mac classic lcd screen price

There are only 4 screws on the back of the Classic II that hold the case together. Two on the bottom near the ports, and two on the top near the built in handle. Removal of the two near the handle require a longer tool to reach in the deep sockets. Once the screws are removed, it was a little difficult prying the front panel from the rear. I am not sure if it is designed that way or if it was the age of the plastic. Essentially the internals are mounted on a frame and screwed to the front panel, so the back is just a cover.

I searched around and found others who have done a similar mod. There are really no high definition panels out there in this small of a size. I suppose an iPad mini with retina display at 7.9 inches would be high resolution, but good luck finding a driver for it. The best I could find was 8.0 inches at 1024x768. There are plenty of 800x600, but I wanted the best I could find. I could not find anything between 8 and 9, as 8.7 would have been optimal. The 1994 Color Classic had a 10" CRT with 512x384 resolution. The Classic II had 9" monochrome CRT 512x342. My mod has a smaller screen and 4x the pixels.

The screen I chose was off eBay, a kit with LVDS driver board. When I received it, initially it worked great, then it fizzled out. I think it was a bad driver board, so I ordered a separate replacement, and it failed to work as well. I then thought it was possibly the screen so I ordered a 2nd screen. The 2nd one was dim, so I ordered a 3rd screen. Still dim, so ordered a 3rd board, different design. Screen one was confirmed dead, screen 2 and 3 worked fine with board 3. Lots of waste on this project, SMH.

The driver board supports multiple inputs (VGA, HDMI, composite 1 and 2). There are on screen controls to adjust the typical LCD monitor and the original controller came with an IR remote as well as a control panel. The 3rd driver board did not have the IR sensor mounted, so I stole it from the first fried controller. Since the original Classic II had tube monitor adjustments hidden on the rear behind a detachable panel, I thought that was the ideal place to put this screen control panel as well. I had to design and 3D print an interface panel, and figure out how to mount it, and then cut out a hole for it in the back case. I could not see the button icons when printed in black, so I printed them in white for the contrast. The internal VGA out from the GT730 drives the LCD VGA input. The HDMI input is directed to the rear panel so this Classic II can be used as an external monitor (just a pure goofy effect). The HDMI from the GT730 goes to the rear panel so you can drive an external monitor with this Hackintosh (think HTPC in the living room, or large desktop monitor).

A few months ago, I wrote about my experience in rehabilitating a derelict Mac SE/30. It was an immensely satisfying project, but ultimately, not fully realized as I could not find a replacement SE/30 logic board to plug in. Some time passed, and the Mac sat on my desk, patiently awaiting its resurrection.

To be sure, it was a crazy idea, but I’m not one to shy away from a challenge. I had seen videos of other compact Macs kitted out with LCD displays, but many of the solutions required permanently modifying the front bezel of the Mac. What I wanted was a simple, reversible method to couple a color LCD to the Mac SE/30, while simultaneously having the SE/30 house my 2018 Mac mini and its assorted drives.

The acrylic frame and mounting bracket was designed for the purpose of installing an iPad mini inside a compact Mac case. Designed by Trav DeRose, this kit consists of a rectangular bracket that fits perfectly into the CRT mount holes on the Mac SE/30’s front bezel, along with two vertical supports to secure the display in place. Customers must provide their own screws and bolts to assemble the kit. To get to the front bezel, I removed all the guts of the Mac SE/30, which includes the CRT, analog board, power supply and floppy drive cage. (Fret not, I have all the original parts tucked away safely.)

I also wanted to see if the Mac mini would fit inside the SE/30’s chassis. It was nearly a perfect fit! It was at this point I felt confident that everything would come together.

The biggest variable in this project was the display. I initially bought a TOGUARD portable 7″ display, but it was disappointing, to say the least. The display was bulky, the picture was not sharp, and the controls were garbage unintuitive. I’ll save you some time and tell you that the Pimoroni 8″ IPS LCD is the one you’ll want. Not only does the Pimoroni 8″ LCD fit perfectly inside the confines of the compact Mac, but it has a really nice, sharp picture, with a detached LCD menu that gives you flexibility during your install. This display has been a popular choice for Raspberry Pi enthusiasts, since its 4:3 aspect ratio makes it perfectly sized for the Pi’s arcade game emulation capabilities.

The display includes a small, thin ribbon cable that will need to be connected to the display driver board. The power cable includes a micro USB connector that powers the display driver. The display’s menu buttons also attach to the driver board via a thin ribbon cable. After plugging everything up, I did a quick “fire in the hole” test by connecting the display to my MacBook Pro. Once I confirmed that the display was working, I moved onto mounting it into the SE/30’s front bezel. (Don’t forget to remove the screen protector!)

