Applefritter - Power Macintosh

Cinema Display: repairing the DVI connector

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:51:48 -0800

I posted a question in the forums about repair of a cinema display 20-inch, whose DVI connector was broken off. I finally have the solution and a working Cinema display again and as promised in the thread I would post the info regarding what color is what pin. So here it is. I used a DVI connector from the VGA to DVI adapter from Apple, I stripped it to the bare essentials so only the black connector is left. Make sure you don't destroy the pins or else all is lost. I needed to remove the Analog RGB part of the DVI connector, cause it is not fitted in the Mini DVI to DVI adapter of Apple. Anyway its not needed except if you want to use it with a VGA card. But think that not the purpose of a Cinema display :) Following are some pictures of the Color coding of the cinema display cable, connected already too the DVI connector. This is also the orientation of the chart below, so take note of that. Otherwise the display doesn't work at all. Also note that the ground cables are not yet connected to the pins, this is just the test phase, so now its working I'm going to strip the wires again and solder them to the pins in a NEAT way :) Here you can see the connector in the Mini DVI to DVI, connected too my MacBook. [img]http://www.applefritter.com/images/dsc03035-19791_640x480.jpg[/img] Other view of the connector [img]http://www.applefritter.com/images/dsc03036-19792_640x480.jpg[/img] And an another with more light. [img]http://www.applefritter.com/images/dsc03036-19792_640x480.jpg[/img] [b]From left to right the upper pins are:[/b] Black, B.White, B.GND Blue, Yellow, Orange [b]Middle pins:[/b] Brown, Br.White, Br.GND Red Brown [b]Lower pins:[/b] Pink, Pnk, White, Pnk.GND, GND, Pnk/Br.White Pinkish/Brown Some more info, the TMDS pairs are the 4 big pairs of 3 wires packed in the foil. Each pack consists of 3 wires: 1 colored 1 white 1 bare wire The 4 packs are colored with a Pink pair, a brown pair, a black pair and a strange pinkish/brownish pair. So in the chart below ( And up) the B.White for example means the white wire of the black package. Same with B.GND. The other 5 pins are separated and without foil, and consist of yellow, brown, red, blue and orange. So the only way you can go wrong is with the brown TMDS pack and the pinkish/brownish TMDS pack. Also note the both are lighter from color then the Brown that is a separate wire, so you can't go wrong there. So here is the chart I made with the color coding. Again please note the orientation of the DVI connector. The chart depicts the orientation like on the above pictures. [size=20] [b] Back view of Cinema display connector [/b] [/size] [img]http://www.applefritter.com/images/picture_2-19794_640x480.png[/img] [pre] 1 TMDS Data 2- Digital Red- (link 1) Pink 2 TMDS Data 2+ Digital Red+ (link 1) White of pink 3 TMDS Data 2/4 Shield GND of Pink 4 Not used on 20 inch 5 Not used on 20 inch 6 DDC Clock GND of pinkish/brown 7 DDC Data White of Pinkish brown 8 Analog Vertical sync Pinkish/brown 9 TMDS Data 1- Digital green- (link 1) Brown 10 TMDS Data 1+ Digital green- (link 1) White of Brown 11 TMDS Data 1/3 Shield GND of Brown 12 Not used on 20 inch 13 Not used on 20 inch 14 +5V Power for display Red 15 GND GND for pin 14/8 Brown 16 Hot-Plug Not used 17 TMDS Data 0- Digital Blue- (link 1) and digital sync Black 18 TMDS Data 0- Digital Blue+(link 1and digital sync White of black 19 TMDS Data 0/5 shield GND of Black 20 Not used 21 Not used 22 TMDS Clock-shield Blue 23 TMDS Clock+ Digital clock+ (links 1 and 2) Yellow 24 TMDS Clock- Digital clock- (links 1 and 2) Orange [/pre]

Apple USB keyboard repair

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:55:25 -0800

I recently obtained a non-functional but nearly new Apple USB keyboard. This is the most recent model, with a transparent base. [thumb:19401] What's appealing to me about this keyboard is the small desktop footprint, yet it has full-size keys - unlike the compact keyboard that shipped with the original iMac. After cleaning what looked - and smelled - like a coffee spill, I found the keyboard worked fine with the exception of the left control key. I decided to see if it could be repaired... The keyboard is held into the transparent case by three very small hex screws. Not having the proper tool on hand, I found a jeweller's screwdriver, sides slightly filed down, was able to remove the screws. There are two ribbon cables that hold the keyboard to the case at this point: [thumb:19399] They pull out by holding the clear plastic "wings" on each cable, and go back in the same way. No clips to remove, etc. [thumb:19397] Looking at the metal backing of the keyboard, there are several dozen screws. Yep, you've got to remove them. A Phillips jeweller's screwdriver fits perfectly. A larger driver may have trouble. There are three raised screws near the top centre. These do not need to be removed. Two of the screws will drop a piece of plastic that sits above the cursor keys. Lift the metal plate off the keyboard. You will see layered sheets of plastic. This is our goal. Carefully lift it off the keys. You don't want to send the little rubber grommets underneath flying. [thumb:19400] If your keyboard has been a spill victim, some may be stuck to the plastic. Carefully remove them. The plastic sheets are the keyboard switches. A top and bottom layer are covered in conductive printed paths to each key, while a middle layer, with holes at each key position, provides an air space between conductive pads. When a key is pressed, the rubber grommet presses down on the top layer, and it is pushed down to contact the bottom layer, completing the circuit. This is a very clever, or very cheap, design. It's certainly prone to damage from spills. [thumb:13398] I tried cleaning the contacts at left control key position, as they were blackened...and smelled like coffee. After continuity testing with a multi-meter, I found the bottom layer had corroded, and the contact pad was no longer connected to the rest of the circuit. The proper fix would be to use a conductive paint, like those used for repairing automotive rear-window defrosters. Having a desire to not spend any money on this, I tried something free. Move the top and middle layers of plastic out of the way. Do not completely separate the three layers. I scraped away some of the green covering on the circuit path near the control key pad. Careful, as it doesn't take much to scrape away the conductive path as well. The orange in the photo below represents where the original circuit path was. [thumb:19395] I cut a piece of tinfoil to shape, and with a toothpick, drew lines of superglue on either side [b]but not on[/b] the exposed circuit path, as well as over the control key pad. I placed the foil overtop, and clamped it to my desk. [thumb:19396] The clamp was centred over the scraped circuit path, as I want the foil to be glued in contact with it. I left this to sit overnight. I checked the connection by placing one multi-meter pin on the foil, and the other on the next available pad in the circuit. There should be little to no resistance measured. Assembly is the reverse of the steps above. Line up the plastic on the keyboard grommets as best you can. Make sure all the grommets are sitting properly before placing the metal plate over the plastic sheets. I pressed the plate down and held it while I screwed in the first few screws. I put several middle screws in first, then worked my way from right to left. The three hex screws back in place, I plugged the keyboard back in, and it works fine. Using keycaps in OS 9, it looks as though a gentle press of the previously bad control key results in several momentary contacts, but under normal usage works without any ill effect. As stated above, conductive paint would be a much more reliable solution, but the instructions above will hopefully help regardless of which method you choose. Apple keyboards are no longer the expensive peripherals they used to be, and many would rather buy a new keyboard than bother with an attempt at repair (which is how I received the keyboard in the first place). Part of the appeal of this project is the joy of getting something for nothing. It's also saved one item from going into landfill, so for someone like myself who enjoys tinkering, the project was very worthwhile. Disassembly will differ, but the black and white versions of the Apple USB Extended Keyboard use the same layered sheet for switches.

