Applefritter - Custom Desktops

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]

WaterCooledG4

Sun, 20 Jun 2004 14:45:06 -0700

[center][h1]Macintosh -[i]It just works.[/i][/h1][/center] [center][i](Just add water.)[/i][/center] “It just works.�? That’s the slogan. Here’s my saga of where it just [i]didn’t[/i] work. Of course, once you get into the upgrading game rather than just happily paying the cost of a new system, all bets are off and you must be comfortable resolving problems, whatever problems, on your own. Or give up and accept the performance level of your stock system. But what fun is that? [b]And so it begins.[/b] (As documented by excerpts from some emails and project notes.) Today I received a processor upgrade that I had been waiting a few months to become available. (It had actually dropped a third in price between product announcement and product availability.) The original system is a PowerMac Digital Audio 533mhz dual processor. And the upgrade was supposed to be a 1.2ghzDP. Well imagine my glee when I powered it up and it is 1.33ghz clock rate. Ran a few benchmarks and all looked great. Then it crashed. Bummer. It is overheating. So, do I do the sensible thing and call for an RMA for this defective product? No, not me. I decide that I really like having an upgrade that makes this machine almost as fast as the fastest of the new ones, if I can make it work reliably. [Note: At this point in the saga I didn’t know that all these CPU upgrade modules were shipping at the 1.33ghz speed. I assumed a ‘fluke’ had landed on my doorstep and I had better keep it.] So, since it can't stay cool enough with the case closed up, I take the approach of moving the bastard off the floor onto the desktop where I can leave it open all the time, with an assortment of extra fans. It's that big heat sink which isn't getting cooled adequately for this 'factory overclocked' job. The other fans are just there since the PCI cards no longer benefit from case flow cooling. [picture 1] [image:3260] picture 1 The configuration evolved from that in the picture using the single fan supplied in the upgrade kit to having two three inch fans 'pancaked' on top of the heat sink and that is keeping it going. With a full max heat producing number crunching load the thermocouple on the sink measures 17F above ambient. System crashes at 102F. Just the one fan, the one in the picture - the one it shipped with, can only keep it to about 24F above ambient. And the case tolerances are such that that depth fan is the largest which can be installed and close up the case. (I tried .) The extra quarter inch of a full versus half depth fan is just exactly too much for the case to hinge shut. I doubt if the case interior is keeping below an ambient of 80F anyway. Anyhow, keeping it below 100F it has run for hours under full load and is 2.5 times faster than before. (Actually somewhat more for most usage because of the newer generation PowerPC chip and more cache.) A nice upgrade. At less than half the cost of a comparable performance new machine. (Of course, you can run the new ones with the case closed .) So at that point I had it running. What was running? OK, here are a few pictures of the PowerLogix Series 133 1.2ghz dual processor upgrade module which you see installed in the Digital Audio PowerMac in picture 1. [image:3262] picture 2 [image:3263] picture 3 [image:3264] picture 4 [image:3265] picture 5 [image:3266] picture 6 However, I didn’t stay a happy camper for long with that solution. While the ganged up three inch fans running at full speed did keep it operational, barely, there were several significant problems with this approach. [list] [*]Marginal thermal conditions — The room the PowerMac is in ranges about eight to fifteen degrees F warmer during the Summer. Air conditioning is more expensive than gas heat. And I like the low to mid eighties. [*]Noise — Move enough air and you get more cooling. And more noise. Much more noise. [*]Open case on desktop — This just ain’t right.[/list] [b]So now on to stage two. ‘The Great Air-Cooling Effort’.[/b] [image:3267] picture 7 (Right side view) [image:3268] picture 8 (Front view - looking down over monitor) Picture 7 shows three things (of interest) visible here. [list=1][*]The original 3in fan removed. 'Custom' duct fabricated from cardboard and shipping tape to mate a 5in fan to a 3in receptacle on top of the heat sink. The foam square squeezes around the fan which is press fitted into the top of the duct and creates an air tight seal. Bottom of the duct is taped around the heat sink to create an air tight seal. All air is forced into heat sink fins. Fan is powered full speed at 12vdc. [*]3in fan powered at 7vdc blowing over PCI cards for their cooling. [*]Sheet of cardboard (back in chassis) is redirecting air from internal chassis 5in fan (12vdc, but thermal controlled - runs slow/quiet with case open) over the four internal disk drives.[/list] In picture 8 the main thing visible is the 5in fan (at 7vdc) sitting on top of the PCI cards blowing away from the big heat sink. Without this fan there was a substantial re-induction of hot air back into the main heat sink fan. [image:3269] picture 9 (Right side view) [image:3270] picture 10 (Front view) And here in pictures 9 and 10 you see the new 'case annex' fabricated from stacked up old shelving boards. This substantially contains the remaining sound. And the shades closed (as they normally are) also contribute to sound reduction. Zoom in and you can see a sub 90 degree F reading from the thermocouple on the heat sink. (BTW, those digital indoor/outdoor thermometers are great for playing this kind of game and cost about $10.) After everything settled down I get 91.4F on the heat sink with ambient of 73.0F. Since this room is typically 80-82F in the Summer (which is my favorite temperature range) this would result in about a 102F heat sink reading, assuming linear scaling. Empirical tests have the computer starting to get flakey at 105F as measured at the current thermocouple position on the heat sink. “Walkin’ on a thin line.�? Noise level is about the same as it was for this system before all these shenanigans started. That is, about the same as the stock G4 Digital Audio. So, again, I had improved my situation (if you can call it that), but I didn’t stay content for long. I knew there was a better way. [b]A detour through PC land.[/b] I’m quite familiar with the possibilities of, and tradeoffs of, air cooling a computer system. And with my Athlon system I had recently gotten fed up with the noise and hassles involved and made the decision to try a water cooling solution. Enter the “Koolance EXOS - Liquid Cooling System�?. Hit Google with the appropriate key words and you can find several extensive reviews of this kit on the sites that cater to the Intel/AMD overclocking crowd. Here in the States it can be had for about $300 delivered. A nice-to-have feature on the PC side of this kit makes it pretty much the only viable kit for the PowerMac. That is, it is a self contained kit residing external to the computer case with a PCI card bracket to bring power and water in/out of the case. On the PC side this is merely a convenience since there is usually plenty of room in tower cases to install almost anything. However, there is no spare space in a PowerMac to accommodate a water reservoir, pump and radiator. [image:3271] picture 11 [image:3273] picture 12 Pictures 11 and 12 show this kit installed on an Athlon 2000+ system. (Which is, yes, overclocked .) As of today, these are good links for information about the unit. I’m not going to review it again, just show how I’ve used it. [url]http://koolance.com/products/product.html?code=EXT-A01[/url] [url]http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=Mzc2[/url] [url]http://www.overclockers.com/articles636/index.asp[/url] Now those of you familiar with AMD (or pre-Pentium 4 Intel) systems know that there are a row of three tabs on each side of the CPU socket (socket-462). The most common method of mounting a heat sink on those systems is by a device which hooks over one of more of those tabs. Obviously, there are no such tabs in a Macintosh. Eureka! An adapter is needed. [image:3275] drawing 1 Now no heat sink made for a single processor AMD/Intel system is going to fit properly on two PPC processors. But my theory was that a copper plate which spanned both PPC chips could be cooled by a water block style heat sink designed for AMD/Intel systems. Since the PowerPC microprocessors heat disspation pretty much tops out at about 25 watts per CPU, for an aggregate max of 50 watts to handle, and the AMD Palomino microprocessor dissipates 70 watts running at stock voltage and speed, I felt on pretty safe ground even if there was some cooling inefficiency due to the intermediary copper plate and an additional contact surface. Here is what went into creating drawing 1. I found an engineering drawing of the standard socket-462 socket with detailed dimensions. This was used for the portion of the adapter for the Koolance water block mounting. I measured the relevant portion of the PowerLogix heat sink for its overall dimensions and holes for both mounting the CPU module to the heat sink (in this case ‘water block adapter plate’) and for fastening the CPU module + heat sink assembly to the Apple logic board. ‘Extra’ (irrelevant to construction) information on the drawing shows the footprints of the Koolance 200G water block (orange) and the two PPC chips (red). Once I had this drawing (plan, it helps to have a plan ) in hand I set out to find a 3.5 inch square by 1/8 inch thick piece of flat copper plate. Which I found locally for $7.03 + tax each. [picture 13] And after only about a half dozen hours of labor with the universal tool (Dremel), and some easy hole drilling, I had an adapter plate fabricated to my custom specifications. [picture 14] (NOTE: Use 1/8 inch drill bit on four ‘outside’ holes and the screws supplied with the PowerLogix kit (or any of same spec) will be able to self tap the soft copper.) [image:3267] picture 13 [image:3277] picture 14 [b]An alternative.