An Updated (Mac) Classic

Where I left off last time, nothing removed from the system:

First I remove the ram add-on card, this just slides out:

With the add-on ram removed all I have to do is unplug power and drive cables and the mainboard slides right out:

Next I removed the HD:

Followed by the floppy drive:

The mac with the mainboard and drives removed:

Next up is to remove the CRT and power supply board. I consider this the dangerous part as the capacitors on these parts could kill. The computer has been unplugged for at least 1-2 weeks so likely they are discharged regardless I used much caution while doing this. I had the Dave Matthew's song "You Might Die Trying" playing while i was doing this part for the irony factory, also it took me less time to do this part than the length of the song.
First I detached the circuit board:

Then removed the rest:

The case with all components removed:

I removed the original frame and attached all the orignal components to it to keep it tidy:

If the system worked I might make a mount for the CRT and turn this into a standalone open chassis case.

The empty case ready for some updated hardware:

That is all for now, my next step is to find some metal and make a new frame I can mount all the new hardware on that will fit within this case. Not sure what I need or how soon I can get it done.

hmmmm contact me... i have some good ideas.....

+rep

Oh man, a Conner? I thought Apple had higher standards than that...

It is just begging for an lcd to be mounted in the front of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FuzzyPlushroom

Oh man, a Conner? I thought Apple had higher standards than that...

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I don't think the drive was from Apple, no Apple stickers in there. This computer used to be owned by my schools, who kept using it way past outdated. I think they upgraded the drive, seemed to be of a higher capacity than I expected from it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by simon275

It is just begging for an lcd to be mounted in the front of it.

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I have been planning on that. Not sure where to find a 9" LCD though. Might use something smaller mounted behind a piece of plexi. If possible I want to get a piece of plexi and curve it the same as the original CRT. Not sure how though. Also if anyone knows of where I can get a 9" LCD or close (8.6" or something like that) please let me know.

Interested in giving me that drive?

http://store.earthlcd.com

check these guys out they have a few sizes and kits sometimes its not cheap but look at there close outs. 8.6 or 10.1" would be the best size I'm guessing...

Rod

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chaksq

I don't think the drive was from Apple, no Apple stickers in there. This computer used to be owned by my schools, who kept using it way past outdated. I think they upgraded the drive, seemed to be of a higher capacity than I expected from it.


I have been planning on that. Not sure where to find a 9" LCD though. Might use something smaller mounted behind a piece of plexi. If possible I want to get a piece of plexi and curve it the same as the original CRT. Not sure how though. Also if anyone knows of where I can get a 9" LCD or close (8.6" or something like that) please let me know.

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I know a number of in car entertainment lcd screens are 9" ones.

Those of you following my other current project, XPS, may have noticed that i found a spare parts case for that project. That find got me in the mood for some case modding, I decided to work on this project as key parts of my other project are in storage atm.

I looked into LCD screens that will fit this case, unfortunately i don't have many options. Most new small LCDs seem to be 16:9 or 16:10 and I need a 4:3 screen as that is what the Classic originally had. Also car entertainment screens are out as most only have composite signal and I require VGA or better since I will be using this with a computer. After some digging I found a small 8.4" monitor intended for POS that might exactly fit my criteria. The POS-X EVO-RD1-LCR8 display, which is meant to be attached to the rear of a POS terminal. The reported display area of the POS-X unit is 6.5"x5", the classic is roughly 7"x5.5" so this should work well. The specifications seem to indicate that it will work with any standard VGA input and has it's own power supply therefore I should be able to use it as a standalone unit. The catch is the price, $321, a bit out of my price range. I have found some for about half that price on ebay.

I also did a bit of work on the project itself. As I have mentioned before I will be making the Mac look as original as possible. I do want to be able to use modern connections with it. Todays project is the start of the Ethernet connection. I have a external network adapter meant for some PowerMac models:

My first step was to open up the adapter. It took a bit of effort but I was able to pry the case open:

Inside the actually network adapter appears to be in some sort of shielded case, which I opened to reveal the logic board and connectors:

Now since I'll be keeping the classic looking original I want to make this attach to the original Macintoch Serial Ports. I will be modifying these original ports as pass throughs for modern connections. There were two ports on the original Classic: one intended for a printer, which I will use for two USB ports later, and one for a modem, which I will be using for the Ethernet. To start I cut a serial cable in two, the shorter segment roughly the length of the original cable for the Ethernet adapter i am modifying. You can see it attached to the original port on the motherboard:

I then stripped the shielding back to expose the wires inside. I plan on using a tester to determine the correct pinout and then wiring this up to an Ethernet port which i will then place inside the case for this Ethernet adapter.

Thanks for checking out the update, as always please let me know what you think of the project. I'm hoping to keep this project moving along steadily despite my busy schedule.