Glowing Wallstreet

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:02:47 -0700

When I first got my Wallstreet 250 two years ago, one of the first things I wanted to do was to adapt it to have a glowing logo. About a year and a half passed before I actually had any idea of how to mod the logo. Thanks to digital's directions on the forum page, I've just modded my logo to know, and I thought it would be worth sharing with the Wallstreet owners. The tools: 1. T-8 screwdriver 2. Hard plastic spatula 3. Various small flathead screwdrivers 4. Container for screws 5. Exacto knife 6. Small sanding block with 220 grit (and finer for a more frosted effect) sandpaper The process: [center] I started off with my normal 1998 PowerBook G3 Wallstreet 250. Not a single mod, unless you consider the missing latch a mod. [center] At this point, I removed the plastic covers from the bottom screws and the rubber stoppers from the upper screws. After taking the screws themselves out (upper ones are silver; lower ones are black), I taped them to a sketch of the computer, but they are easy enough to tell apart. Also, before closing the screen, I put the foam pad that was shipped in my iBook over the keyboard to protect it and the screen. [center] Considering I got somewhat lost when it came to taking off the cover, I'll explain how to properly remove it. You must first start by removing the cover over the power and volume buttons. It is very difficult to get the hinge potion of the back cover off without this off. Then, in the back portion of the sides, gently pry the outer cover upward, therefore unclipping it there. At that point, lightly bowing the sides of the bezel out with a spatula will unclip two more clips per each side. From there, there will be 3 clips visible between the hinges. Pushing on each (both sides first, then the center one) will release the back of the screen. From there, you only have to gently lift the rear part of the cover to unlatch the clips at the latch end of the display. [center] With the foil backing visible, I lightly scored it with a exacto knife after determining where the logo was by holding the cover in place and guessing where the center of the logo met the foil. You must score it VERY LIGHTLY, gradually making it thinner where you want to cut. [center] After I scored the backing, I discovered a bulge where a circuit board is. I lightly pressed at the edge of that board on one of my scored lines, cutting a small hole. At that point I simply had to pull up the square I had cut out (along with the paper beneath the foil). I made the peeling easier by cutting along the scores again with the exacto knife, but the shiny surface beneath the foil and paper is the LCD itself, so you must avoid touching it at all costs. [center] After having finished cutting out the hole in the backing, I carefully opened the display-being conscious of the display cables- and turned on the computer to make sure the screen hadn't been harmed. Seeing the LCD was fine, I took a sneek peak at the glow from the it in pitch black. This picture isn't very good, but the glow is a rather eerie purple that fades to the metal surface when brought back in light. Afterwards, I shut down the computer, closed it, and covered the back of the LCD. [center] Moving on the the back cover itself, I tried my original idea of soaking a rag in rubbing alcohol and leaving it on top of the painted plastics of the logo. The paint held up against the alcohol, so I decided to tape off the plastics around the logo, and simply sand off the paint in circular motions. Once the paint was gone, I kept sanding with the same motion to give the logo a frosted appearance. I used 220 grit paper, but I think that the results might have been better if I were able to use a finer paper afterwards. [center] This is the cover against daylight after the paint had been removed. It's very translucent and appears white, but light transfers through it very well as the picture shows. [center] Putting the cover back onto the display was probably as hard as taking it off depending on where you start. I began with trying to line up the clips around the latch. With the cover lined up, I snapped the sides back in place followed by the clips between the hinges. The latch edge is much harder however. The cover must be pressed down into the bezel plastics and back toward the hinges at the same time to force the plastics back into the clips. After that, the only thing to do is open the display, put the screws back in their proper locations, and put the covers back on. In the end, my logo looked just like it did before I started, which is just what I wanted. [center] In pitch black, however, the normal looking logo actually glows a dim purple. It's not noticeable in the picture, but it's very cool in person. So after 3 hours sitting on the floor with my PowerBook, trying to force the plastics to do what I wanted, I finally have the glowing logo I desired. There are probably ways of getting it brighter that I haven't though of, but I like the purple as it is. I hope this page was of use to any Wallstreet (or maybe other PB G3) owners, and I'd very much like to see anyone else's results after having tried this. Note that I am not responsible for you damaging your PowerBook in any way. The LCD is fragile, and must be treated accordingly. Breaking any clips around the rear cover of bezel will not cause any harm. The screws and remaining clips will hold the display together just fine.