[/b] Some Athlon motherboards provide an alternative mounting mechanism of four holes in the motherboard offset around the CPU socket. And some air cooled heat sinks, and more relevantly, some water blocks, are designed to use this form of mounting. Using this mounting technique, requiring only that four holes of proper diameter in the right locations be drilled, would be vastly easier than carving the copper plate to look like an outline of a socket-462. I highly recommend you look into this if you tackle such a project. I only went with this approach because I already had the Koolance kit in house and wanted to reuse it to test the validity of the approach. For example, in just doing a quick search, this caught my eye: [url]http://dtekcustoms.safeshopper.com[/url] [thumb:3278] picture 15: TC-4 Rev 2 Aluminum Topped Waterblock This water block from D-TEK costs about the same as the Koolance 200G and, if it would work (I see no reason why it wouldn’t, I would like to see a picture of the bottom) the different mounting method would make it trivial instead of grueling to make that adapter plate. BTW, the price I mentioned above of $300 for the Koolance EXOS delivered includes the cost of the water block, but the block is in addition to the price of the EXOS itself. In other words, there is no reason not to buy the EXOS unit alone and mix/match another vendor’s water block. Caveat, if you do this you do have the responsibility to ensure that the connector tubing inner/outer diameter is compatible with all the pieces. But that’s not what I did. That’s what I shoulda done. Now I’ll get back to what I did do. [b]Water cooling a G4 dual processor.[/b] [image:3279] picture 16 [image:3280] picture 17 Picture 16 shows the adapter plate fitted to the CPU module with four screws which self tapped the soft copper. Three screws are used to secure this assembly to the logic board. Two screws fit through the holes in the copper on the bottom/near side of the picture and the third mount point is visible at the top/rear where the copper has been removed to make a ‘socket-462’ shape. NOTE: WARNING: CAUTION: (got your attention ) There are four plastic shims which come with the PowerLogix upgrade. When you remove the original heat sink from the CPU module be sure to save these. They provide exactly the right spacing between the circuit board the PPC chips are mounted on the bottom surface of the heat sink. IF YOU ATTEMPT ASSEMBLY OF AN ADAPTER PLATE WITHOUT THESE SPACERS YOU WILL LIKELY DESTROY THE CPU MODULE. In picture 17 the Koolance 200G water block is positioned above the CPU module with adapter plate mounted. Note that barely visible on the lower half of the water block is an 'imprint' of an Athlon Palomino CPU die. This Koolance Exos kit was shifted from an Athlon Palomino 2000+ (1660mhz) overclocked to 1760mhz. Also visible is the thermocouple supplied with the EXOS kit. (Under the silver tape on the top right of the water block.) [image:3284] picture 18 [image:3285] picture 19 Picture 18 shows the Koolance 200G water block fitted on the adapter plate with the Koolance clip. Note that this is just a fit test. The CPU module and adapter plate assembly must be screwed to the logic board before this can be done for real since the water block obscures two of the CPU module to logic board mounting points. The third mount point, which is not blocked, is visible at the bottom/front of the picture. Up to now the pictures were taken as test fittings were performed to ensure physical tolerances were being met. I.e., just to see if the pieces physically fit . But in picture 19 you can see that things are getting serious. Thermal paste has been applied to both PPC CPU chips before the adapter plate was screwed to the CPU module and with the CPU module and adapter plate assembly secured to the logic board thermal paste has been applied to the top surface preparatory to clamping the water block down on top of the paste. [image:3294] picture 20 Picture 20 has it all mounted on the logic board. Hoses attached. Filled with water and pre-charged all according to the Koolance instructions. Well, almost according to Koolance instructions. They provide a jumper and describe a way to jumper an ATX power supply to run the pumps with the logic board (mother board for PC people) disconnected from the power supply. Rather than do this I just used an old spare AT style power supply laying around to power up the EXOS system and get it properly charged with water. However you do it, it is crucial that for initial operation the EXOS is operated before power is applied to the chips it is to cool so that air can be purged from the system and the reservoir is topped off. BTW, this is only for the initial start-up. Subsequently it powers up and down along with the computer. Checking for leaks isn’t such a bad idea either . In fact, I completely assembled this cooling system and let it run on the kitchen counter for about eight hours before I installed it in the case. Tip: You can’t remove the hoses from the water block once installed. (Well, you can, but it is a royal pain and you need to cut off about the last half inch of hose each time. And the clamps only have a limited number of removal/reapplications.) However, it is easy to remove the other end of the hose that use compression fittings for attaching to the EXOS main unit. These come off easy and are easy to reapply. So just do that and snake the hoses through the PCI cover plate the ‘long way around’ when you are ready for final assembly. Ready for test run. Dang! Those three "R67" chips get far too hot to touch. (See pictures 2, 16, 17, 18, 20.) Power down and analyze the situation. The original heat sink did not sit on these hot critters. (See pictures 1 and 6.) However, there is a cutout in that heat sink which allows some air to flow through the bottom and out of it over this area. OK. Something needs to be done to keep these power chips cooled, a little. [image:3286] picture 21 [image:3290] picture 22 Wahlah! Custom cooling for the voltage regulator chips shown in pictures 21 and 22. Fifteen minutes with a hacksaw and an old K6 heat sink becomes half the width and a perfect fit. Fan provides air flow for the heat sink and also blows over some 'lessor' voltage regulators which also run hot. But not nearly as hot as the big guys. Anyway, the original heat sink/fan blew air over them, so I blow air over them. [image:3291] picture 23 [image:3293] picture 24 Case closed. After several hours of runtime under full load the Koolance temperature reading (measured by a thermocouple on the water block) has stabilized at 32C/91F. The thermocouple mounted on the adapter plate reads 37C/98F. The 7F delta was pretty constant as the temps slowly ramp up from a cold start. Noise level. Not silent, but pleasantly low. There is still the power supply fan (which I had already replaced with a thermal controlled and quieter fan), the 12in case fan (which is thermo controlled and I'm now running at 7v instead of 12v), and the four disk drives. The Koolance EXOS itself is almost inaudible. I can now monitor boot up activity by listening to the head seeks on the drives . [image:3298] picture 25 After a couple of days running the system on the desk during a ‘shake down period’ I moved the system back to its original location on the floor beside the desk. Shown here in picture 25. The system has been running twenty four hours a day for a week now running compute/numerically intensive tasks. (Distributed computing number crunchers in addition to normal duty. An ecc2-109 client for a few days and rc5-72 for the last couple of days.) It is important to run full system stress inducing code on a system after doing any cooling modifications because such software causes the CPU chips to generate substantially more heat than when they sit idle. OK. I know, I know. You want to know what that box with the two fans is doing sitting on top of the EXOS. It isn’t necessary. Really. I’ve just got a lust to tinker. To test whether there was any reinduction of exhaust air I folded a piece of cardboard to duct the exhaust well beyond where it might be possible for any to flow back into the intake. This actually did make a difference of about 2 degrees C measured by the water block thermocouple - the reading on the front of the EXOS. With this duct sitting there I happened to notice that it was just the right size to fit a five inch fan into. (There were fans laying all over my desk from the prior air-cooling efforts.) And a large diameter fan running at low speed makes very little noise. So, just to see what the effect might be I put two 5in (120mm) fans in the top of the duct (with foam applied as needed for physical fit and moderate ‘air-tightness’) and powered them with a 9vdc transformer. This added an insignificant amount of noise (barely audible difference as an A/B test with them on/off), and an additional 5 degrees C reduction in water block temperature. Not needed. But, hey, cooler is always better, right ? And it will provide that much more margin for the Summer when I like the room to be about 10 degrees F warmer than it is now. [b]Epilog[/b] Well, that was fun. And it is just as fun to be actually using a computer which is over twice as fast as what I started with and provides an office environment where I have no distracting howling beasts which I just have to live with unless I want to start doing all my work on notebook class hardware. My workspace has the 1.33ghzDP Mac on the left side of the desk and a 2100+ Athlon on the right. Both water cooled. And it is the quietest work environment I’ve had in many years. [b]Final Statement[/b] OK. Now that you’ve seen this saga it should be abundantly clear to everyone that no sane person would do such a thing. I am [i]not[/i] recommending that you take any such action. [i]I am not responsible[/i] if you try any stupid stunts, even if they bear some resemblence to stupid stunts I may have performed, and damage of any sort happens to your hardware, your software, your data, your rug, your real estate, your person, or your state of mind. If you open your box, [i]anything[/i] which might happen [i]is your responsibility[/i]. Ron Gazaway Austin, TX March 5, 2003

