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| SE/30 recapper recommendation — Melbourne or AU-based? |
Posted by: oulu2006 on 2026-05-22 05:04:34
G'day from Sydney.
About to buy an SE/30 (it's in Melbourne) and want a recapper lined up before I commit.
Per the seller's photos: chimes and boots to a full System 7 desktop, runs fine once going — but horizontal lines on cold start and an intermittent boot (flashing "?" disk, then fine after a power cycle). Textbook recap, maybe a tired SCSI drive too.
Australian members — who do you rate for an SE/30 recap?
Melbourne-based would be ideal so the board doesn't travel far, but I'll post it anywhere in AU. I'm in Sydney so I could post it to myself first and then find someone in Sydney to do it.
Also happy to take a quick DIY reality check if you've done one yourself.
Cheers, Jason |
Posted by: robin-fo on 2026-05-22 05:45:37
You could try asking https://recapamac.com.au/ |
Posted by: croissantking on 2026-05-22 06:24:35
G'day from Sydney.
About to buy an SE/30 (it's in Melbourne) and want a recapper lined up before I commit.
Per the seller's photos: chimes and boots to a full System 7 desktop, runs fine once going — but horizontal lines on cold start and an intermittent boot (flashing "?" disk, then fine after a power cycle). Textbook recap, maybe a tired SCSI drive too.
Australian members — who do you rate for an SE/30 recap?
Melbourne-based would be ideal so the board doesn't travel far, but I'll post it anywhere in AU. I'm in Sydney so I could post it to myself first and then find someone in Sydney to do it.
Also happy to take a quick DIY reality check if you've done one yourself.
Cheers, Jason
It will need more than a recap, the board will need cleaning from electrolyte and potentially repair to damaged traces.
Textbook failed caps on these is no sound, that’s it, anything else requires further work to diagnose and repair. Recapping is often just a starting point.
If you’re lucky then the intermittent boot could be a poorly seated ROM (common with these) and the flashing ? a failing drive as you say. |
Posted by: Byrd on 2026-05-23 00:25:33
I'm in Melbourne but don't have time right now, I'd recommend you learn to DIY as with any SE/30 it's not just the motherboard, you're also looking to the PSU analogue board and likely floppy/HD will need attention. |
Posted by: oulu2006 on 2026-05-26 05:54:07
You could try asking https://recapamac.com.au/ thanks mate, they shut down a few years ago and stopped accepting new work |
Posted by: oulu2006 on 2026-05-26 05:54:43
It will need more than a recap, the board will need cleaning from electrolyte and potentially repair to damaged traces.
Textbook failed caps on these is no sound, that’s it, anything else requires further work to diagnose and repair. Recapping is often just a starting point.
If you’re lucky then the intermittent boot could be a poorly seated ROM (common with these) and the flashing ? a failing drive as you say. Thank you -- it's looking that way, it turns out I ended up buying TWO SE/30s by accident, one is in full working order the other one needing some TLC, so I can use one as a reference and the other as a learning experience |
Posted by: oulu2006 on 2026-05-26 05:55:17
I'm in Melbourne but don't have time right now, I'd recommend you learn to DIY as with any SE/30 it's not just the motherboard, you're also looking to the PSU analogue board and likely floppy/HD will need attention. Appreciate it, it looks like I'll be doing that plus I might head down to a local ACMS Sat morning meetup and get some old hands to review it for me as well so I know exactly what I need to do. |
Posted by: croissantking on 2026-05-26 07:01:57
Thank you -- it's looking that way, it turns out I ended up buying TWO SE/30s by accident, one is in full working order the other one needing some TLC, so I can use one as a reference and the other as a learning experience
Haha, how did you manage that?
You can never have too many compacts. Isn’t that like the first rule of the ‘MLA? |
Posted by: Callan on 2026-05-26 08:17:57
You can never have too many compacts. Isn’t that like the first rule of the ‘MLA?
I approve this message. |
Posted by: Fred1212 on 2026-05-26 17:57:59
There is a Mac museum in Melbourne.
macmuseum.com.au
https://www.macmuseum.com.au
Try there someone should be able to help
I'd probably try to learn to re cap on something less expensive if you want to do it yourself. Welcome to the rabbit hole that is old Macs! I'd help but I'm in Tassie |
Posted by: oulu2006 on 2026-06-15 23:54:09
Haha, how did you manage that?
You can never have too many compacts. Isn’t that like the first rule of the ‘MLA? I was under the influence 😀
lol, I now have 4 compact Macs ...someone stop me |
Posted by: oulu2006 on 2026-06-15 23:54:49
There is a Mac museum in Melbourne.
macmuseum.com.au
https://www.macmuseum.com.au
Try there someone should be able to help
I'd probably try to learn to re cap on something less expensive if you want to do it yourself. Welcome to the rabbit hole that is old Macs! I'd help but I'm in Tassie I'm in deep, I now have Classic, Classic II, 2xSE/30s
I will start on the Classic, I just got all the recap equipment as well. |
Posted by: SpocksBeer on 2026-06-16 00:57:24
Ah, the four most difficult to maintain Compacts. Good luck! There's an Aussie Vintage Apple group on faceache worth joining |
Posted by: Phipli on 2026-06-16 01:30:29
thanks mate, they shut down a few years ago and stopped accepting new work I don't blame them. It is a socially difficult job, I suspect sooner or later you either end up out of pocket or struggling with an angry customer.
A difficult to find bit of damage can take many hours to troubleshoot and while expensive, these machines still don't cost enough to justify multiple days of skilled labour. I've heard horror stories of people demanding working replacements for their non functioning boards, but even "I just want a recap, why are you talking about repairs, my board was fine" is common.
People that do repairs as a service are saints! |
Posted by: croissantking on 2026-06-16 01:46:13
I don't blame them. It is a socially difficult job, I suspect sooner or later you either end up out of pocket or struggling with an angry customer.
A difficult to find bit of damage can take many hours to troubleshoot and while expensive, these machines still don't cost enough to justify multiple days of skilled labour. I've heard horror stories of people demanding working replacements for their non functioning boards, but even "I just want a recap, why are you talking about repairs, my board was fine" is common.
People that do repairs as a service are saints! I do repairs for people from time to time and have so far have yet to deal with anyone problematic. The day I do I hope it doesn’t sour things because most people Ive encountered in the hobby are patient and respectful. |
Posted by: Byrd on 2026-06-16 02:32:57
I don't blame them. It is a socially difficult job, I suspect sooner or later you either end up out of pocket or struggling with an angry customer.
I've heard this too; it's a job that can start out OK making a few bucks but as soon as you hit an impatient person expecting miracles it can escalate to something far less enjoyable. Similar to eBay buyers - 99% good then you hit the buyer from hell and give up for quite a while. I only offer repairs to friends and they usually supply the parts, coffee or lunch 🙂 |
Posted by: finkmac on 2026-06-16 06:25:24
"I just want a recap, why are you talking about repairs, my board was fine" is common.
People that do repairs as a service are saints!
yeah this is something i've mused about. at this point, most "recap" jobs are really "board repair" jobs.
chances are you'll be messing with broken pads, rotten traces, and possibly damaged surface mount components.
this is the type of (expensive) job that in most cases is only viable in very specific industries with irreplaceable hardware... think manufacturing and aerospace.
people always want "professional recap jobs"... but don't want the "professional costs". |
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