Finding a proper place for the display’s menu buttons was a bit of a challenge. I settled on securing it to one of the Mac SE/30’s chassis mounts. It’s not a great location, but it is accessible and does the job.

With the display installed it was time to test it out. Initially the color and brightness of the display were lacking. After some adjustments to contrast, brightness, and saturation, there were slight improvements. The big improvement to picture quality came when I applied the Rec.709 Gamma 2.4 color profile in the macOS Display control panel.

My first premise: Conservate all components of the Mac Classic, don´t break anything, or alterate something that has no reverse gear. I have saved all original components, and lets go to start with it. Who knows, maybe 10 years from now I get to mount the Vintage Macintosh again.

When the Macintosh arrived, I see that the color is very... yellow... . Yes, its a machine with more than 30 years old, and formerly the cases of these Computer are make with a bromine compound, to act as a fire retardant...curious, but with years, its provocate this color on these components (Computer, keyboard, mouse, etc... ). I searched on the WEB, and find a method that call RETROBRIGHT, there are a lot of technies to apply them (you can find it in google too), but I applied the one that i Read the mosts positive comments, and the less complicated method for me.

My Proccess: 3 days of apply the product and 8 hours per day in the Sun (the was no bright sun, they were somewhat cloudy days). Some days, I wrapped the Macinstosh with transparent paper, but my recommendation is no use this paper, because this make me some stain on the plastic. And for that, I applied some days more the proccess, so that they would disappear as much as possible. With these word, I wanted to tell you that this proccess exists, and I obtained a very good results, but not a perfect result. Constantly monitor the proccess result, dont leave the product in the sun, and return when the 8 hours pass.

Later, i washed very well the Macinstosh, with a non-abrasive sponge, and a neutral soap. Dry very well with a soft cloth, and the next day, when its dry completely, I applied a special lacquer (as a UV protector, to delay the reapperance of the yellowish color... yes, that color will return after a time, hopefully many years). Here the lacquer I use (glossy finish).

My Model is Apple Design Keyboard and Mouse. They have some Yellow color like Macintosh, but with some retrobright session (more easily process than other), them looks perfectly. I clean all the internal pieces, dismount everything, and clean with Isopropyl alcohol. Here you are a photo of them (you can see the difference between the photos of the first post):

First, I tried to put one more modern Keyboard, but the connector of this machine is ADB (Apple Device Bus), and i thought that its a PS2 connector... bad luck. For a looking on Google, I found some cable, but so expensive, and finally, I learned that ADB is the identical that a S-VIDEO connector. And you can find a lot of cheap offers of S-VIDEO connectors, I bought one and mounted (sold require). For this model of keyboard, the wire is directly connect to his motherboard, other model have an individual wire... .

I think that it was a correct decisión, because I wanted use it for Music, Games (I am not a full gamer), Video, and something else... . And because the Macinstosh Classic is an original machine, I wanted use the original component for Raspberry (I bought too some fun details, that I mush show you later

First: When I bought the Macintosh, I believed that screen is broken. Consequently, I want to take advantage of the CRT Crystal, for make my own new Screen (insert a LCD, maybe 7-8 inch into de CRT Crystal). I saw some videos for people that cut the original CRT Crystalwith a Dremel (with a diamond edge), and I thought that it maybe be a good decision. But when I managed to fix the original Macintosh, I discard this option, because as I have already told us,I want to keep the original parts instact.

Second: From discard the first option... I decided to include aLCD monitor behind the monitor case. Originally, the Macintosh Classic have a 9 inch 4:3 format Monitor (more info here, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Classic), but when I use it, I saw that the monitor have a black overscan. The people that make a similar project, includes a LCD for 8 inch (most popular in store), but I want to aproach the maximun of the hole for the monitor. I discart the option for a LCD with too much overscan).

Third (and finally): I want a really good Screen, because honestly, it will be the most eye-catching for the project. After some WEB analizyng, I decided to buy this option: https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/hdmi ... t-1024x768, a 10 INCH SCREEN 4:3 FOMAT for PIMORONI. I thought too for the Screen LCD for IPAD, but it was to much expensive, and I read that have some dificults to configure and install.

- The screen (with his frame) is bigger than the hole for the monitor. But I think and search a lot for make a solution. You can config the Overscan for your PI, to displace the screen image. I will explain this step in the furure.