iMac G5

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:56:25 -0700

When it came out in 1999 I bought an iMac G3/350 Blueberry. I was very happy with this machine all the years. Then some day the Modem didn't work anymore. Then some weeks ago I got an iMac DV 400 board from a friend in Sweden. He didn't know if it will work but He sent it to me anyway. I got it and put it in. And what wonder it worked!! So I have a full working and upgraded iMac now. But what to do with the board?? eBay?? No way man... But what else to do with it?? Some months ago I saw that PowerMacintosh Cube hack from a japanese guy who put a Cube Core into a self made G5 styled case. Yeah!! Thats what I want to do! One thing was to get the G3 cooled. In the iMac it is placed onto the big alloy plate. I simply bought a Pentium cooler and milled it a bit so it fits on the iMac board. [image:2209] [image:2210] After that i googled for a bit to find out how the iMac's connectors work. I found out how to connect a common Micro-ATX Power Supply and how to connect a VGA connector. Finally all the adapters were made and the machine itself worked. [image:2212] [image:2236] [image:2215] After that I tried to place the parts to get an idea how big the casing will be. [image:2211] And now for the casing itself: I used 2mm and 1mm thick Polystyrene plastic sheets. I got them in sizes of 2x1 metres from a local reseller and I use it to build accessories for my model planes and dioramas. [image:2213] [image:2214] Then I placed the mainboard inside it and built the case around it. [image:2216] [image:2217] Another thing were the perforated front- and back covers. Luckily i had a piece of perforated stainless steel plate that I used as a template. This way 2x half an hour of drilling and the holes were done! [image:2237] [image:2218] After that I glued it in place. [image:2219] To bend the cover around the round edges I used one of my special tools... [image:2220] Here is the back cover. [image:2238] Before i could have glued it in place i needed to make the housing for the connectors. [image:2239] Then the rear cover took its place. [image:2221] [image:2222] And then the handles were made. Because Polystyrene isn't very strong I needed to make an understructure. [image:2223] [image:2224] After that it started to look complete (from the outside) [image:2225] [image:2226] The inside only a bit... [image:2227] Then came the hard part... All the gaps were filled and the whole outside was sanded with water and waterproof sanding paper... [image:2228] A very dirty work! [image:2229] After that I gave it to a friend who painted it with a 2 component pure white Polyurethane paint. After some days I got it back and that's how it looked like: [image:2230] Then I put all the parts together. [image:2231] The only thing thats still missing is a chrome Apple on both sides. And here we are! An iMac G5: [image:2232] [image:2233] To show the size I put it beside a G4/400. Its very small and light. Why don't we get such a machine from Apple?????? [image:2234] And that's me on our April MUG (Mac User Group) meeting. [image:2235] What else to say? I really enjoyed to built this machine. It's very cool to make such things with your own hands! My iMac is still in use. That the Modem doesn't work doesn't bother me. It's Ethernet still works... Thanks for visiting me here!!! I hope you enjoyed this little adventure... :)

