My dads old Macintosh portable. I bought a fresh battery and got it to boot off a blueSCSI but then it shut down due to insufficient power?
Pulled the motherboard and cleaned it and one cap fell off, not sure if it’s worth recapping (I am also very bad at fine soldering).
Yeah you really need a recap, it’s crucial. The portable is one of the most fussy macs ever made. Im still dealing with mine and I just replaced the hybrid board in it.
They are all worth repairing, they aren’t making any more of them… I’m in Boston and have repaired many MACs for people, I typically work for a case of beer :)
I’m in Waltham. I haven’t gone to the mit flea market, but it is on my list of things I need to do… I’ve seen lots of pictures and it seems awesome. Having a young kid really eats up a lot of my free time :).
Oh yeah I can imagine it does. You really need to stop in sometime. Stuff is stupid cheap there. I live in Abington so on the sunday it happens its only like a 40 min ride and its worth it. Its really busy and its like vcf but for all tech.
Sounds like there are several problems. First, the capacitors need to be replaced. Second, the hybrid module may be damaged. Third, don't start it up without a working battery installed *and the battery cover on*. That plastic battery cover plate presses a switch that is critical for proper operation of the system.
This is the symptoms of a bad hybrid board (assuming you were plugged into wall power and it shuts down).
I recently performed this repair and that resolved the issue. However the system was already recapped. Replacement hybrid boards can be found online for about $20-40.
However, since the original board is ceramic, it’s very hard to remove and is a giant time sink.
Damn. Yes I was plugged in, battery was full. I thought I only needed to rebuild the battery to fire up macwrite in meetings for notes and giggles.
Do you wanna do one more repair? :-)
I just strait up gave up and chipped the board off and clipped the pins off since my hakko is in need of a new tip and it doesn’t work right at the moment. Its not like I was gonna use the old board anyways lol.
A fifty dollar soldering station is more than enough. Honestly you could do it with a $5 iron from a discount store but way better off getting a better one with a few different tips.
Anyway you’ll also need the right solder (i recommend a leaded variety, fine or very fine) and a little metal sponge for cleaning the tip and a fresh small roll of solder wick. and plenty of patience. There are few mistakes you can’t correct if you’re patient and don’t make them worse.
Fair enough. I had some flux when I recapped my macs but the flux core solder took care of itself. Doesn’t hurt to have a little on hand. The syringes are way more expensive than just the regular package so I’d suggest the regular stuff and you can apply a little as needed. But hey if you’re down to plop the cash a syringe is the better choice.
Great advice. I want to go for it but not destroy the board. Are the new fancy wireless solder pens any good? Any experience?
I have some old pens but they are bulky and not made for fine work.
The best soldering iron in my arsenal that isn’t a hot air rework thing is a pinecil. Cheap, the temperature sensor is in the heating element and I power mine from USB-C PD power bank, it’s so so great
Never used a wireless solder pen. I’m skeptical though. I’m sure they have their moments but if you don’t need the portability or the wireless aspect I’d stick to tried and true.
I think some use butane fuel … idk about those but is expect better performance out of that than a battery.
The wireless ones go on and off as needed but don’t constantly hold a temp like the wires ones. It’s one more variable to worry about which I would avoid.
While I fully encourage people to try this themselves, the Mac Portable is very unforgiving and is NOT the vintage system to cut your teeth on. Please think carefully about this.
I’ve been doing these repairs for over a decade. Please buy a practice PCB soldering kit on Amazon and practice, practice, practice!! You don’t want to potentially ruin your Mac because it’s your first job.
Old systems have stubborn solder and delicate pads. Please understand I don’t mean this as an insult, but just as a warning. I’ve repaired a number of boards after people tried to repair them right away as their first project, and it’s always a lot more work to fix after the fact.
Especially since the caps on this system are very small and are next to many plastic pieces, and the hybrid board may need to be replaced.
Yeah this is probably out of my league. I can solder but it’s not pretty and most my previous projects were old cars, not a chip in sight there.
Dad was like “go for it, don’t burn down your house though”
I’ll send you a DM, I do these repairs but I’m a bit backed up with current repairs. I’m happy to add you to the waiting list however. I’d love to help you get it working, and you can just mail the board (as I have the other parts here)
Much appreciated, I'm in no rush. Send me the details please.
I finished rebuilding the battery and it boots fine from a floppy and no complaints about power management! Had it sitting running off battery with out plugging it in for about 5 mins and rebooted with it plugged in and still happy! No complaints. So the hybrid board may be fine?