- The Hole is curve: The original Macintosh have a CRT curve monitor, and the LCD is flat, I want to resolve this for make a beatifull finish. Some people put the monitor behind, and ignore de the curve (badly finish for me), but I found a person that make a 3D frame for this project, to hide this curve between the LCD and the Case. Here I bring yoy the URL for this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3551263 (I printed it with a good quality material). I reuse the original up screw for the Macintosh, to hold the screen well. Here the detail of the finish:

- Protection the LCD Panel: I bought a transparent acrylic panel (1mm thickness), and with that, make the LCD protection, and a structure to put the mainboard for the screen (some similar like a view for the PICADE projoect, that mount this screen). In summary and iin order: Front Case, 3DBezel, Acrylic, Screen, Acryclic. Here the structure with acrylic panel:

Finally, the results for me is very very good. But I"m still giving it a spin, for aproach all the hole size (now I have a besel of 2-3 mm that not have image). To do this, I want to rotate the Screen image, because the original orientation of the screen, dificult me the project. Even so, i like so much. The detail for the actual overscan (that i want to fix later):

I said every times, that I want to conservate the original structure for the Macintosh, and for that, I thought to make a steal real panel, similar of the original motherboard of the Macintosh. WIth this, I can use the can use the same mechanism to anchor the steal rear panel. 1mm thickness steal panelspecifically. Hera some photos:

I want to put the power on/off button outsite de case of the Macinstosh. First I thought to use the left side button for the Macintosh, to push the Pi button power, but its very delicate, and discarded this option.

Then, the longitude for the original button power cable for the PI was so short, and its dificult to distribute the PI inside the Macintosh. I tried to use and extension cable(Male USB-C - Female USB-C) for make a solution for it, but these option lose some power for the PI, and the system became unstable.

When I connect the PI to the Screen, and all the other connect for all connector, I saw that the PI Screen start to blink, I analize the power of the PI, and read that all USB connector can give a power of 1200 mA (total). And that is insuficient for all my connected device:

The solution, I use a whole for the rear panel to put and extra USB (Female), who are connect directly to the power of the Screen (with an mobile power adapter). Then I have the enought energy for all the connector.

Distribution (Left to Right on the image): Power On/Off Button - USB 2.0 for Screen Power - Pi Power Connector - HDMI Second Screen Connector - One free hole - ADB Connector - Jack Audio Connector.

Bonus: I put an USB 3.0 Connector on the front of the Macintosh, in the hold of the Disket. The truth is that it is very concealed, and it is very useful.

Its the moment to tell us how I connect a vintage Macintosh Keyboard&Mouse, to a moder PC, Raspberry or similar. First, I thougth to buy a new keyboard for this project, but when I searches about similar project, I read something about some people that came to live his old Mac Keyboards. There is an ADB-USB Adapter that can help you to do it. I found various alternative on google, but for me its important 2 things:

I have never worked with Raspberry PI until this project. So, I read a lot about which OS to install. In this proccess, I found a posibility to install a OS, that emulated the appearance of MacOS... a Macintosh Classic from 30 years ago, with an actuallyOS...this sound good.

I decided to install Twistter OS, this is a very good OS for Raspberry (only for PI 4), that you can emulated the OS for Macos, Linux, or Windows... . Here you can download it, and read more about (https://twisteros.com/). The WEB have a DISCORD support too, that work very good (I solve some problems with it).

Here you can see the MacOS Desktop config, with the Apple Toolbar and Icon, it looks great. Switch Desktop theme is very simple, you only will to select the one you want, and Twister confir all for you (in next reboot).

You know that I put a big Screen on my Macintosh Classic (10 inch), and I make a solution for center the image, this function calls overscan on PI World.

2. Config your overscan parameter: You can edit the file /boot/config.conf (pi is my user, you must replace it in the url). Here is mine configuration, but remember that I put my Screen reverse (phisicaly):

I also configure a new personalize Splash Image for the boot sequence os the PI, something like new and old Macintosh computer, with the two logos, that I make with Procreate (Ipad Pro). If you see with detail, you can see some Easter Egg for Raspberry PI too

I have mixed opinions about this "Color Classic". For me, the heart of a Mac, that which makes it a particular Mac, is the motherboard. Replace it with another motherboard and you have, at heart, another Mac.

To be sure, the case and, especially in this case, the monitor are a part of what make it a Colour Classic. It looks good, it is practical but it is neither fish nor flesh. But then, I also am happy to use CF cards to boot my PM G3 MT and I am happy to use accelerators to make the Mac much faster. Hmmmm.

This fellow (gal?) has put a lot of work into renovating old Macs. I do like what he has done with his other Macs but he is not aiming at us. I don"t really know whom his target sellers are. Investors want something as mint as possible. Those who used them in years gone by probably already have one by now and, while these people could afford one of his macs, I"m not sure as to whether you"d spend a couple of thousand on upgraded nostalgia.

The Color Classic was pretty shite as a computer. The Color Classic II was a good one, but Apple decided Americans and Canadians wouldn’t be allowed to have them. There were several crippled/hobbled models of Macintosh Apple would have been much better off having never made – or not deliberately sabotaging their hardware capabilities.