My Franken-Mac - A G4's Transformation

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:55:52 -0700

[center][thumb:1902][/center] [center][i]Click to enlarge[/i][/center] I must first say that I am a Switched PC User. I bought an iBook off of a friend because I was interested in OSX. I then wanted a Mac that I could edit Final Cut Pro on, because I was using Adobe Premier on a PC and I wanted to make the transition. I bought this G4 466 Digital Audio on ebay, figuring that I would upgrade as funds became available. The first thing that I did was up the ram from 128meg to 1.5 gig, and add an 80 gig hard drive to the 30 that was already in it. I then bought a Lacie DVD Burner to replace the CDR, and Panther upgraded Jaguar. The third step meant moving the 30 gig Hard Drive to a firewire box and adding a second 80 gig drive. Step four was the addition of a 1.33 gig processor, and a third 100 gig hard drive. Step Five was moving the internals to a new ATX case. The case transfer was very easy because I decided to keep everything that I could, and work on making it fit in the acrylic case. If you notice, I used the original power board and drilled holes into the side panel and connected it using standoffs. The power button was simply "super glued" to the case wall. I never worked with acrylic before, but I found it pretty easy. Naturally the motherboard mounts were for a PC, but I was able to redrill holes and move the mounts to the correct location. (Someone ought to make a template that would show the exact place to redrill while aligning the PCI and AGP slots where they ought to be.) The Acrylic case that I bought came with more that enough hardware to mount things like the speaker, airport antenna, and power button. The only thing that made me somewhat nervous was adding a LED fan to the inside of the power supply. While it wasn't hard, I heard stories of a charged capacitor blowing people's hands off. I went to ebay and bought all the lighted goodies, and as of now I am still waiting for some of them to come in. I would like to figure out a way to make acrylic handles for the top and bottom, and give this case a "clear g5" look . Like I said, I think that it went very easy, but I must say that I have been building PCs for 10 years. I never knew that there were websites available like this one, and so many after-market upgrades out there for Macs. Once I found them, I was able to make my Mac into a Franken-Mac. [center][thumb:1899] [thumb:1901] [thumb:1900][/center]