Intel Mac mini: Take Apart Guide (RAM & HD)

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 22:42:45 -0800

The Intel Mac mini's case is just like that on the PPC model and can be opened by prying upward with a sharp putty knife while working your way around the bottom of the case: Once you have the lid off, you'll be presented with a very tightly packed computer: Beneath and around the optical drive is a black plastic frame, with a screw in each corner: This frame, which holds the hard drive and the optical drive, needs to be removed if you are replacing the RAM or hard drive. Three of the screws are easy to access. The fourth is covered by the airport antenna. To remove the antenna, gently pry inward on the two black tabs that hold it in place and lift upward: Next, there's a small cable on the front of the mini that needs to be disconnected: With this cable unhooked, the black plastic frame is only connected at the back and can be gently lifted out as if it were on a hinge, revealing the motherboard: You now have direct access to the two DDR2 SDRAM slots: If you want to replace the hard drive, turn your attention to the black plastic frame that's now lying upside down beside you mini's case. The drive is in it, held in place with four screws. Two are on the bottom: And two are on the side: With the screws removed, the drive can be easily slid forward and removed: The hard drive is Serial-ATA: When you reinstall the plastic frame, ensure that the interconnect board is properly seated in its slot: It's also likely that the audio board's cable became loose, so ensure that it's correctly seated: Given what a pain it is to remove the cover, power the computer up and test everything out before you snap the case shut again.

Repairing the PowerBook 5300

Fri, 18 Nov 2005 07:22:35 -0800

With flaming batteries, chipping paint, and pathetic performance, the PowerBook 5300 is not a computer many remember fondly. Worst of all was the power connector was poorly designed, such that every time an AC adapter was plugged in, pressure was placed directly against the solder joints. In time, the joints failed, resulting in an unreliable connection that made it impossible to charge the battery or run off AC without forcefully holding the power connector at just the right angle to reestablish the connection. Despite its shortcomings — actually, [i]because[/i] of its shortcomings — old 5300's are very affordable. The two PCMCIA slots make it possible to add modems, 802.11b cards, and various other devices. The infrared port, lacking on modern Macs, makes it possible to communicate with devices that newer machines cannot. Any paint that's going to chip has long since done so, the exploding batteries have been replaced, and the system become stable (if not particularly speedy) when upgraded to Mac OS 8. The only serious problem that remains is the solder joints. A few weeks ago I picked up a $15 PowerBook 5300c that was advertised as having just this issue. To repair the problem, first remove the motherboard by following the directions in Apple's Service Source for the 5300. Once you have the motherboard out, wiggle the power connector. It should be loose. Using a soldering iron and some desoldering braid, remove as much solder from each joint of the connector as is easily possible (see figure below). [center] The desoldering braid should be placed directly on top of the joint and the iron tip on top of the braid. The iron should be at about 800°F. The solder will melt and be pulled up into the braid. If it doesn't you're probably using a cheap 15-watt soldering iron. A 40-watt iron is ideal. Once you have most of the solder out, heat the component and board with the iron directly and solder each pin back in. You should now have a firm joint without movement. Reassemble the machine. Note that this process only fixes the immediate problem — it doesn't eliminate the cause. If you use the machine heavily, the joints will break again, so be prepared to repeat this process in the future.

Experiments with the Apple Motion Sensor

Sat, 12 Mar 2005 07:56:19 -0800

Throw your PowerBook off a cliff. As it tumbles, sensors will detect changes in orientation and gravitational force. With this data, your PowerBook will wisely ascertain that all is not well. Faster than you can knock a laptop off a desk, it will swing the hard drive's head away from the platter and park it, preventing a deadly collision with your data. The "Sudden Motion Sensor" in Apple's latest PowerBooks implements this technology. The sensors are not built into the hard drive - they're an integral part of the system, compatible with any drive you install. It's even possible to read the sensor output yourself. [url=http://www.kernelthread.com/software/ams/]Amit Singh[/url] has written several programs that do just that. This is where the fun starts. [url=http://www.kernelthread.com/software/ams/download/AMSTracker.dmg]amstracker[/url] is a simple command-line utility that returns the values for the sensors' x, y, and z axes. X is left/right tilt, y is forward/back, and z is the change in G force. Amit's utility can output these values and then exit or can be configured to provide a continuous stream of data. The trick with a cool utility like this is coming up with a practical application. One possibility is to keep a motion log. Here's a sample in which data was collected every tenth of a second. To produce these values, I let my PowerBook drop about eight inches and then gently caught it. [pre] X Y Z 3 27 49 1 26 51 2 24 53 4 28 49 2 31 49 2 27 53 9 8 16 -6 8 16 9 47 82 11 28 46 5 18 67 -1 22 55 -2 24 51 1 23 49 -1 23 51[/pre] The first indication that something has gone wrong is a major the change in G force from 53 to 16. At the same time, the Y axis shifts from 27 to 8, indicating a sudden backwards tilt, caused by the weight of the display. A tenth of a second later, the logs indicate a rightward tilt as the X axis changes from 9 to -6. Another tenth of a second - and impact. The G force leaps from 16 to 82 as the PowerBook collides with my hands. If you often lend your computer out, this data could make for some very interesting conversations. "Larry, why did my PowerBook experience a sudden spike in gravitational force at 6:43 PM?" The numbers are fun, but a visual makes for a more interesting demo. Amit has done just this with [url=http://www.kernelthread.com/software/ams/download/AMSVisualizer.dmg]AMSVisualizer[/url], which displays a PowerBook on-screen and tilts it in sync with the computer's actual movements. This is great for demoing the PowerBook to potential customers. [center] Amit has written one more entertaining demo: [url=http://www.kernelthread.com/software/ams/download/StableWindow.dmg]StableWindow[/url]. You can tilt your PowerBook any way you like, but this window refuses to tilt with it. Those interested in reading more about these programs and the technology behind them should visit [url=http://www.kernelthread.com/software/ams/]Amit Singh's website[/url]. Of course, we haven't even addressed one of the most obvious uses for motion sensors: games. It took Peter Berglund just four days after reading Amit's article to have a simple game working based on the motion sensors. Berglund's [url=http://www.balooba.se/baloobasoftware/index.html]BubbleGym[/url] gives the player a marble on a board. Tilting the computer tilts the board and causes the marble to roll. The objective is to roll the ball into the cloud. With each success, a new cloud appears and the allotted time grows shorter. The player has four balls (i.e. lives) and each one exhibits different physical characteristics. Graphics and gameplay are rudimentary, but as a technology demonstration, the game is excellent. BubbleGym is mildly fun to play and a lot of fun to share with others. [center] Where will Apple's motion-sensing technology go from here? A more convenient tool for logging data might also be useful and hopefully an adaptation of the arcade game [url=http://icculus.org/neverball/]Neverball[/url] will soon be in the works. Post your ideas below.