Apple made the IIsi with one small bank of RAM soldered to the mainboard, and one bank of SIMM sockets. Not a bad idea for a lower cost model based on the IIci. But then they had its built in video use main RAM for video RAM, and made it have to alternate access to Bank A between the CPU and Video. The IIsi RAM Muncher extension was written to use up all the non-video space in Bank A to do nothing so that whenever the system checked for needing CPU access to Bank A it would instantly get handed back to video. The other dumb thing Apple did to the IIsi was use the same PDS connection on the SE30, IIci, and IIsi, but have each of the three incompatible so addon cards would have to be specifically designed for each model or use an adapter. The aftermarket settled on making adapters for many of the 68030 Macs to the IIci PDS.

The LC, the only Mac to use the 68020 CPU, was hard limited to only being able to use up to 10 megabytes RAM, 2 megabytes soldered plus two 30 pin slots for a pair of 4 meg SIMMs. Despite that and other limitations (such as the lack of a math coprocessor socket and running a 32bit CPU on a 16 bit bus), it had 256K of dedicated VRAM, which could be upgraded to 512K. The LC II was a slightly tweaked LC. It had a 68030, still on 16 bit bus. Same deal with VRAM as the LC. It supported an FPU, but that used the PDS. Fortunately, like with the IIsi, several expansion cards came with an FPU, but that made upgrades like network cards more expensive if you wanted one with an FPU. Still had the same 10 meg RAM limit but had 4 meg soldered so to get to 10 meg, 12 meg had to be installed. The computer just ignored 2 meg of RAM.

The most crippled Macintosh ever was the Mac TV. They took a Performa AV and made it awful. Max RAM was 8 megs, at a time when 16 meg *minimum* was becoming the norm in the PC clone world. The computer display topped out at 256 colors while the TV display was capable of 32bit color, only in full screen. Single frame captures could be made from the TV tuner, video capture wasn’t possible. Why Apple didn’t just take their best 68K Performa, put it in a black case, give it a remote control, and call *that* Mac TV is a question a lot of people would love to know the answer to. Why did Apple go on and on about the “convergence” of computers and audio-visual entertainment, then made the shittiest Macintosh to champion their “convergence” machine???

Here’s a list of Apple gear that could have and should have been better, though not updated since 2014 https://lowendmac.com/2014/road-apples-second-class-macs/

The Macintosh Classic was a personal computer produced by Apple Computer, Inc. between 1990 and 1992. The Macintosh Classic was the first Macintosh computer to sell for less than US$1,000. “Classic Mac” is also the name for a series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers from 1984 to 2001 by Apple.

The Macintosh Classic was produced because of the success of the Original Macintosh, the Macintosh Plus, and the Macintosh SE. The Classic’s system specifications are similar to the original Macintosh computers and include the same 9-inch monochrome CRT display, 512 by 342-pixel resolution, and 4-megabyte memory of the older Macintosh personal computers. By not updating the Classic with newer technology, Apple ensured compatibility with Mac’s software base and enabled a lower price. The Classic was 25 percent faster than the Macintosh Plus computer and featured a standard Apple SuperDrive 3.-inch floppy disk drive.

The comparatively low price of the Classic and the availability of education software led to the Classic’s popularity in education. The Classic was sold alongside the Macintosh Classic II, which was more powerful, in 1991.

Macintosh Classic personal computers include the name “Macintosh Classic” in the bottom left-hand corner of the device’s display. They also generally include the Apple logo from the 1990s, which depicted an apple with colorful stripes and a bite taken out of it.

The Macintosh Classic is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from October 1990 to September 1992. It was the first Macintosh to sell for less than US$1,000.

Production of the Classic was prompted by the success of the original Macintosh 128K, then the Macintosh Plus, and finally the Macintosh SE. The system specifications of the Classic are very similar to those of its predecessors, with the same 9-inch (23 cm) monochrome CRT display, 512 × 342pixel resolution, and 4megabyte (MB) memory limit of the older Macintosh computers.percent faster than the PlusApple SuperDrive 3.5-inch (9 cm) floppy disk drive as standard. Unlike the Macintosh SE/30 and other compact Macs before it, the Classic did not have an internal Processor Direct Slot, making it the first non-expandable desktop Macintosh since the Macintosh Plus. Instead, it had a memory expansion/FPU slot.

The Classic is an adaptation of Jerry Manock"s and Terry Oyama"s 1984 Macintosh 128K industrial design, as had been the earlier Macintosh SE. Apple released two versions. The price and the availability of education software led to the Classic"s popularity in education. It was sold alongside the more powerful Macintosh Classic II in 1991 until its discontinuation the next year.