Blue Ice G4

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:37:38 -0700

By Kent Salas [center][image:1403][/center] [b]Welcome to "Project: BlueIce G4" - the begining[/b] Project BlueIce G4 first started as a concept I had shortly after I saw the first iMac released by Apple a few years ago. I thought color customizing was cool but what if I wanted another color to match my current mood and I didn't want to buy half-a-dozen Macs to do it? Then I thought, what if you could make the make the case light up with a certain color, you could just change the color via bulbs or even a switch. Hmmm, eww moodMac. A year passed and I started to see a few Mac Modifications that were pretty kewl. Like drive light, case mods. Then I started to see PCs modded with window cases, blow holes, custom LEDs, Neon lights, etc. After I saw a web site, editthispage.com, where a guy made the case skins clear on a G4. I started to put some ideas together. The following is a "Sum Up" version of what I did to my friends G4. Yes, a friends Mac G4! With the understanding of course, I screw it up, I bought it ;-) I was going to buy just a G4 case for obvious reasons but found most cases costing upwards of $400 to $500 dollars! I could almost buy a refurb G4 for a couple of hundred dollars more. And yes I did check ebay but did not find the digital audio G4 case listed. I would also like to say I have never "Mod'ed" a computer before and know very little about electrical formulas and components. Most of what I did was borrow ideas from other peoples mod's and apply them to my own. And before I get started please do not use the following as an "official" guide to mod'ing your own equipment, I am not responsible for any unique and undesired results from your own mods, that's why I used my friends ;-) [center][thumb:1401,middle] The Subject: A 533Mhz G4, time to plan and prepare.[/center] Now, lets start the project . . . [hr] [b]"Project: BlueIce G4" Page 1 - preparation[/b] I decided to turn my friend's G4 into a see-thru "BlueIce G4" with blue neon, cathode ray and LED lights. Before I began I figured out what I would need to complete this mod. Some things I picked up or made sure I had were: [b]1. Basic tools[/b] (i.e. screw drivers, standard, phillips, hex wrench, wire cutters, sharp knife - careful! I sliced my finger real good, band-aids for sliced finger, exacto knife, dremel, drill, hand saw-which sucked). [b]2. Electrical tools[/b] (voltage meter reader, metal tape, 12 volt battery, alligator clips, soldering iron, soder [b]3. Mod items[/b] (neon light-blue, cold cathode light-blue, LEDs - varity all blue, usb 5 port 3.5 internal bay bus, toshiba R1102 cd-rw/dvd drive, 4 molex y-connectors, heat shrink tubing, switches). [b]4. Other hardware/items[/b] (91% alcohol - 4 regular bottles, 1 ripped up wash cloth, q-tips, 12 inch ruler, latex gloves - I know what yer thinkin). [b]5. Below[/b] I included some links/info of where I purchased some of the items for this mod. [center][thumb:1395,middle] Inside the 533Mhz G4, grab a screw driver and start pulling components.[/center] [hr] [b]"Project: BlueIce G4" Page 2 - dismantle[/b] When I took each part out of the G4 I put notes on a sticky referring to it. I did because everytime I have worked on something whether it be the vacuum cleaner or my car I always end up with extra screws/parts left over :-\ After I pulled all the pieces/components out of the G4 to get the the bare chassis. I started planning my mod attack. Hmm would a window go good here or here, can I put one here or here. Let me say the G4 is engineered very "tight" and I had to triple check my locations for window holes and placements for lights and wires and such. It's not at all like the PC cases where you can practically slap a window mod anywhere. Time to put my measurements into action. Onward . . . [center][thumb:1395,middle] Inside the 533Mhz G4, grab a screw driver and start pulling components.[/center] [center][thumb:1394,middle] Every component I pulled I marked with notes on a sticky. Yes, that is a Power Computing Mac clone in the background.[/center] [center][thumb:1404,middle] The bare chassis/skelton of the G4. Time to measure and mark what I will cut and drill. BTW, no, I do not have a work bench, hench "the bed" :-\[/center] [hr] [b]"Project: BlueIce G4" Page 3 - surgery[/b] First, I started on the case covers. I put the case covers on a black towel in my bath tub and poured the alcohol into the inside letting it pool in the middle and soaking the cloths on the edges. While the case covers were soaking I started to cut the G4 chassis with my pre-determined measurements. I first tried a hand/hack saw but went through 3 busted blades. I then switched over to a dremel which was slow going but more accurate and met my desired results. If you go the dremel route make sure you wear eye protection as tiney metal pieces fly everywhere. After going though 4 cutting wheels on the dremel I was done mod'ing the case with its new portal windows. I then checked on the case covers and the paint was disolving nicely. The middle of the case goes first and then the edges take a while longer with some needed help with q-tips. back to the chassis i began filing the edges of the newly dremeled G4 to prevent cuts while handling it and for esthetics. Back to check on the alcohol bathing cases. With more help with q-tips cases are now transparent, kewl! Lets see if my sticky notes will work putting it all back together . . . [center][thumb:1410,middle] The G4 case covers soking in alchohol, a long slow process.[/center] [center][thumb:1399,middle] With dremel in steady hand I let the sparks fly. I tried a hand saw but busted 3 blades before I switched to the slower, but better dremel.[/center] [center][thumb:1405,middle] After a couple of hours the paint on the inside finally starts to disolve reveling the clear cover.[/center] [center][thumb:1406,middle] The G4 chassis with the pieces I dremeled off. Time for edge sanding/filing, a vacuum and cleaning.[/center] [center][thumb:1414,middle] Back to the Bed, the G4 chassis case feels considerably lighter now.[/center] [hr] [b]"Project: BlueIce G4" Page 4 - reassemble[/b] Time to test and see if all my sticky notes worked. And luckily they did! I fixed up my lights, wired connections, etc., and final checks/installations on switches, velcro etc. I also used some chrome wire covering to clean-up/organize all the electrical mess I made inside the G4 with the newly added lights/switches and such. I installed a 3.5 inch internal 5 port usb bay bus and replaced the internal cd-rom drive with a toshiba R1102 cd-rw/dvd drive. I removed the internal speaker, who uses that thing anyways, and made it the light switch. Ready, Game On! [center][thumb:1413,middle] A few drilled holes in the front for LEDs and a power switch for the neon/cathode lights.[/center] [center][thumb:1417,middle] After I reassembled all the parts back together I viewed the sleeping BlueIce G4, kinda kewl looking at all the internal components. Now to hit the power button and finally test the mod, ready . . .[/center] [hr] [b]"Project: BlueIce G4" Page 5 - final results & links[/b] I hit the power switch and boom, half my room glows electric/icy blue. I would love to take this to work and put in my cubicle as fellow workers follow the blue beacon of light. I still have more mods and ends to complete, such as mounting the CPU fan via velcro, reducing some of the cables for the lights, changing the front usb bay hub red LEDs to blue LEDs, Getting a 3.5 inch bezel cover etc. Right now though my next mods are to illuminate the Apple Pro Keyboard blue and put a blue LED in the Logitech Mouse. Now I can even make some inserts to put inside of the case cover with specific patterns like ovals, stars, lightning bolts, etc., that light up. I also may buy some red and or ultra violet lights to see how they look in the case. Get ready for RedHot G4 and FarOut G4 baby! I have run the BlueIce G4 for two days straight with lights on and all and have not noticed any abnormal heat increases. CPU stays around 69 to 87 degrees, (No not Celsius, the other one ;-), mostly due to the surrounding room temperature. I am also planning to mod the mouse and keyboard with blue lights/LEDs. More on that later ;-) My friend is happy with the results of my mod, his G4 still works and he said he should perform a lot better when he goes to UT LAN parties now, i.e. blinds his opponents ;-) BlueIce G4 config notes: 533MHz Graphite G4 (digital audio) 1GB RAM 110GB Hard Drive space System Mac OS 9.2.2 & 10.1.1 5 port usb 3.5 bay hub cr-rw/dvd Toshiba R1102 drive Lots of blue lights Thanks for your eyes n' ears. Hopefully I can inspire some others to do some kewl mac mods! [center][thumb:1418,middle] Hit the power button and woah, this thing lights up! And most important, it boots up too ;-)[/center] [center][thumb:1409,middle] A front shot.[/center] [center][thumb:1421,middle] Open sesame, the wire covers look nice![/center] [center][thumb:1421,middle] Nother shot inside.[/center] [center][thumb:1424,middle] One more shot, k scotty beam me down now. Note: these pictures are kinda harsh, G4 glows a nice bright blue, must be the cathode tube messing with the camera's optics. Anyway you get the idea.[/center]

Lightning G3/500

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:40:02 -0700

by Alison Friedman [center][image:895][/center] I have been painting macs for quite a while now, and I decided I wanted to paint an ATX-cased mac... My friend agreed to fund the effort and buy the finished product. It had to match his current decor, and another friend requested that it be a work of art and not just colors or basic shapes... So, I decided to do a japanese-style print influenced design. It would match his current LCD and look classy in most offices. I used thick cardstock and cut out stencils for each of the colors with x-acto knives, I then used cheap Walmart enamel spray paint, and silver paint pens for the detail-work. Add a clear coat, and you're done. I chose a very inexpensive black and acrylic ATX mid-tower case from CompGeeks.com. They are local for me, so the total cost for the case, 400W power supply, LED fan, flat panel amplifier speakers, thumb screws, clear and metallic round cables, and a sound-activated blue tube light for the interior came to about $70... I then went and gathered up the components I would need. The buyer requested it run OSX well... So I found the cheapest "buy it now" rev2 yosemite board on ebay (it came with a g3/350, a rage128, and 512MB of ram) for $125. I then donated the proc to a friend and bought a g3/450 zif for $70, added a quiet CPU fan, and overclocked the jumper settings to 500. A different friend donated a radeon 7000 32MB PCI vid card to replace the rage128. I used an older 18GB ATA HD I had from a former computer. I then found a cheap compatible 52x24x52x generic burner and painted it's face black. And lastly, a friend owed me a favor and bought me the 16x48x black DVD-ROM drive (also from compgeeks). Quite a nice set of components for fairly cheap... I also intend to make one of those domed stickers for it before I deliever it to it's new home in June. It will have a small graphic similar to the full scene panel but simpler, and it will say "Lightning G3". Special thanks goes to Tim Seufert for his custom backplate, power control board, and his tutorial on how to build an ATX-cased Yosemite: [url]http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/MacinPC_ATX_case/Blue_G3_to_ATX.htm[/url] The rest of you who donated objects and funds... Thank you greatly! This was a fun and rewarding project. [center][image:898] [image:896] [image:897] [image:900] The pre-painted system. Check out the custom-painted mouse to match the pro keyboard. [image:901] I mounted a programmer's button on the inside of the case, but still easy access. [image:902] [image:899][/center]