Memento

Fri, 21 Jan 2005 20:04:17 -0800

It's happened to me a thousand times. I'll need to visit a web page, but all I can remember is the gist of what it's about. When this occurs, I rack my brain for a quote from the page, and then head to Google. If I'm lucky, the quote is unique or nearly so, and I quickly find the page I'm looking for. More often, I end up having to add aditional quotes and keywords to the search in an attempt to narrow down the results. Joakim Nygård has written Memento, a freeware application that aids the forgetful. Memento presents a list of all the pages in Safari's cache and allows the user to search them. Google's cache contains over eight billion pages. My Safari cache contains 287. Suddenly, searching for common words and phrases becomes a lot more practical. A common phrase on Google is very likely unique in my Safari cache. But how far back can you go? How many days is 287 pages? For me, a mere fourteen hours, it turns out and over half of those 287 pages were loaded in the last three hours. Making matters worse, each iframe is considred its own page. Many advertisements, such as Google Adwords use iframes, and therefore are counted as separate pages. This alone can inflate the page-count to nearly double it's actual number. Numbers can very drastically, however. When I ran Memento yesterday, I had 426 pages in my cache. This large variation occurs because the cache is based not on page count but file size. Safari's limit is 20 MB. If you use a lot of graphic-intensive web sites, you'll have a lot fewer pages stored in cache than somebody who browses with images turned off entirely. I'm sure there's a hack to increase the size of Safari's cache and I hope somebody will post it in the comments. At a mere 20 MB, Memento's usefulness is severely limited. There is, however, one very specific area in which Memento shines: browsing pages that are no longer available. In the image below, I have an Applefritter Preview page loaded. I can also load Applefritter Edit pages from the cache, where they contain the pre-edited forms of the pages that have since been overwritten. Safari's cache is not large enough to make Memento terribly useful in the manner that it was intended. However, its ability to recover cached web pages that no longer exist elsewhere makes Memento a valuable tool in an emergency. Developer's website: [url=http://jokke.dk/software/memento/] Joakim Nygård[/url] Applefritter Archive: [node:6143]

Power Button Mod - Change the Stock LED on a G4

Thu, 21 Oct 2004 18:45:01 -0700

As part of a case mod, I wanted to switch out the green/orange LED behind the power button with a white LED on a Sawtooth G4. I looked around but didn't see any guides as to how it's done. It's a realtivly easy mod to do if you have basic soldering skills. This is meant more for the newbie but anyone can use it. Here's what's needed: Soldering Iron (30 watt; I tried a 15 and it didn't work very well) Rosin-Core Solder (I used .032 diameter) Desoldering Braid One 5mm LED of your choice Long flathead screwdriver Needlenose pliers Wire cutters Please note: Any hack and or case mod involves a certain level of risk. There are several sharp edges inside the case which can cut through your fleshy bits quite easily. Additionally, you will be using a soldering iron which also makes a great accidental branding iron, house burning device, and eyebrow remover. So please be careful. Please understand that by undertaking this mod, you accept all risk and liability and understand that you could destroy a key component of your computer which may leave you unable to boot or use it. With that said, let's get started. Read all of the instructions first. Okay, stop laughing, reading the instructions does help especially if you are a newbie. Unplug your Mac and open up the case. Behind the front panel and just below the middle, you will see two covers. The one near the middle is for the speaker and the lower cover is for the power, reset, and programmer's buttons. [image:4981] There is a flat, 10-wire cable that on the far-side of the cover that connects the power button board to the logicboard. Gently pull it out. If you have trouble removing it, you can take the cover off first but BE CAREFUL. Use the long flathead screwdriver to push in on the tabs and move the cover towards the rear of the case. [image:4982] If you were not able to remove the 10-wire cable, you should be able to do it now. So this is the board that houses/controls the three buttons on the front of the case. [image:4980] You will notice in the top right corner a small tab holding the board in place with two similar tabs along the bottom of the cover. Use the screwdriver to push in the tabs so you can pull out the board. Carefully, pull out the board. You may find that pulling out on the side of the cover will help loosen the cover's grip on the board. [image:4983] With the ten wire socket on the left and the single button at the top, flip the board over so that the back is facing you and the ten wire socket is on the right. You should also see a small fuse and holder on the left. [image:979] You should see three solder points just above center on the back, one square and two circles. These are the LED solder points. Why are there three holes? I thought that LEDs had two pins. The LEDs used for the power button have two colors, green for power and orange for sleep mode. The middle pin is a shared pin. Clear your work space of any flammable debris and plug in your soldering iron. Soldering irons get very hot which you won't realize until you're looking at the blister on your finger. Be careful. Unspool some of the desoldering braid and place it over one of the soldering pads. I recommend using the needlenose pliers to hold the braid in place as it heats up quickly. Apply the tip of the soldering iron to the top of the braid and hold for a few seconds. (Try not hold it for too long because you will solder the braid to the board.) The iron will heat up the solder which will collect into the braid. Place a clean portion of braid on the aolder point and repeat until all the solder has been removed. Do the same thing for the remaining solder points. It doesn't really matter which one you start with, just make sure you remove as much solder as possible. Flip the board over and desolder the left and right sodler points. Be careful so you don't damage the traces on the baord. If you can manage it, desolder the center pin. If you're lucky, you should be able to remove the LED with the needlenose pliers easily. If you're not lucky like I was, try and get as much solder off as possible and pull off the LED by gripping the pins and pulling. If you don't really care, just grab the LED with the pliers and yank. You'll most probably pull off the LED and leave a pin or two. You might also damage the board so be careful. Clear out any solder by using the desoldering braid and sodlering iron. [image:4973] Grab your new LED and you will notice that one pin is longer than the other. Insert the long pin into the left hole and the short pin into the center hole. (The right hole is not used.) [image:4975] Optional test: You can plug the ten wire cable into the socket and try powering up the computer. Your new LED should glow. Shut down the computer and remove the ten wire cable. Time to clip the pins. Make note of which pin is the short one and which one is the long one. Adjust the LED so that it sits above the board, not on it, and clip the pins that they stick out just a few millimeters out from the board. Grab your solder and sodlering iron and solder the pins in place. Reattach the cover to the board and connect the ten wire cable. Snap the button assembly into place on the front panel. Reconnect the cables and close the case. Get to a minimum safe distance of 3.5 miles and have a family member turn on the computer. Something will glow, the LED or your brother. If it's your brother, time to troubleshoot on the run. If the LED glows, congrats! [image:4984] Revised 13 October 2004

