dimming, regardless of your dimming settings.
   
   
4. Apple suggests that an extension cable is OK to use when you want to detach and move the LCD away from the machine.
   
   
5. Defective peripherals can trigger a high-pitched sound at boot time through the internal speaker, which implies the machine wouldn't boot at all (as per the fact the logical board was replaced). But it goes on to say that a cracked or flexed keyboard could make the keyboard come in contact "with the case" and I guess short out something.

---

Regarding use of System 6.0.7 & "Brightness" CDEV on the Macintosh Portable 5126, I downloaded the System 6.0.7 installer disks (800k) from Macintosh Garden here just now:

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/macintosh-system-6x

I then booted Mini vMac (emulated Mac Plus) with the System Tools disk which has the Installer...

I then mounted a 10MB "blank" *.dsk image and did a Custom install specifically for the Macintosh Portable.

But after the install completed. I noticed that "Brightness" was nowhere to be found, and "Portable" v1.2 was installed!!!

So if that Apple TA article is accurate (and I am not doubting it is), then question then becomes why doesn't 6.0.7 install the Brightness control panel? And, where does one get the "correct version" of the Brightness control panel Apple is talking about which will work on the Portable?

If anyone can speculate on this and if I can get the correct Brightness CDEV, I can test it on my lunch break. For now, I can only assume that TA article meant to say "grab Brightness from a 6.0.8 install" because when I checked my 6.0.8 installer disk #3 (800K) just now, I see it has version 1.0 of the Brightness CDEV...

And because "Portable" CDEV v1.2 is installed with 6.0.7 when you choose a Macintosh Portable install, that in combination with the TA article's wording IMPLIES that I need only move "Brightness" into the System Folder of my 6.0.7 install to make it work. But I know already I cannot access it via the Control Panels. Brightness doesn't appear there. So I will see if the arrow keys (I don't have the numeric keypad) will change backlight brightness. If the arrow keys don't work, I have no idea what that TA article means, and would therefore appreciate speculation.

Yes, I will also test the arrow keys with the v1.3 "Portable" CDEV loaded to see if that works, with and without Brightness loaded.

—James

P.S. I deleted all files from my 10MB *.dsk and rebuilt the Desktop file to ensure it was fresh and clean, and then I proceeded to use the 6.0.8 installer disks to do a fresh install of System Software for the Macintosh Portable. But "Brightness" is nowhere to be found!!!! On top of that, the "Portable" CDEV is v1.2, not v1.3.

I repeated and did the "universal" System Software install, and only then did Brightness get installed.

 

[Mk.558]

I would just install it for Every mac (minus AppleShare and printers, since it's just a quickie) and see what it does. I hope you found that TA article on noise at least mildly useful. I searched through *all* of the sections for everything Portable related.

... Going through it for AppleTalk stuff that I'm interested in though, that... is a different story...

EDIT: I would ask our Man in Havana (sorry i just think that's funny) if he's ever had intermittent repeating sounds from any of his Portables, if you have time. PM me for details.

EDIT2: You should just boot the 6.0.7 1440K System Startup disk. It's got everything it needs to boot any mac. The other disk (System Additions) won't have anything of value for this. I'm not sure if MG has 1440k...checking...No...

Check attachments below. 6.0.7 in binhex DC 4.2.

 

[JDW]

Lunch Break Test Results:

1. Booted my 5126 Portable from a System 6.0.7 1.44MB floppy disk image on my FloppyEMU, which had the version 1.0 Brightness CDEV and version 1.3 "Portable" CDEV installed. Brightness does not appear when you click Control Panel in the Apple menu. Only Portable appears. "Portable" 1.3 lets you change brightness, of course. But when I press any of the 4 arrow keys nothing happens. I even tried holding down CTRL, CMD, OPT, SHFT in various combinations with the Arrow Keys. Nothing. Nada. No Can Do!
   
   
2. On that very same disk, I swapped out the v1.3 Portable CDEV for the v1.2, I left Brightness v1.0 alone, then rebooted and retested the Arrow keys just like before. Nothing. Nada. No Can do!
   
   
3. I then used a System 6.0.8 800K installer disk on the Portable to do a Custom install of System Software (not "minimal"!) to a 1.44MB floppy on my FloppyEMU. It installed "Portable" CDEV v1.2. It did NOT install the Brightness CDEV at all. This is telling. It means the Brightness CDEV v1.0 cannot be compatible with the Portable (or at least, my model 5126).
   
   
4. I then booted the Portable from my internally connected BlueSCSIv2 into System 7.1 and double-clicked its Brightness control panel version 7.0.1. That one works opens and lets me control brightness; well, at least under System 7.1, it does. I then double-clicked the v1.0 Brightness CP, and it said it could not be used with that Macintosh — further proof the v1.0 Brightness CP does NOT work with the 5126 Portable.
   
   
5. I then copied the v7.0.1 Brightness CP to my freshly made 1.44MB S6.0.8 disk, replacing the v1.0 CP. I then restarted the Portable and booted from that S6.0.8 disk. But "Brightness" still doesn't appear when I choose Control Panel from the Apple menu, giving evidence to the fact that the v7.0.1 Brightness CP cannot be used with System 6.0.8, which really isn't too surprising. And when I double-click Brightness while booted into S6.0.8, of course it won't open because no Control Panels open when double-clicked in System 6. You must access them via Control Panel in the Apple Menu. And no, those crazy arrow keys don't do a darned thing!
   
   
6. I then did a custom install of the Portable-edition System Software (on the Portable itself) to a 10MB Blank on my FEMU. I then set my FEMU to HD20 mode and was delighted to see I could boot from the 10MB image. You can't boot from an HD20 with the SE/30, but clearly you can with the 5126 Portable. Anyway, that installed "Portable" control panel v7.0. No "Brightness" CP is installed at all. Naturally, the v7.0 Portable CP works well to control brightness, pretty much like the v1.3.x "Portable" control panel works under System 6. And no, arrow keys do nothing at all.
   

Yes, I had to eat super fast to do all that, but I got it done. Where there's a will, there's always a way!

 

[Mk.558]

Yes, I had to eat super fast to do all that, but I got it done. Where there's a will, there's always a way!

I was told that was Japanese custom...

I appreciate your efforts.

Your Portable isn't letting you adjust the brightness outside of the CDEV 1.3 even after you set up the shortcut modifiers? From the ResEdit image, it looks like you can choose which modifier key you use... idk

Here's what the relevant section of the next major version looks like, pending further work like spell check/HTML validation/more stuff. The next major version will have many more images and most sections have been rewritten or changed significantly.