The Tombstone Mac

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:41:35 -0700

by John McDonnell [center][image:888][/center] [b]Ingredients:[/b] [list][*]Philco Model R-90 Baby Grand Tombstone Radio (special commemorative edition) [*]Macintosh Quadra 605 motherboard overclocked to 33MHz [*]36 watt LC 475 power supply [*]36 MB RAM [*]160 MB Quantum hard drive [*]3.5" auto-eject floppy drive [*]RJ45 Ethernet PDS card [*]Original ON-OFF power switch boots computer [*]History teacher with too much time on his hands during summer break[/list] [center][thumb:891] [thumb:886] [thumb:880] [thumb:889] [thumb:882] [thumb:884][/center] [center][image:878] Alternative names: New Deal Mac | Philco Mac | Quadra '31 Thanks for looking at my contribution to the world of absurd Macintosh modifications.[/center]

Power Mac PD1

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:45:42 -0700

by Colin Kerr [center][image:869][/center] The idea of the Power Macintosh PortableDesktop is that you can have desktop power in a portable form. Needless to say this particular hack does not have the power of a desktop nor the portability of a laptop, but that said it fits along the lines of the PortableDesktop concept. The PD1 consists of a Duo 2300c motherboard, a 750 MB 2.5" IDE HD, Duo built-in keyboard, Duo minidock, and a Duo 2300c color screen (this is to be a future addition, see *below* to help me add the screen). It was constructed out of .25" plywood, .5" boards, many screws, nuts, bolts, and glue. I took no pictures during the construction so I disassembled the unit and took pictures as I reassembled it. I started by attaching the minidock, hard drive, and motherboard to the .25"-thick base. [center][thumb:874][/center] Here you can see it all attached with the sides and front added. This is the second try, the first one was about .25-.5 of an inch too narrow and far too sloppy (the front was added last in the initial construction). Also note that the top of the docking latch has been clipped to make it fit in the case. Getting the track pad and keyboard attached to the top turned out to be easier than I thought. I created two roughly identical .25" plywood panels. For the bottom layer I cut out three holes matching the keyboard's screw holes (I also clipped off all of the small plastic pieces on the bottom of the keyboard so it would lay flat) and a notch for the track pad. The top layer has a cutout to allow the keyboard to fit through and a notch for the track pad. Here you can see that the top layer has been taken off and put upside down. Also you can see the palm rest that I cut to attach the track pad to the unit. It is glued in place but all the parts can be removed in case of failure. [center][thumb:876][/center] I considered connecting the two layers but decided that it would make it to hard to open without catching the cables and too hard to replace the track pad components. Below you can see that the keyboard is held in place with three screws and washers. [center][thumb:868][/center] To get these pieces to fit properly was a pain but the final result was that the keyboard was flush with the top of the case, just like it was in the duo. The track pad button had to be cut and sanded to fit in the shortened case. As you can see below razors only cut plastic so well and my low craftsmen ability didn't help either. [center][thumb:871][/center] Next is a picture of the back of the unit, you can see all of the internals. I'm planing to add a back plate at some point but I want to add the screen first. [center][thumb:872][/center] *below* The unit measures 7.75" deep, from 2-3" high and 11.5" wide. Even though the dock has been added to the duo it is half an inch shorter than the original. Of course it's wider and taller. While arranging the pieces to make this unit so short it became obvious that the monitor cable would be too short to reach it's port. The addition of the minidock pushed the motherboard two or three inches forward under the keyboard and because of this the monitor cable must be extended about 2 or 3 inches. I have no idea how to do this without destroying the ribbon cable, any suggestions besides cutting and soddering the cable would be greatly appreciated (well actually if you have a way to sodder the cable that might work I'd love to hear it). Thanks for checking out my first hack, my next hack is yet another wedge shaped computer, but it's going to be much different - think hacked vertical cdrom drive (hacked but not snazzy) mp3/cd-player/macintosh.

The K'nexintosh 8100

Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:09:03 -0800

by Jason Anderson [center] The idea for the K'nexintosh started in Applefritter Forums when a poster named K-hack posted his PC which he had encased in K'nex. We discussed it and I decided to create my own from a Macintosh. I started with a Macintosh IIci, but the design didn't work. So when I recieved an 8100, I realized it would make a much better K'nexintosh... It wasn't that hard to build and I had a bunch of K'nex so I started out. I started with the Mother Board support and then base and built upwards from there creating shelves for the HD's and then Floppy while leaving room for the PDS video card. (Which I don't use, but it's there in case. I guess I could remove it and get a G3 card, but why bother? I don't want melted K'nex.) Then topped it off and put the CD drive on top and boxed it in. [center] I tried a few ideas at first and tried to place a 40MB SCSI Removable drive in there, but unfortunately after all the work getting the SCSI cables to reach it turned out the drivers conflicted with OS 9, so I bagged that idea and stuck to only one drive on top. The 8100 has two SCSI busses. One contains the two 1.88 GB IBM 1.5" thick HD's (You can see the SCSI cable hanging down in that shot) and the other is for the CD (And maybe in the future whatever other drive I find). The HD's have a problem where if they even TOUCH metal they short out. And since the space between the connectors on the ribbon cable are EXACTLY the thickness of the HD's I have to keep them separated with a yellow rod. [center] This is the left. You can see the Power Source here. It's big. You'll also notice the HD's and long SCSI cable. [center] Here's the back! Layed out about the same as the original case, but still easier to open. Nothing interesting here. Only that it was lucky that the grey connector went between the monitor port and Serial port so well. [center] Here is the right side. This is where the MotherBoard is. You can see the HD's and Floppy on the left, the CD and speaker on top. And the wire and power LED above the Floppy. [center] One final shot. The top. There's the speaker and the original AppleCD 300i CD drive. You'd think having a case made of K'nex it'd be easy to upgrade or swap out parts, but it's not. It seems every time I take a part out, the case goes back together with extra pieces left over..