Hard drive sandwich

Mon, 20 Sep 2004 18:18:19 -0700

[b][color=purple]The 'I didn't do it' kid[/color][/b] I take no credit for inventing this mod. The first time I saw it was at [url=http://www.overclockers.com/tips454/]overclockers.com[/url] by one Mike Chin. I’ve merely documented the same technique for my G3 and am sharing it here for those who may not have seen the original. [b][color=purple]Why?[/color][/b] The drive in my G3, a 20GB WD, is a noisy fellow. It has an annoying high-pitched whine that overpowers all the other computer noises in the room, and it gets on my nerves. Some would suggest getting a quieter drive, but I wanted to try something on the cheap first. [b][color=purple]Pass me the hack-saw[/color][/b] Two quarter-inch thick aluminum plates were cut about 1 1/2″ larger than the hard drives dimensions. The plates had their edges ground and sanded to remove all burrs that might fall off into expensive areas and to prevent nice people from getting their hands cut. It also looks nicer. [thumb:4626] I held the plates together and drilled through all four corners with a 7/32″ bit, with a drop of 3-in-1 oil on the bit. Before I drilled, I used a Sharpie to mark one corner on each of the plates. That way when I put everything together, I can line up the holes and didn’t have to accurately measure each hole before I drilled. It’s a bit of a cheat. The plates were cleaned again, and waxed with floor wax, and the drive placed in-between. Home Depot supplied the plastic bolts and wing-nuts, for about $0.15 each (and the aluminum was about $20 CDN for enough for two drive sandwiches, at a place called Metal Supermarkets). I was concerned about the ‘do not cover this hole’ vent on the drive, but it seems to be working fine after over a month of light use. Once the sandwich was made, I cut some foam to fit around the hard drive. I tested both foam from chair-cushions and a dense adhesive foam with a metallic surface on one side that’s designed for insulating furnace pipes. Both were similar in the small amount of noise they reduced, so I went with the cushion foam as it’s a bit easier to work with, and just slightly thicker than the height of the drive. I sliced a small gap in the foam to allow the hard drive power and ribbon cables to exit without compressing or distorting the foam. [b][color=purple]We squeezes them, my precious[/color][/b] I tightened the wing-nuts until they were snug, and adjusted each one as tightening one loosened the other. Don’t over-tighten! I wasn’t too concerned, as I figured the plastic bolts would snap long before any damage would be done to the drive. The plates act as a head-sink for the drive, so having it all packaged up like this creates no thermal issues yet, though there have been questions raised about cooling the chips on the drive. [thumb:4627] [b][color=purple]Lock & Load[/color][/b] Due to the size of the sandwich over the bare drive, I installed the drive at 90 degrees to how it sits by default on the hard drive sled, and had to use a different ribbon cable from the 4-ish inch one that comes with the G3 (at least mine did). [b][color=purple]Conclusions[/color][/b] The drive is noticeably quieter. Not silent, and not as quiet as I’d hoped, but quieter. The most annoying noise was in the higher frequencies, and that’s been reduced enough that it’s competing with the power supply fan for attention, whereas before it was the dominant noise. Denser foam would help, but for now, it’s good enough. The drive currently sits loose on the floor of the G3. It's heavy enough that it doesn't move around, and the G3 itself is never moved. Future work, should I be so motivated, would be to drill and tap mounting holes in the bottom plate to attach one of the G3's drive brackets(at 90 degrees based on where the sandwich currently sits).

Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 16:45:01 -0800

[center][image:4518][/center] How do you mark with prestige and elegance the 20th birthday of the most influential and important company in the history of the microcomputer? For 20 years, Apple had the will and motivation to create a new design rather than a new computer. The designers, with Jonathan Ive at their head describe the principal design features as beautiful, refined, with few cables and efficiency, and most important, wicked fast. [center][image:4517] [image:4516][/center] Spartacus, the computer of the 20 year old Apple, overflows with new ideas that are all different from previous models. The mouse is a trackpad, as to limit clutter and space, the trackpad could be removed from the keyboard, if a user felt so inspired, thanks to a cable that lays nested inside the keyboard. The base of the computer is big enough to allow for the entire keyboard to be slipped under for storage, not unlike the iMac G5. Additionally, the base can be used as a handle for the computer. The printer, modem and keyboard cables are all hidden behind the machines in grooves in which they are nested, to avoid the cluttering and tangling of cables. A button on the front will automatically change the computer from television mode to computer mode. The transformer and the subwoofer are in a single case, that use one cable to provide power and sound to the machine. [center][image:4521] [image:4519][/center] The result is reminiscent of a Bang and Olufsen product, with all the qualities of a computer and hi-fi system. Its price, 50,000 francs at introduction (eventually dropping to 25,000 francs at its discontinuation). The machine can easily command thousands of francs, even today.