After Apple co-founder Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, product development was handed to Jean-Louis Gassée, formerly the manager of Apple France. Gassée consistently pushed the Apple product line in two directions, towards more "openness" in terms of expandability and interoperability, and towards higher price. Gassée long argued that Apple should not aim for the low end of the computer market, where profits were thin, but instead concentrate on the high end and higher profit margins. He illustrated the concept using a graph showing the price/performance ratio of computers with low-power, low-cost machines in the lower left and high-power high-cost machines in the upper right. The "high-right" goal became a mantra among the upper management, who said "fifty-five or die", referring to Gassée"s goal of a 55 percent profit margin.

The high-right policy led to a series of machines with ever-increasing prices. The original Macintosh plans called for a system around $1,000, but by the time it had morphed from Jef Raskin"s original vision of an easy-to-use machine for composing text documents to Jobs" concept incorporating ideas gleaned during a trip to Xerox PARC, the Mac"s list price had ballooned to $2,495.

$1 million to Modular Computer Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Daimler-Benz AG, for the right to use the "Classic" name as part of a five-year contract.MacWEEK speculated the Macintosh Classic would use the same Motorola 68000 microprocessor and 9-inch (23 cm) display as its predecessors and that the Classic would be priced from $1,500 to 2,150.

On October 15, 1990, John Sculley (then Apple CEO) introduced the Classic at a press conference, announcing that pricing would start at $1,000profit margins.[...] The plan is to get as aggressive on price as we need to be."share price closed at $27.75 per share, down $0.50 from October 12, 1990, and far below its previous 12-month high of $50.37.

The Classic was released in Europe and Japan concurrently with the United States release. In Japan, the Classic retailed for ¥198,000 ($1,523),Toshiba Dynabook laptop computer.

The low-end model was sold with 1 MB of memory, a 1.44 MB floppy drive, no hard disk, and included a keyboard for $999.Macintosh Plus, which it replaced as Apple"s low-end Mac computer: it is up to 25 percent faster than the Plus,Apple SuperDrive 3.5" floppy disk drive as standard.MS-DOS, OS/2, and ProDOS disks.

The Classic uses the System 6.0.7 operating system with support for all versions up to System 7.5.5. A hidden Hierarchical File System (HFS) disk volume contained in the read-only memory (ROM) includes System 6.0.3.⌘ Command+⌥ Option+X+O keys during boot.

Some dealers included a software bundle called Smartbundle with the Classic.T/Maker"s WriteNow word processor, Ashton-Tate"s Full Impact spreadsheet program, RecordHolderPlus database, and Silicon Beach Software"s SuperPaint 2.0 paint and draw program.

The Macintosh Classic is the final adaptation of Jerry Manock"s and Terry Oyama"s Macintosh 128K industrial design, bringing back some elements of the original while retaining little of the Snow White design language used in the Macintosh SE"s design.Macintosh LC and Macintosh IIsi.

The logic board, the central circuit board of the computer, is based on the Macintosh SE design.surface mount technologydesktop publishing, led to such oddities as video displays that connected through the SCSI port by users seeking to connect a larger full- or dual-page display to their Mac. The Classic design was used once more in 1991 for the Classic II, which succeeded the Classic.

Some reviewers of the Macintosh Classic focused on the processor performance and lack of expansion slots. Liza Schafer of Home Office Computing praised the Classic"s ease of use and price, but criticized the 9-inch (230 mm) display because a full US letter page (8.5 by 11 inches (220 mm × 280 mm)) would not fit at full size, and warned those who required high-end graphics and desktop publishing capabilities against buying the Classic.MHz speed is adequate for text applications and limited graphics work, but it is not suitable for power users. As such, the Classic is appropriate as a home computer or for limited computing on the road."MacWEEK described it as a "fine, inexpensive replacement for the Macintosh Plus that best embodies the original Macintosh vision six and a half years later".

In the February 1991 edition of Electronic Learning, Robert McCarthy wrote: "Teachers, educational administrators, and software developers are enthusiastic about the new, lower-cost Apple Macintosh computers". Steve Taffe, manager of instructional strategy at MECC, a developer and publisher of educational software, explained his excitement about the Classic: "[it] is terrific – both because it"s a Mac and because of that low price. Everyone can now afford a Macintosh." Scholastic, an educational software developer, was also confident of Apple"s ability to compete with MS-DOS machines, stating: "They are just as cost-effective and as powerful as MS-DOS computers, but the Apples will have a superior comfort level." Sue Talley, Apple"s manager of strategic planning in education, said of the Classic: "we see it going into applications where you need a fair number of powerful stations, but where color is not a big issue." Talley mentioned that it was most suited for writing labs and other basic productivity uses. Many schools decided not to buy the Macintosh Classic because of the lack of a color monitor, an option that the higher-priced Macintosh LC had.Apple IIe Card also increased the LC"s appeal to schools. Although the Classic was more popular at first, by May 1992 the LC (560,000 sold) was outselling the Classic (1.2 million sold).