iBox

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:49:46 -0700

by Jay Cline I bought a 233mhz Rev. A iMac with a blown video board. Here is the result of putting the iMac internals into a PC mini tower case. It's shown running System 10.1 on the external Apple monitor. The iBox has a 20 gig hard drive and 288 megs of RAM. The computer is used as a backup server for client computers. There are three lights on the front, red, yellow, green to go along with System 10. The idea behind this was to do it as cheaply and simply as possible. The PC case was purchased at a local Goodwill store for $1.98. [center][image:856][/center] This simple case hack was done using spare parts found in my garage and by no means do I consider it to be high quality hack. I used the iMac power supply and just bolted it inside the case as shown from this top view photo. The fan shown is one of two, the other is in the front of the case. It runs 24 hours a day and the processor doesn't get as hot as it did in the iMac case. [center][image:854][/center] [center][image:853][/center] Here's a view of the mount for the iMac logic board and external video connector. The power button on the front of the case is wired into the iMac power button and the iMac speakers are mounted to the bottom of the case. Power for the three lights on the front of the case is taken from the power connector for the hard drive. [center][image:855][/center] Here's a view from the back. I consider it a crude hack but it gets the job done and allows the iMac to live again. [center][image:852][/center] Here's a pix of an early prototype to see how everything would fit and to determine what I could leave out. I found a CD ribbon cable that would allow me to mount the CD drive in the front of the case. Cutting out the mount for the CD bezel was the hardest part of this simple case hack.

Macintosh LCIIIgs

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:51:56 -0700

by Ben Rees, Sam Bowerman, and Tom Bowerman [center][image:841][/center] Ben Rees came up with the idea of making this hack. He had an Apple IIgs in which the power supply had died, and a Mac LCIII (that worked and everything). Ben brought it to Sam and Tom (Bowerman)'s house, having already gotten the Mac motherboard installed in the IIgs case. Ben fastened the Mac LCIII motherboard to the bottom of the chassis of the IIgs case with screws along the edges. [center]This is what it looks like when installed:[/center] [center][image:844][/center] To accommodate for the ports on the back, Ben did some major cutting on the back of the computer. Also, a fan (out of an old Tandy) was added. [center][image:850][/center] Then, Sam began making a place for the floppy drive. Since there were no internal drives in the IIgs, he had to make a hole in the case for one. Ben had started making the floppy drive slot - he drilled holes and make a basic cut with a hacksaw. Sam finished Dremeling out a slot big enough for the disk to easily be inserted and ejected, as well as be able to reach the emergency eject lever in case a disk was ever to become jammed in. [center]Here is Sam Dremeling out the floppy drive:[/center] [center][image:839][/center] While Ben and Sam were working on the floppy drive, Tom (Bowerman) was hard at work soldering 'extension' wires onto the power supply to make them longer. (The wires on an LC 'pizza box' power supply are quite short.) [center]Here is Tom soldering away at the wires:[/center] [center][image:847][/center] The next step was to install the hard drive. Tom used a longer SCSI cable (from a Mac II) so that the hard drive could be put just about anywhere in the case. It was finally put sideways in the left-front corner of the case. Next, a bunch of holes were drilled in the front of the case for the speaker grille. Tom installed the hard drive, and Ben and Sam worked on getting the floppy drive installed. The floppy drive in this particular LCIII was the older, auto-inject type. This made it easier to take the drive apart, by separating the outer 'cage' from the actual drive made it easier to work on a mounting system. Sam decided that 'hanging' the floppy drive from the top of the case would work best. This was done by drilling holes in the case and into the outer cage of the floppy drive, then using some machine screws to hold it to the plastic case. Now was a good time to give everything a test run, to make sure everything was still OK. The Mac booted up fine, so work continued. [hr] Sam came up with the idea of giving this Mac a custom paint job, so the Mac was dismantled again. The paint job began with a base coat of black on the top part of the case. The black was allowed to dry, while Sam and Ben pondered on what other paintwork to do. They decided upon light blue racing stripes on the top, and for the bottom half, it was to be chrome silver. Sam masked off the black and sprayed 2 stripes about 2" wide and about 2" apart. This was allowed to dry. [hr] [center]The top half of the case after the stripes were painted on:[/center] [center][image:840][/center] [center]To give it a high-gloss shine, clear acrylic was sprayed on:[/center] [center][image:848][/center] The bottom half of the LCIIIgs was painted chrome silver. Finally, the clearcoat on the top half dried after about an hour wait. It was time to put this thing together. The floppy drive was fastened to the upper case half. Cables were connected. Finally, the case was put together, closed up, and it was time to take it for an official test run! [center]The Mac LCIIIgs shortly before its first test drive: [image:843] Some more pics of the Apple Macintosh LCIIIgs: [image:845] [image:846] [image:850][/center] Here is the crew who built the Mac LCIIIgs (from l-r): Ben Rees(holding the Mac), Tom Bowerman, and Sam Bowerman. [center][image:849][/center] Since it was built, a second hard drive was added. It was mounted in the top of the case beside the floppy drive, and a SCSI ribbon cable out of a Power Mac 6100 was used to connect them. Some specs of the Mac LCIIIgs: [list] [*]25 MHz 68030 processor [*]8 MB RAM [*](2) 80 MB internal SCSI hard drives [*]1.44 MB auto-inject floppy drive [*]512K VRAM [*]Mac OS 7.6.1 installed [/list]