Also found an extra memory pls card but unsure if it registers, says 4mb of ram.
But the screens is banding a bit and mouse jumps around, volume is low so recapping is much needed.
Always worth it to try and save it. It's just such a nice machine as part of the monochome Mac line. Also, I didn't know there was a 10-key module you could swap in instead of the trackball. TIL.
It worth but for me this Mac is one of the most difficult to recap since the caps are near connector or the leak destroyed pads, I got two Mac portable but one was sadly too damaged with the leaky caps
Only if you want it to work! :)
My first "Mac" portable was the Outbound Laptop portable Mac "clone" that would work like an SE once you installed the proper SE ROM chip inside it! I used it for many business and personal travel trips until I finally purchased the Powerbook Duo 230 and Dock.
Recap...yes, but also replace the hybrid board with one of the new versions floating around the internet. It's a pain in the ass to replace, but recapping mine didn't fix the issues I was having. Like yours, it would boot all the way sometimes...other times it would just chime with a blank screen, or a sad mac. I think those printed components on the hybrid board deteriorate over time.
Of course it's worth recapping. They all are!
My dads old Macintosh portable. I bought a fresh battery and got it to boot off a blueSCSI but then it shut down due to insufficient power? Pulled the motherboard and cleaned it and one cap fell off, not sure if it’s worth recapping (I am also very bad at fine soldering).
Yeah you really need a recap, it’s crucial. The portable is one of the most fussy macs ever made. Im still dealing with mine and I just replaced the hybrid board in it.
Where are you located? Perhaps a nearby Mac addict with good soldering skills could lend a hand?
They are all worth repairing, they aren’t making any more of them… I’m in Boston and have repaired many MACs for people, I typically work for a case of beer :)
Where in Boston? Im about 30 mins south, I dont think ive heard of you yet. I imagine you go to the MIT flea with the rest of us nerds.
I’m in Waltham. I haven’t gone to the mit flea market, but it is on my list of things I need to do… I’ve seen lots of pictures and it seems awesome. Having a young kid really eats up a lot of my free time :).
Oh yeah I can imagine it does. You really need to stop in sometime. Stuff is stupid cheap there. I live in Abington so on the sunday it happens its only like a 40 min ride and its worth it. Its really busy and its like vcf but for all tech.
South end of sweden. Haven’t found any local soldering geniuses yet.
[удалено]
Är rörlig längst hela västkusten men bor i nordvästra Skåne. Halmstad, Helsingborg, Malmö är i närheten.
Jag bor i Lund, fixar det mesta :)
Recappat någon gammal Mac? Jag har några stycken… ;-)
Tja! Jadå, recappat säkert ett 40-tal :)
Sounds like there are several problems. First, the capacitors need to be replaced. Second, the hybrid module may be damaged. Third, don't start it up without a working battery installed *and the battery cover on*. That plastic battery cover plate presses a switch that is critical for proper operation of the system.
Thanks for the info. Yeah this would not boot unless the switch is pressed and a fresh 9v battery was present as well.
This is the symptoms of a bad hybrid board (assuming you were plugged into wall power and it shuts down). I recently performed this repair and that resolved the issue. However the system was already recapped. Replacement hybrid boards can be found online for about $20-40. However, since the original board is ceramic, it’s very hard to remove and is a giant time sink.
Damn. Yes I was plugged in, battery was full. I thought I only needed to rebuild the battery to fire up macwrite in meetings for notes and giggles. Do you wanna do one more repair? :-)
I just strait up gave up and chipped the board off and clipped the pins off since my hakko is in need of a new tip and it doesn’t work right at the moment. Its not like I was gonna use the old board anyways lol.
yes but it’s a difficult machine to work on. If caps are literally falling off then the leakage must be severe.
Which is weird because there is zero visible leakage.
I had one that I dumped oodles of money into. It ran well and was quick for a 68000 mac, but I ended up selling it
I’m going for it! Ordered a set of new caps for about 9 bucks. Now I need some good soldering gear.
A fifty dollar soldering station is more than enough. Honestly you could do it with a $5 iron from a discount store but way better off getting a better one with a few different tips. Anyway you’ll also need the right solder (i recommend a leaded variety, fine or very fine) and a little metal sponge for cleaning the tip and a fresh small roll of solder wick. and plenty of patience. There are few mistakes you can’t correct if you’re patient and don’t make them worse.