"Macintosh Classic: Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. July 26, 2017. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2022.

Levy, Steven (1994). Insanely Great: The life and times of Macintosh, the computer that changed everything. New York: Viking. p. 111. ISBN 0-670-85244-9.

"Apple Computer: lower cost Mac PCs target new customers. 50 percent less for entry-level system". EDGE: Work-Group Computing Report. October 22, 1990. p. 3.

"Macintosh Classic Computer Developer Note" (PDF). Developer Technical Publications. Apple Computer. 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008.

The Macintosh Classic is somewhat special to me as it was my first computer I used for other things than just games. Not suprisingly perhaps as the line games was somewhat limited although there where classics like Dark Castle, Apache Strike, Empire and Deja Vu. That aside, I have had a Mac Classic II in my study for years reminding me of where my career in IT started and it was time to pour some life into the old machine (click for hires images or see the gallery at the end).

The obvious choice was to use a Raspberry Pi. Placing Pis in old macs is by no mean a new idea but I wanted to make something different and above all make something as sturdy as the old mac. The newly born Mac should be able to ride the bus as my old Classic did at times meaning I could not just put loose hardware into the box. Things needed to be fastened. I set out with the following specification:

I had found this 8 inch TFT screen on eBay (update June 5th 2017, I have found a much cheaper variant on AliExpress that by the looks of it is identical) but as you can see the frame has no mounting support. Adding the cabling and driver board with its adapter boards sums up to quite a mess. How do we mount this nicely inside the Classic? Plexiglass to the rescue! I cut out two sheets of plexiglass and placed the TFT screen between them. Glued piexes of plexiglass on the back sheet keeps the TFT screen from falling out. The different boards are placed on spacers mounted on the back side plexiglass sheet. The front and back sheets are held together usings screws.

The final part was mounting the “screen module” inside the Classic. As I had thrown the old CRT screen out, it was only a matter of drilling the right holes in the plexiglass screen module and mount it the same manner the original screen was.

I wanted to bring back the yawning like sound of a Macintosh ejecting a floppy disk. The idea was to have the Mac automatically eject an inserted floppy with a delay. So how did the old Macs detect the precense of a floppy disk?

For this project, I only cared about switch #1. Deciding the floppy drive would never see real action again, I disconnected the switch from the rest of the floppy drive PCB by severing the traces. Soldering wires to the switch and attaching them to the Raspbery Pi GPIO header, the Pi could now sense the precense of a floppy disk. Next was the ejector motor. It runs on 12V (as the TFT screen) and I purchased a relay on eBay that the Raspberry Pi could control.

On the left hand side of the old compact Macs was the programmer’s key and the reset button. The former would enter the debugger built into the computer. I wanted to connect these to the Raspberry Pi so once again I severed some traces. On the the motherboard this time.

For power, I purchased a 12V to 5V converter with quad USB output on eBay. This together with the relay was mounted on a sheet of plexiglass that was mounted on spacers in the back of the computer. The speaker was mounted in a large hole i drilled in (you guessed it) a piece of plexiglass mounted on (guessed it again?) spacers. As the sound quality on the original Raspberry Pi was quite poor I added a USB sound card (also from eBay). I desoldered the microphone connector on the Mac’s mother board and replaced it with a power jack that I connected to the 12V/5V converter. An old Western Digital USB disk power supply provies the 12V needed.

A simple python script checks the programmer’s key, the reset button and the floppy detection switch and controls the eject motor. Pressing one of the keys will play the lovely old Macintosh Quadra chime. A long press will shut the Raspberry Pi down.

I am quite pleased with how this mod turned out. There is nothing loose inside the case that can fall over, get tangled up and cause shorts. By accident, the Mac was drop tested from a height of one meter. It survived, nothing came loose.

I have some future plans for HW modifications including a touch screen, replacing the clicking mechanical relay with a transistor and I should add a fuse to the 12V line for safety.

Introduced as the first sub-$1,000 Macintosh in October 1990, the basic Classic came with 1 MB of RAM, a SuperDrive, and space to mount an internal SCSI hard drive. The hard drive version came with 2 MB of memory and a 40 MB hard drive. RAM expansion was via a 1 MB daughter card with two open slots, which could accept a pair of 256 KB or 1 MB SIMMs. This made memory upgrades far easier than on the Plus or SE, since the motherboard didn’t have to be removed. At the same time, it means you should avoid any used Classic without 2 MB or more memory unless you have a source for the memory card.

