68kMLA Classic Interface

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Got lucky on Craigslist and ended up with a nice Mac IIci for the low, low price of FREEEE!
Posted by: Huxley on 2021-01-27 10:48:29 Got lucky on Craigslist and ended up with a nice Mac IIci for the low, low price of FREEEE! It’s in unknown functional status at the moment, and the original owner just asked that I copy off any data which I may find on the SCSI drive (should the drive even work). Pretty cool! Other than the totally-normal dust bunnies inside, there are some indications that the machine has been exposed to liquid / moisture - there's some rust-colored staining around the ports on the rear. Nevertheless, I'm hopeful that I can make it live again - cross your fingers that the battery hasn't exploded in there... Album with pics here: https://imgur.com/a/FRfvFfk 😀 Huxley
Posted by: mattsoft on 2021-01-27 11:30:16 The price is right! The Iici is a very fine machine! Hopefully the battery didn't puke its guts onto the logic board...keep us posted!
Posted by: Huxley on 2021-01-27 13:22:23 The price is right! The Iici is a very fine machine! Hopefully the battery didn't puke its guts onto the logic board...keep us posted! Sighhhh... the battery did indeed puke its guts onto the logic board :/ Here are some updated pics showing what looks to be fairly severe corrosion / battery-juice damage: https://imgur.com/a/FloNF6d The corrosion on the RAM looks pretty bad, and the battery holder itself (not just the pop-off cover, but the whole battery chassis) is hanging on by a thread. I have only the most rudimentary soldering skills and haven't restored anything nearly this bad before, so feedback is very welcome. Does this look fatal, or could it be repaired? Thanks for any insights, Huxley
Posted by: joshc on 2021-01-27 13:46:05 I've seen much worse (including my very own Classic II which had a Maxell battery that took out the RTC, about 10 traces, and a few other things in its path and also destroyed the chassis in the process)... There won't be much, if anything, keeping the battery holder attached anymore - with a bit of a nudge it might just come off on its own (mine did). I honestly think that could probably be saved, but it would take significant time to repair the trace/component level damage... In either case, definitely keep the IIci board as a spares board or pass along to someone who may be able to use it.
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2021-01-27 13:57:23 Clean it off and see how bad it is. The video card is interesting at least.
Posted by: Huxley on 2021-01-27 14:02:10 I've seen much worse (including my very own Classic II which had a Maxell battery that took out the RTC, about 10 traces, and a few other things in its path and also destroyed the chassis in the process)... There won't be much, if anything, keeping the battery holder attached anymore - with a bit of a nudge it might just come off on its own (mine did). I honestly think that could probably be saved, but it would take significant time to repair the trace/component level damage... In either case, definitely keep the IIci board as a spares board or pass along to someone who may be able to use it. Gotcha, totally makes sense. You're right about the battery holder - one of the posts is completely rotted away, while the other is barely holding on and not long for the world. Here's a pic which will haunt my nightmares for a while: In any case, I have another IIci I rescued from an e-waste place last year - that one is in much worse cosmetic condition, but didn't seem to have nearly as much damage to the motherboard. If nothing else, I should be able to combine the case of this newer one with the mobo of the older one and end up with something workable...
Posted by: mattsoft on 2021-01-27 14:39:40 Ugh, well at least there are some good parts. Plus it was free! 🙂
Posted by: davidg5678 on 2021-01-27 15:05:43 I think this motherboard looks like it is still in pretty good overall shape, especially considering the battery leaked. If you think it looks really bad, take a look at this picture of my Classic from a few years ago: There do seem to be a few problematic spots on your motherboard that could be tricky to fix, but I certainly wouldn't throw it away, as it is still covered in useful parts. Someone with enough time and experience could surely bring this computer back to life, but it could be fun to use this board to hone your own electronics skills too.
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