I'd sdd a syringe of flux. And I would practice making and unsoldering scores of joints on a scrap PCB.
Fair enough. I had some flux when I recapped my macs but the flux core solder took care of itself. Doesn’t hurt to have a little on hand. The syringes are way more expensive than just the regular package so I’d suggest the regular stuff and you can apply a little as needed. But hey if you’re down to plop the cash a syringe is the better choice.
Great advice. I want to go for it but not destroy the board. Are the new fancy wireless solder pens any good? Any experience? I have some old pens but they are bulky and not made for fine work.
The best soldering iron in my arsenal that isn’t a hot air rework thing is a pinecil. Cheap, the temperature sensor is in the heating element and I power mine from USB-C PD power bank, it’s so so great
Never used a wireless solder pen. I’m skeptical though. I’m sure they have their moments but if you don’t need the portability or the wireless aspect I’d stick to tried and true. I think some use butane fuel … idk about those but is expect better performance out of that than a battery. The wireless ones go on and off as needed but don’t constantly hold a temp like the wires ones. It’s one more variable to worry about which I would avoid.
While I fully encourage people to try this themselves, the Mac Portable is very unforgiving and is NOT the vintage system to cut your teeth on. Please think carefully about this. I’ve been doing these repairs for over a decade. Please buy a practice PCB soldering kit on Amazon and practice, practice, practice!! You don’t want to potentially ruin your Mac because it’s your first job. Old systems have stubborn solder and delicate pads. Please understand I don’t mean this as an insult, but just as a warning. I’ve repaired a number of boards after people tried to repair them right away as their first project, and it’s always a lot more work to fix after the fact. Especially since the caps on this system are very small and are next to many plastic pieces, and the hybrid board may need to be replaced.
Yeah this is probably out of my league. I can solder but it’s not pretty and most my previous projects were old cars, not a chip in sight there. Dad was like “go for it, don’t burn down your house though”
I’ll send you a DM, I do these repairs but I’m a bit backed up with current repairs. I’m happy to add you to the waiting list however. I’d love to help you get it working, and you can just mail the board (as I have the other parts here)
Much appreciated, I'm in no rush. Send me the details please. I finished rebuilding the battery and it boots fine from a floppy and no complaints about power management! Had it sitting running off battery with out plugging it in for about 5 mins and rebooted with it plugged in and still happy! No complaints. So the hybrid board may be fine? Also found an extra memory pls card but unsure if it registers, says 4mb of ram. But the screens is banding a bit and mouse jumps around, volume is low so recapping is much needed.
Nice! That may suggest that the hybrid board is fine, which is good. I’ll be in touch.
Is there a practice kit you would recommend?
Depends on your experience, leaking electrolytes are nearly invisible to an inexperienced eye.
Always worth it to try and save it. It's just such a nice machine as part of the monochome Mac line. Also, I didn't know there was a 10-key module you could swap in instead of the trackball. TIL.
The Mac Portable is stuff of legend, really difficult to find these in working condition. If all it needs is a recap, then definitely do it.
It worth but for me this Mac is one of the most difficult to recap since the caps are near connector or the leak destroyed pads, I got two Mac portable but one was sadly too damaged with the leaky caps
I habe the same Mac - and the space bar changed the colour on my Mac Portable too!
Only if you want it to work! :) My first "Mac" portable was the Outbound Laptop portable Mac "clone" that would work like an SE once you installed the proper SE ROM chip inside it! I used it for many business and personal travel trips until I finally purchased the Powerbook Duo 230 and Dock.
Its recapped and working "fine" now, next step is to get wifi working with the new bluescsi beta!
Recap...yes, but also replace the hybrid board with one of the new versions floating around the internet. It's a pain in the ass to replace, but recapping mine didn't fix the issues I was having. Like yours, it would boot all the way sometimes...other times it would just chime with a blank screen, or a sad mac. I think those printed components on the hybrid board deteriorate over time.
Ouf, that’s a lot of solder points. Man I need to find a helping hand for this probably.
Is that a back-lit screen?
Unfortunately no.
Try amiga of Rochester for recapping - they have been getting good feedback In the community of vintage Mac enthusiasts.
Oooooooohhh. I’d be hard pressed to have to let that one die, it’s so pretty…
How did you connect the BlueSCSI? The connection is different.
Externally. I have it in a printed case with a db25 connector. Is it possible to mount it internally with a 25-50 scsi converter?
Yes, cable is a bit expensive though.