What should i do with this Macintosh ELSIE prototype ?

[Louis6062]

Hi,
This is my first post on this forum

For the story :
I found this LC prototype last summer on a local site.

It was in a lot of other Macintosh but it was clear on the pictures that it wasn't a normal LC.
So the next day i picked the lot ( 3 compact mac, a LC3, a retail LC1 and a few screens and accessories) for 300€.
As i suspected it was not a regular LC, the case is smooth, the motherboard is different and there is a few interesting stickers.
I tested it with a known good PSU and it's working, i booted system 6 with a BlueSCSI.
The rom is dated june 1990, it's probably not final because when booting it display pink and blue lines before the happy mac appears.
Does any of you have any info on what it was used for ? The strange thing is that i live in France, so i wonder how it ended up here.
But the big question is should i recap it or keep it "stock" ?


I attached a few photos :

 

[This Does Not Compute]

My two cents: Since leaking capacitors can cause damage, replacing them -- even in a rare or historically significant machine -- would be considered an act of preservation.

 

[mg.man]

should i recap it

I agree with @This Does Not Compute, but would recommend replacing them with period-correct style electolytic "cans" vs. tantalum. I do also know someone who worked for Apple in France many years ago. If you drop me a PM I'll be happy to try and put you in touch...

 

[slomacuser]

I would instal System 6.0.6 on it

System 6.0.6 - Macintosh Garden

Disk Copy 4.2 images on System 6.0.6 install diskettes.

macintoshgarden.org

 

[lilliputian]

The moulding for the floppy drive is very interesting, as it is clearly for a manual inject FDD, but it's a different design than the later manual inject case they would use on Late LCIIIs and later.

 

[Fizzbinn]

Fun floppy slot! I guess they were testing manual inject floppies back when the original LC was developed, but ended up sticking with auto-inject drives in the original LC.

 

[Fizzbinn]

The moulding for the floppy drive is very interesting, as it is clearly for a manual inject FDD, but it's a different design than the later manual inject case they would use on Late LCIIIs and later.

Jinx! …I had this post open before dinner, thinking about that weird slot, post this comment and then find someone posted basically the same thing in the meantime. Lol.

 

[Fizzbinn]

No VRAM slot …or chips on the logic board? I wonder if this LC prototype used main memory for video like the IIci/IIsi?

 

[lilliputian]

Just noticed the soldered-on pin headers on the fan assembly contacts, haha.

 

[mg.man]

I wonder if these folks are still around?...

 

[Louis6062]

Unfortunately I got it without the hard drive and the previous owner had no info on it, he didn't even remember where he got it
I'm used to recap my Macintosh tantalums but it's a good idea to put electrolytics to look more "original" i just need to check to see if they are the same as te regular LC and order them
It's working but like an SE30 it only display in 1bit black and white ( except the stranges lines for a few seconds ) here is a video i made when i tested it
I can also probably dump the rom if it is of any interest

 

[Louis6062]

I tried 6.0.7, what benchmark should i try ?

 

[Trash80toG4]

This is an amazing unit. There is very little online about these. There was one listed on eBay for years at $10k without selling.

There's a thread about a prototype with the auto-inject lid somewhere over at the MLA. Pic links may or may not be intact for revision level comparisons.

 

[Louis6062]

I will try that as soon as possible on the regular LC and the prototype

 

[Trash80toG4]

TattleTech reports compared would be a good start for determining differentiation, if any.

 

[Louis6062]

Sorry for the long delay but here are the reports from the prototype and a normal LC1, the only differences seems to be the ROM and video

 

[VCSMaster]

Would be nice to get ROM dumps before they inevitably lose their contents. Would be much easier to determine differences that way as well.