Shop Mac

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 12:53:18 -0700

by Justin Campbell [b]Question:[/b] What does an 8 Gallon Shop Vac, and an Apple B&W G3 have in common? [b]Answer:[/b] Nothing! :) This case took about 10 hours of labor to create. Why did I do it? Good question... I think I just wanted to do something a little different with my B&W G3. [b]Here's my system specs:[/b] [list][*]Apple Revision 1 Motherboard [*]G3 350MHz CPU [*]128MB of PC100 [*]40gig Maxtor DiamondPlus HD [*]10x Toshiba Slot-Load DVD [*]6x/4x/24x Ricoh CD-RW [*]Rage128 w/DVD [*]Voodoo3 2000 PCI [/list] [b]Step 1[/b] Well seeing that I didn't have any plans to follow, I decided to compare what I had and brainstorm a little... [center][thumb:835] [thumb:817] [thumb:819][/center] As you can see, I had a lot of work ahead of me :). So I began by gutting the Shop Vac and the Mac, laying out all the pieces on my kitchen table. The first thing I had to do was install the CD-ROM Drives, and HD. I decided that these parts were going to have to be put on the bottom as I found that the motherboard would not lay flat in the case due to its size. [b]Step 2[/b] Well on to cutting the CD-ROM openings... [center][thumb:821][/center] [i](One quick note... When cutting plastic using a Body Saw, use a coarse blade. As I found the blade heats up and melts the plastic you're cutting back together...)[/i] I don't have a picture of the HD installation, but it's mounted using the 3 1/2" to 5 1/4" Drive adapters directly underneath the CD-ROM's. That way I can just use (2) Pieces of Sheet Metal to bind the CD-ROM's to the HD brackets (which is screwed into the bottom of the case). [b]Step 3[/b] Now on to the motherboard installation... This wasn't too hard to do, but a couple things I had to consider ([i]below[/i]): [center][thumb:823] [thumb:825] [thumb:828][/center] CD-ROM's are metal, therefore you have to cover the bottom of the motherboard before you lay it in the case. Also VGA Cables don't have as much give to them as USB or Network Cables, so you will have to cut openings out for them. Cooling is a must in a case like this, but that's easy to install. :) In the center of the case is a Gamma Blower from Radio Shack. It's pointed down to help get air to the HD. The other fan is blowing air out to assist the power supply that's going behind it. [b]Step 4[/b] Next was the power supply installation. This was a little tricky to figure out, but it's a practical solution. I orginally wanted to install it into the motor housing on the top of the case, but due to size limitations I couldn't. So that in turn became the new home of the Front Panel. [center][thumb:830][/center] The power supply is fastened to the lid using 2 screws that I pre-drilled into the power supply. I'm glad mac power supplies have open cavities in them for a little 1/4" screw to penitrate. [b]Step 5[/b] Now it's just a matter of hooking up the wires/misc cabling. Here's some shots of what the final product looks like. I have some decals in the works, but for now the Shop Vac ones will have to work. [center][b]Shop Vac + Mac = Shop Mac :)[/b][/center] [center][thumb:832] [thumb:808] [thumb:810] [thumb:812] [thumb:814][/center]

LC Cube

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 13:00:40 -0700

By Reino Basile [center][image:804][/center] Apple's new G4 Cube inspired me to produce a similar machine, and this is the result - the LC Cube. It even has a vertically mounted floppy drive which spits out disks in the same toaster-like fashion as the G4 Cube. The LC Cube is built around an LC II logic board I salvaged from the rubbish heap of a Mac wrecker. It sports a 16MHz '030 CPU and has been maxed out to 10MB of RAM. The front panel has an illuminated electric oven-style On/Off switch and a hard disk activity LED. The long slot in the top of the Cube's case is for the floppy drive, and the circular hole is where I installed a small fan. [center][image:800][/center] The case of the machine is made out of plywood, but I intentionally left two of the sides detached so that the insides of the machine can be easily accessed. Two 90-degree brackets are attached at the front left and rear right of the case so that the 2 panels can slide off when the top is removed. The picture below shows the Cube with its insides exposed. [center][image:803][/center] The power supply also came from an LC, so I had to extend wires out of the PSU to get them to reach the front where the On/Off switch is mounted. The pic below shows the ports on the back of the machine, along with one of the brackets that holds the removable side panel in place. [center][image:805][/center] Finally, here's a picture of the LC Cube in operation (next to an Apple 12" display), along with a little Quicktime ad I made. Check it out - it's very Apple! [center][image:802][/center]

Red Rocket

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 13:45:51 -0700

by Mark Fisher [center][image:791][/center] Unlike many of the other cases I have made, this one is made from scratch. I started with 1/8�? aluminum welded together into the box shape and lid. I sanded it with an orbital sander and coarse grit sandpaper to give it a matte finish and then had it anodized red. I like the anodizing, but it isn’t cheap. I used stainless steel piano hinge for the lid. [center][image:793][/center] Up front we have a CDRW and a DVD drive, painted silver to go along with the theme. It’s got one LED for power and one for disk activity. The rocket on the front is made from polished aluminum. The “Blast-Off�? button is illuminated and takes the place of the logic board power button. The handles are off of some old HP test equipment, I like their look, and they are practical too. [center][image:795][/center] On the inside, I started with a logic board from a 7300 and then added a Sonnet Crescendo G3/300 upgrade card. Filling up the PCI slots are a video card, a USB card and a SCSI card. [center][image:797][/center] I think I’d like to try another aluminum computer, maybe in a more unconventional shape. Looks like a logic board from a G4 cube should be easy to work with, if anybody knows where to get one cheap, please let me know. I’d like to thank many wonderful people at the Exploratorium for help with this one, particularly Bruce, Gary and Mose.

Pinbot

Sun, 06 Jun 2004 13:10:02 -0700

by Mark Fisher [center][image:777][/center] I made this computer for my wife; it's my craziest one yet. The big green buttons on the front are Function keys, programmable using Quickeys. The big red button is power and the restart button is the restart button. It has so many lights, I decided to name it after an old favorite pinball machine: Pinbot. [center][image:787] [image:775][/center] I found this case on a junk heap. It had formerly been some kind of custom motor controller, when I found it is was jam-packed with wire wrap circuit boards. All the buttons and switches are original and so is the labeling on the front. [center][image:783] [image:781][/center] On the inside: the logic board is of unknown origin, but it has a 160 MHz 603ev processor and it has an edge connector all along one side like that of a 6400. It has an ATA hard disk and SCSI CD ROM drive, I had to make some custom ribbon cable extenders to make it all work right. I hacked an AppleDesign membrane keyboard and took the circuit board out of it to allow the green buttons to act as Function keys. [center][image:779][/center] On the outside: the finish is sandblasted aluminum, a technique I am experimenting with for a bigger and crazier project still in the works. The pattern next to the CD drive and my initials in the back were made by masking the original shiny aluminum before sandblasting. The lighted nameplate was made in a similar way by blasting a piece of Plexiglas. I gave the outside a thin coat of Penetrol to protect it. The patterns on the green buttons are botanical drawings of my wife's choosing (she just got her M.Sc., good job), printed onto transparencies and then placed inside the button. On top is the original Simpson hour meter showing how long the machine has run. [center][image:785][/center] A picture of it in action, including external HD, zip drive, modem and Palm cradle.