What Apple was thinking releasing an 8 MHz computer so late in the game is beyond me. By 1990, 8 MHz was just too slow for practical use, although that didn’t keep Apple from selling it or people from buying it. At this point, a 16 MHz Classic would have been sweet (see our review of the 16 MHz Brainstorm upgrade in a Mac Plus for details on that).

A feature unique to the Classic is the ability to boot from ROM by holding down command-option-x-o at startup. The ROM Disk is called “Boot Disk” and is 357 KB in size. The ROM Disk uses Finder 6.1.x and System 6.0.3 – this combination is specifically designed for the Classic. The only control panels are General, Brightness, and Startup Disk. MacsBug and AppleShare Prep are also part of the System, which loads into 294 KB of the Classic’s RAM. Because this is in ROM, there is no way to add anything to the ROM Disk.

Color display? Aura Systems made ScuzzyGraph II, a SCSI peripheral that provided 8-color video for people who didn’t want to buy (or couldn’t afford) a Mac II. 1989 cost was $995 to $2,495, depending on resolution.

You can convert a non-working compact Mac into a Macquarium. (Please, don’t even think of converting a working one – you can always find someone interested on the Classic Macs or Vintage Macs lists.)

A Vintage Mac Network Can Be as Useful as a Modern One, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 2008.04.08. Old Macs can exchange data and share an Internet connection very nicely using Apple’s old LocalTalk networking.

Creating Classic Mac Boot Floppies in OS X, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2008.08.07. Yes, it is possible to create a boot floppy for the Classic Mac OS using an OS X Mac that doesn’t have Classic. Here’s how.

Know Your Mac’s Upgrade Options, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 2008.08.26. Any Mac can be upgraded, but it’s a question of what can be upgraded – RAM, hard drive, video, CPU – and how far it can be upgraded.

Why You Should Partition Your Mac’s Hard Drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2008.12.11. “At the very least, it makes sense to have a second partition with a bootable version of the Mac OS, so if you have problems with your work partition, you can boot from the ’emergency’ partition to run Disk Utility and other diagnostics.”

Antique Macs are still useful computers, Charles W Moore, From the MacCave, 2008.09.09. Charles W Moore’s first online article looks at the utility of compact Macs – and foreshadows his longterm affection for PowerBooks.

Cracking Open the Apple Macintosh Classic, Mark Kaelin, Tech Republic, 06.17. “In this Cracking Open Photo Gallery, TechRepublic examines just what went into a Mac Classic – and what technology was like in 1991.”

Supporting a classic Mac ‘habit’ on the cheap, Rick Lawson, Pioneers in Mac Development, 2008.06.09. Mac nostalgia leads to a year-long rediscovery of the pleasures of old Macs and the classic Mac OS.

Digital vs. film photography, megapixel myths, G3/G4 SuperDrive upgrade, and a newly acquired Mac Classic, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.01.11. The differences between film and digital photography, the value of old 35mm SLRs, the importance of good lenses, a $50 18x dual-layer SuperDrive, and writing on a Mac Classic.

Vintage Mac Networking and File Exchange, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.19. How to network vintage Macs with modern Macs and tips on exchanging files using floppies, Zip disks, and other media.

Getting Inside Vintage Macs and Swapping Out Bad Parts, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.14. When an old Mac dies, the best source of parts is usually another dead Mac with different failed parts.

Solving Mac Startup Problems, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.12. When your old Mac won’t boot, the most likely culprits are a dead PRAM battery or a failed (or failing) hard drive.

Mac approaching 25th birthday, OS 8 on Performa 630, Mac Classics in use 24/7, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.12.04. Also more thoughts on vampire video, realigning the Road Apple label, the fate of DropStuff, and an unidentified cable in a Power Mac 8600.

Better and Safer Surfing with Internet Explorer and the Classic Mac OS, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.11.06. Tips on which browsers work best with different Mac OS versions plus extra software to clean cookies and caches, detect viruses, handle downloads, etc.

A (Mac) classic spookfest, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.10.31. How to set up those old compact Macs with screen savers to enhance your Halloween experience.

Simple Macs for Simple Tasks, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.10.19. Long live 680×0 Macs and the classic Mac OS. For simple tasks such as writing, they can provide a great, low distraction environment.

8 MHz forever? Apple’s Macintosh Classic was no faster than the first Mac, Leo Titus LeBron V, Collection Spotlight, 2007.09.26. A successor to the 1986 Mac Plus and 1987 Mac SE, the 1990 Mac Classic was slow, limited, and barely enough for basic tasks like writing.

Interchangeabilty and Compatibility of Apple 1.4 MB Floppy SuperDrives, Sonic Purity, Mac Daniel, 2007.09.26. Apple used two kinds of high-density floppy drives on Macs, auto-inject and manual inject. Can they be swapped?