The SILENT 3rd generation eMac

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 12:51:29 -0800

[I]A modification by Juerg Messer[/I] My trusty old iMac DV (G3/400) had become just too slow for iMovie and MPEG-2 conversion, so it was time to buy a faster Mac. My budget was limited however. I purchased a 1.25 GHz eMac Combo. The LG-Hitachi Combo-drive and the original HD with meagre 40 GB were replaced by a Pioneer DVR-105 (100% Apple supported) and a 120 GB Maxtor HD. Both drives were previously mounted in an external FW housing and connected to the iMac, i.e., no additional costs. The eMac is not so easy to take apart, I found this [url=http://www.wilko.com/emac/]web page by Paul Wilkinson[/url] very helpful. Note that Paul was disassembling a first or second generation eMac, the design of the 3rd generation is a bit different (e.g. the Harman Kardon sound system is gone!). Now I had a great Mac for the buck, but I found it to be far to noisy! The old iMac was almost completely silent, because it had no fans at all. The difference to the new eMac was very unpleasant. Something had to be done about it. I found an interesting remark on [url=http://www.lbodnar.dsl.pipex.com/eMac/eMac-upgrade.html]Leo Bodnar's web page[/url] about eMac overclocking: Leo had installed a variable fan speed regulator in order to reduce the fan noise to a minimum. The idea was striking but I wanted to have some temperature control, too. After some search in the internet I discovered an Enermax UC-A5FATR2 fan controller in the web shop of a PC dealer and ordered it for CHF 39.- (approx. 25 Euro) + shipping. It is a speed regulator for six fans (2 with speed feed back) and has a display for 2 temperatures (sensor 1 + 2) and fan speeds (fan 1 & 2). It has the size of a 5.25" PC drive bay and is a 3.5" HD mounting rack at the same time. The Enermax has a beautiful silver finish. There exists even a white version that would match the eMac, but it was not available from that dealer. [thumb:3880] The HD mounting rack could be easily removed. It was fixed with several screws. The PC board with the 6 knobs for fan speed control was removed, and the cables 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b and 2c were soldered out. Some of the cables were used for the customised wiring. The PC board was put back in place. All cables must be detachable connections, because the Enermax would be fixed on the eMac cover. If it becomes necessary to open the eMac again, I can simply unplug the Enermax connections with the sensor, power supply and fan cable in order to be able to take off the cover. [thumb:3894] The fan in the eMac is one of the types with speed feed back (yellow cable). I made sure, that this connection to the eMac would remain intact, whereas the fan will be powered by the Enermax controller. The additional connectors were purchased at a local store for electronic parts. I couldn't find connectors of the type used for the eMac fan, but standard 3-pin Molex connectors could be modified to fit them. [thumb:3895] The Enermax comes with a Molex 4-pin y-cable. I used the power supply of the optical drive and fixed the y-cable neatly on the DVD-RW drive with a piece of double sided adhesive tape. [thumb:3896] The temperature sensor 1 was fixed on the copper heat pipe coming from the CPU, using 2 cable binders. It was necessary to partly remove the fan to get access. The cable was fixed with another binder and some isolation tape. [thumb:3897] The cables were lead to the area at the bottom of the eMac with the many small ventilation holes. Again, note that none of the cables is soldered directly with the Enermax. [thumb:3898] The cover of the eMac was put back in place and the memory access hatch was closed. The eMac stand was attached, all cables are hanging out of the right ventilation opening of the stand. Two layers of thick double sided adhesive tape are fixed in stripes between the ventilation holes in the eMac cover. When the Enermax is fixed, air can still stream in through the gap between the Enermax and the housing. The Enermax was then fixed, but better do that when the eMac is back on your desk, to be able to fix it accurately aligned with the housing. [thumb:3899] Now I can adjust the Fan Speed 1A knob to regulate the fan to a pleasant noise level, while I see the impact on CPU temperature on the display (Temp. F1). The fan speed is not displayed although it is supposed to be. I don't know the reason, but I don't care. It doesn't matter. I have no Apple Hardware Test CD for the eMac, so I don't know if the internal fan speed feed back is still working or not. Note that the speaker grills have been removed to further improve the sound quality. The grills were pulled out using a modified paper clip. Make sure nobody sticks its fingers into the speaker membranes, e.g. little children :-) [thumb:3900] Another note about the sound quality: The eMac is now silent enough to actually be able to enjoy music. The quality of the internal speakers in the 3rd generation eMac [b]is[/b] inferior to the iMac DV's Harman Kardon speakers. The new eMac speakers sound dull. If I can spend the money, I will buy JBL sound creatures, but without the fan modification it would be waste of money. [thumb:3901] Have [b][i]more[/i][/b] fun with your eMac! [i]Addendum:[/i] After 2 years and 3 months of operation, the 120GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus harddisk has died. Fortunately it didn't do that immediatley but within a week, so I was warned and made a backup in time. I have now replaced the harddisk with a 160GB Samsung. Since I am wondering if the reduced ventilation in my eMac has shortened the life span of the Maxtor HD, I have made the following modification when I replaced the HD. The second temperature sensor was fixed on the new HD with adhesive tape. I do not reduce the fan voltage below 50% now (instead of 33% to 40% before). Now I will observe, how the HD temperature behaves under different operating conditions.

Burlwood 'Book

Wed, 07 Jul 2004 21:18:19 -0700

For some time I have been looking for a Bookwares wood bookcover for my Powerbook 1400. After searching in vain I decided to take a cue from some of the mods seen in this site to attempt a burlwood motif on an existing bookcover. Here is the result: [image:3641] I used a woodgraining tool to get it started. The paints used are Rustoleum Calret Wine and Kona--red and brown! The graining tool left the "grain" but took away the excess brown. I used a small modeling paint brush to apply and blend the wine color to the exposed areas left by the tool. The indirect light I used kind of cast a glare on part of the cover, but you get the idea. The brushed aluminum-like upper is actually metal look contact paper I bought at a hardware store. Took a while and the minute detail of handpainting and blending each line in the grain was a bit tedious, but the results were better than I expected. In the face of that, though I am also in the middle of creating an aged leather look cover using the same paint and some unusual tools. I will post here when that is complete--if it isn't a total disaster! Thanks for looking everyone, and thanks for all the support that everyone on this site continues to show!

Quadra 7100 Digital Camouflage

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 06:10:30 -0700

I've painted a few cases since joining Applefritter. Most have been 'experiments', which means: 1) They're done on old PCs that I don't care about, and 2) I wasn't impressed with them enough to move my daily-use motherboards into them. The Quadra 700 case I started with had been somewhat successful and useful. [center][thumb:3529][/center] It was painted with dark red Krylon Fusion. Fairly soon it chipped, and after resting my camcorder bag on top of it, the paint was damaged from the vinyl of the bag - and this was at least a month after painting. That experiment was a written off as a failure. The remaining Fusion paint my wife put to great use on garden pots. After seeing tmtomh's excellent [url=http://www.applefritter.com/node/view/3437]Quadra 7100b[/url], I decided to resurrect my 7100-in-700 project. The Quadra 700 case was sanded with a random orbit sander to remove most of the Fusion paint, then wet-sanded with 150-grit emery cloth to clean up. Planning on using the 7100's AV card this time, I cut a hole for it using my Dozuki saw, and cleaned up that hole, and the original cuts I'd made in the case, with a combination of the Dremel and files. I was stuck on how to repaint the case, until I stumbled across a photo of an F-18 jet painted up with a newer 'digital camouflage' pattern. I found the vintage-computer bitmap look quite appealing, and decided that's what the case would get. [center][thumb:3528][/center] The inside and outside of the case was sprayed with matte white Krylon enamel indoor-outdoor paint. It's recommended for just about everything, and dries quickly. [center][thumb:3524][/center] I removed the 'weatherstipping' from the inside of the case that presses against the lid. Anti-vibration? Don't know, but it had red Fusion paint on it, and I wasn't about to re-paint it or clean it. I removed the metal shielding from the back of the case. After cutting the hole for the 7100's AV card (thanks again for the advice tmtomh!) it was ruined anyway. In retrospect, I should have also cut a hole for the third Nubus card. The remaining metal shield on the side of the case was removed and painted with a matte black Krylon, as was the speaker housing, the power/operator buttons and the drive/floppy carriage. I removed the top panel from the power supply, and painted it black as well. [center][thumb:3525][/center] I was afraid the matte black would rub off on the matte white of the case, so I painted the fronts of the power buttons with a dab of gloss black enamel, and being extra cautious, gave them a dab of silicon grease to slide on. On to the camo pattern: [center][thumb:3523][/center] I'm lucky enough to own an airbrush: A Paasche model H. I considered masking and painting the camo pattern with a spray can, but figured the amount of masking involved, and risk of overspray and difficulty of cleanup made airbrushing a better candidate. I mixed up a medium gray using Liquitex acrylics, thinned with methyl hydrate (rubbing alcohol works as well, so does just water, but it takes far longer to dry). Using acrylics over enamels gave me the ability to wipe up mistakes on the surface without damaging the white undercoat. I made a printout of a few random shapes created by turning an image into a bitmap in Photoshop, and selecting a very small portion of that image. I blew it up until I had massive, square pixels, then saved it and printed it out from from Quark Xpress. From that, I cut out a few shapes to use as a stencil. [center][thumb:3527][/center] The larger shapes were held onto the case with two-way tape. I airbrushed the gray over the stencil, then carefully pulled the stencil off. This only made it through a couple sprays before the paper became mushy and ripped. I made s smaller stencil, and just rotated it to vary the pattern. I also used low-tack masking tape to create a few panels. [center][thumb:3522][/center] Once that had dried, I added white to the paint, and sprayed another layer of pattern. I kept the spray light, so some of the first coat of gray would show through, creating depth. I let it dry, then gave the airbrushed areas a coat of an acrylic matte coat to protect them from scuffs and scratches. [center][thumb:3526][/center] The 7100 logic board had its power LED removed, and a white LED put in its place. As you can see from the photo, the LED is a white-ish blue. The hard drive - for now an Apple-branded Quantum 500MB, has no built-in LED, and I have yet to find a connector small enough to attach to the drive's LED interface. If I do, it'll get a white or blue LED. The moment of truth... [center][thumb:3521][/center] All back together, it boots! The AV card was a bit loose, but once the lid of the case is on, it's held in firmly. Things to do still: Case badge: I've got some clear inkjet decal film onto which I'll print a case badge. "Feets:" Every Mac needs some feet to rest on. Home Depot carries transparent stick-on rubber buttons for putting under decorations and counter-top appliances. These should do the trick nicely. I figure I'll put four on the bottom, for a micro-tower position, and four on the side for a desktop configuration. The whole process took two days. I'm impatient when it comes to painting, which has ruined more than one project. To be really safe, I should have waited longer for paint to cure, but I didn't. Now that it's done, I've got to wait until I get the decal and feet done before I can use it, so it should have time for paint curing. Acrylic paint is cured within days, but enamels can take up to two months to be well and truly cured. I'm happy with how it turned out. The digital camouflage pattern looks just as I'd envisioned, and my hope is it'll be much more durable than the original paint.