My first mobile Mac: A Classic II, Jacek A. Rochacki, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.06.25. When a PowerBook 100 was beyond the author’s means, he bought a second-hand Mac Classic II and fabricated his own carrying case to make it mobile.

Mac System 7.5.5 Can Do Anything Mac OS 7.6.1 Can, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.06.04. Yes, it is possible to run Internet Explorer 5.1.7 and SoundJam with System 7.5.5. You just need to have all the updates – and make one modification for SoundJam.

Importance of G3 support in 10.5, clever USB/FireWire solution, upgrade options, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.05.01. Also the loss of the PowerBook brand, upgrading to an Intel iMac, Korg and the Mac, Quadra boot problems, and the value of a Mac Classic.

Format Any Drive for Older Macs with Patched Apple Tools, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.04.25. Apple HD SC Setup and Drive Setup only work with Apple branded hard drives – until you apply the patches linked to this article.

Making floppies and CDs for older Macs using modern Macs, Windows, and Linux PCs, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.03.15. Older Macs use HFS floppies and CDs. Here are the free resources you’ll need to write floppies or CDs for vintage Macs using your modern computer.

Jag’s House, where older Macs still rock, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2006.09.25. Over a decade old, Jag’s House is the oldest Mac website supporting classic Macs and remains a great resource for vintage Mac users.

30 days of old school computing: Setting up a Mac Classic II, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.09.07. Fond memories of using a Classic II in elementary school lead to it being the first Mac set up for a month of vintage, very low-end computing.

Vintage Macs with System 6 run circles around 3 GHz Windows 2000 PC, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.07.06. Which grows faster, hardware speed or software bloat? These benchmarks show vintage Macs let you be productive much more quickly than modern Windows PCs.

Floppy drive observations: A compleat guide to Mac floppy drives and disk formats, Scott Baret, Online Tech Journal, 2006.06.29. A history of the Mac floppy from the 400K drive in the Mac 128K through the manual-inject 1.4M SuperDrives used in the late 1990s.

Compact Flash with SCSI Macs, PB 1400 CD-RW upgrade problems, and Web incompatibilities, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2006.06.16. Suggested ways to use Compact Flash with vintage Macs and PowerBooks, problems getting CD-RW to work with a PowerBook 1400, and more thoughts on website incompatibilities.

Moving files from your new Mac to your vintage Mac, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2006.06.13. Old Macs use floppies; new ones don’t. Old Macs use AppleTalk; Tiger doesn’t support it. New Macs can burn CDs, but old CD drives can’t always read CD-R. So how do you move the files?

System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6: The beginning and end of an era, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.02.15. System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6 introduced many new features and greater modernity while staying within reach of most early Macintosh models.

System 7: Bigger, better, more expandable, and a bit slower than System 6, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.01.04. The early versions of System 7 provide broader capability for modern tasks than System 6 while still being practical for even the lowliest Macs.

Web browser tips for the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.01.03. Tips on getting the most out of WaMCom, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, and WannaBe using the classic Mac OS.

The Joy of Six: Apple’s fast, svelte, reliable, and still usable System 6, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2005.12.06. System 6 was small enough to run quickly from an 800K floppy yet powerful enough to support 2 GB partitions, 24-bit video, and the Internet.

10 things new classic Mac owners should know, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2005.12.06. New to compact Macs? Ten things you really should know before you get too confused.

How to set up your own Mac Plus (or later) web server, Joe Rivera, Mac Fallout Shelter, 2005.11.29. All you need is an old Mac Plus with 4 MB of RAM, a hard drive, System 7 or later, some free software, and an Internet connection.

Which system software is best for my vintage Mac?, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2005.11.22. Which system software works best depends to a great extent on just which Mac you have and how much RAM is installed.

Mac SE alive and kicking on Web, Leander Kahney, Wired, 2004.05.19. “…a pair of German Web designers has created a working simulation of Apple Computer’s classic Mac SE on the Web.” Very cool.

The compact Mac trio: Hardware overview, Dan Knight, The Old Gray Mac, 2001.07.30. Introduction to and hardware overview of the Mac Plus, SE, and Classic.

Never connect an Apple II 5.25″ floppy drive to the Mac’s floppy port. Doing so can ruin the floppy controller, meaning you can’t even use the internal drive any longer.

Macs with black-and-white only displays (1-bit, no grays) may find Netscape Navigator 3 makes it impossible to view some pages and sites. The workaround is to use Navigator 2.

Reliably supports serial speeds to 19.2 kbps, although default is 9600 bps. May have better throughput at 28.8 kbps despite some dropped and retransmitted packets. Throughput with a 56k modem may be limited. See 56k modem page. For more information on Mac serial ports, read Macintosh Serial Throughput.

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