Quadra 7100b/G3 - Power Mac 7100/G3 in a Black Quadra 700 case

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 17:22:36 -0700

[center][b]Macintosh Quadra 7100b[/b][/center] [center][image:3434][/center] A Power Mac 7100 in a black Quadra 700 case with a wireless keyboard [center][b]Introduction[/b][/center] I've always been a fan of hacking, case mods in particular. Recently I've felt the desire to do something a little less intricate, and at the same time a little more comprehensive, than the CC mods I usually do. I love the Quadra 700 mini-minitower form factor, and while I respect the 68k purity of it (it's my favorite machine for running A/UX), I've always wanted a PPC Quadra 700. PPC601 cards are hard to find and relatively expensive, so I decided to make a cheapskate's PPC Quadra from what I had around the house: namely, an extra Q700 with a discolored case and no RAM, and a really beat-up 7100 with a terrible case and no CD-ROM drive. I later added a G3 card, a MacPicasso 340 NuBus video card, and an old Dolch industrial 10.4" black LCD VGA monitor. The G3, MacPicasso and Dolch LCD set me back quite a few clams, but hey, hacking ain't supposed to practical! You can see some pics of the monitor here: http://homepage.mac.com/mruben/macstuff/PhotoAlbum51.html The black color for the case was inspired by a very cool black wireless keyboard I just got off eBay. The Acer Airkey is an infrared, ADB keyboard with built in mouse pointer and clickers. It's compact and just too cool. Finally, I'd been wanting to try out Molecubond, a spray dye designed for cars and boats that actually bonds to plastic. Unlike paint, it won't peel off, it won't scratch off (unless you really gouge it), and it won't obscure the texture of the plastic. [center][b]Step 1: Get out the Jigsaw[/b][/center] Step One was to modify the Q700's case to fit the 7100's mobo. Both mobos share the same form factor -- they're the same size and, crucially, they have the same two cutouts in the middle, which allows the 7100's mobo to latch securely to plastic standoff hooks molded into the base of the Q700's case. So the only real modification involved removing the rear port holes to accommodate the 7100's different port array. I also cut a hole in the rear of the Q700 to accommodate a monitor port from the 7100's HPV card, because I had no HDI45 adapter, and this mobo's HDI monitor port seems to be defective anyway. Here are the cutouts, made with a drill and a jigsaw. I started with a dremel, but it was taking forever and was melting the plastic -- yuk! (Inside, the Q700's shielding was cut with tin snips--wear gloves, the edges are razor sharp!) [center][image:3410][/center] In the foreground is an Asante NuBus ethernet card I had lying around the house. When I upgraded to a G3 card, I had to abandon the HPV video card - it would no longer fit in the case. Instead, I got the aforementioned MacPicasso NuBus card. I now wish I hadn't cut the HPV card opening, but it is relatively small and is in the back, so it's not a big deal. [center][b]Step 1a: Plow the Field[/b][/center] The top wouldn't close properly with the HPV card installed. It doesn't appear to stick up any higher than the ethernet card, but you can't argue with physics. So out came the Dremel. After three abrasive cutoff wheels shattered on me, I switched to the metal cutoff saw, which did the trick. The basement did smell like melted plastic for the rest of the night, however. :-/ [center][image:3426][/center] [center][b]Step 2: Molecubond![/b][/center] I'd read about the miraculous Molecubond, a paint that's actually a dye, and which promises to bond to plastic so that it can't be scratched or peeled off like paint -- all the while preserving the texture of the Mac's case. Molecubond is now ColorBond, and is made by Bryndana International Ltd.: [center][url]http://www.colorbondtuner.com/[/url][/center] [center][image:3428][/center] So I got two cans for -- ouch! -- $9.99 each, and went out in the yard to spray. But first I had to remove the Apple logo and the plastic piece that lets the power LED shine through: [center][image:3415][/center] That done, I began to spray the dye: [center][image:3416][/center] [center][image:3417][/center] Molecubond preserved the case texture as promised, but it covers very thinly, as evidenced by the above pictures, taken before the final coat. And it stinks to high heaven. If I were indoors I would've passed out from the fumes -- seriously! :o I went through both cans, which promise a combined 14 square foot coverage, and the case -- which is about 4.5 square feet -- still needed one more coat. I made sure to coat the front and top well, so they looked the most even: [center][image:3408][/center] [center][image:3425][/center] Here's some detail on the front, around the floppy and logo area, and around the reset button holes: [center][image:3414][/center] [center][image:3407][/center] And here are some shots of the little things: reset buttons, NuBus slot covers, and case feet: [center][image:3436][image:3421][/center] [center][image:3429][/center] After I took these pictures, I bit the bullet and got a third can of Molecubond. The case now looks much better, deeper black and much more even in color. [center][b]Step 3: Putting It All Back Together[/b][/center] This part was fairly simple, with only one little trick. Here's the 7100's motherboard, fully populated with 72MB RAM (4 16MB sticks I had laying around, plus 8MB on the motherboard). Also shown are the cabling, the HPV card and the ethernet card: [center][image:3418][/center] Here's everything stuffed back in the painted case... [center][image:3419][/center] ... except for the speaker. The Q700 has a different shaped speaker, (below, left) with a different impedance and a different motherboard connector: [center][image:3422][/center] So the 7100's speaker must be used. And because of its different shape and size, it won't fit into the Q700's speaker enclosure. So I attached it to the case with super-velcro: [center][image:3427][image:3424][/center] [center][image:3423][/center] BUT, I soon discovered that the original speaker's plastic bracket also helps steady the motherboard in its case. So I cut off the top of the bracket and reinstalled it, re-stabilizing the mobo. Finally, I snapped on the top and put on the feet: [center][image:3409][/center] In outdoor light, or by the flash of a camera, some unevenness in color showed up. But now, with the third coat of Molecubond on, it's a non-issue. [center][b]Step 4: Fire It Up![/b][/center] I'd installed a 2GB Seagate Barracuda I got from who-remembers-where, and I had no idea if it had an OS on it, much less one that would boot the 7100. So in addition to a monitor, I attached an external CD-ROM drive in case I had to install an OS from CD. Finally, I attached the super-cool Acer Airkey wireless keyboard, pressed the power button (the Airkey has no power key :( ), and voila! [center][image:3413][/center] Turns out the Barracura had OS 8.0 on it and booted right up. It was rather noisy, however, and I got sick of listening to it. So I swapped in a 500MB Apple/Quantum drive and installed OS 8.6. Now, at this point the Quadra 7100b got a little full of itself and started posing like the old Beige G3 towers, with its keyboard leaned up against it, sort of like a jacket slung over the shoulder: [center][image:3411][/center] When not in use, the keyboard fits perfectly on top of the machine: [center][image:3412][/center]

PiMPBook

Tue, 22 Jun 2004 07:12:38 -0700

Ever since the introduction of the new case design with the G4 models, iBook owners have lamented Apple's decision to switch back to an opaque plastic case (as opposed to the translucent-painted case in previous models, which allowed for numerous case mods such as the TronBook, featured on this site.) The new case, as stated above, is an opaque white polycarbonate plastic. The real trick here is finding a paint that settles in and binds properly - what's more, you need to find a test surface to practice on. Where am I going to find a test surface that perfectly mimics the iBook case, one that I won't mind defacing? Well, it hit me - the AC adapter for my 20gig iPod is made of the same material, and in fact, is almost identical to the iBook's AC adapter (just a bit smaller.) So, I bought a can of Krylon Flourescent Pink (what other color could a pimp-book be!), making sure I picked a paint that will bind to plastics. Out of curiosity, I contacted the folks at Krylon, and they said the paint was untested on polycarbonate surfaces.. so, with that in mind, I broke new ground. [image:3431] I also tested some spray-on chrome, and my "secret weapon" - Krylon Clear Acrylic finish (this bad boy was my best friend in my Spiderbook hack.) It might be a bit hard to tell from the picture, but the finished pink looked quite nice, and was extremely smooth to the touch, mimicking the bare iBook surface nicely. The chrome dulled a bit with the finish, but still sparkled in the light. The case was then masked and painted. I put on one coat, allowed it to dry, and then added a second. Once the second coat dried, I applied my "ink", and then finished it off with two coats of the Krylon finish. [image:3430] Voila. What's more, the paint glows an eerie flourescent orange under black light. Wicked. As a side note, although there are many finishes out there, I can't stress how well the Krylon worked - I'd strongly push for it if you're thinking of doing this yourself. I might chrome the sides at another point.. if I do, I'll post an update. Measure twice, cut once, and have fun.