Hi again beachycove,
Just gave a try with your suggestion about the power adapter plug at the Mac's end, - to no avail. While roaming around yesterday before registering on this forum, I did note discussions about the male pins on the Mac's rear port getting easily bent, and fortunately that is not the case, all are intact and straight. However, it wasn't until today that I noticed that one of the four holes in the adapter plug (lower left as you face it upright, alignment slots in 6 o'clock position) does not have an internal sleeve (pipe). The other three are quite obvious and come nearly to the face of the black plastic casing as you suggest and as I would expect. Is this normal? Does the connector use only three of the four pins? I am accustomed to other industries (audio & electrical) where stock multi-pin connectors are used off the shelf but custom wiring applications do not require all pins to be used in manufacture. Leaving out a sleeve would accomplish this but I also thought it might be conceivable that the sleeve might have come loose and fallen out, or gotten stuck on the adapter plug's pin (not the case), during my short time with it. It would be very easy to miss!
Not having easy access to another matching AC adapter, I looked at what came up on eBay with a search for M1893, and of the 7 results (most untested/unknown working, as usual) three or four had pretty darn good closeup photos of the connector face. They all showed the same thing: a black unlined (no sleeve) hole in that lower left position. So unless loss of it is a very common scenario it would appear that this is normal. It is easy to see with a flashlight that all four pin holes have metal at the depth of the hole, and with one sleeve missing to defeat that position for comparison, I think I understand 110% the details you were explaining in your previous reply about the "pipes" that I am referring to as "sleeves". I would really hope they are not supposed to move in or out, maybe just "pressure fit" in there though, which might allow for movement with age/shrinkage, but who knows.
Very good to hear the internal connection on the board is a solid one, you are indeed right that these early models were built like tanks, I've always said so. I went from a PowerBook 170 to a G3 Pismo (both purchased new), - imagine my shock at the obvious difference, then to my current everyday 12" G4 PowerBook. Holy crap! You can't be gentle enough. My biggest concern is dealing with the power cable attachment to the port. When I got our daughter a used end-of-the-line (all the great features) 14" G4 iBook last Fall, my resounding advice is a hyper-awareness of that connection. "Hey, it's not a joystick!" Always straightly aligned, using gentle pressures, and always aware of the cord and not getting it yanked on.
If anything changes I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!
Just gave a try with your suggestion about the power adapter plug at the Mac's end, - to no avail. While roaming around yesterday before registering on this forum, I did note discussions about the male pins on the Mac's rear port getting easily bent, and fortunately that is not the case, all are intact and straight. However, it wasn't until today that I noticed that one of the four holes in the adapter plug (lower left as you face it upright, alignment slots in 6 o'clock position) does not have an internal sleeve (pipe). The other three are quite obvious and come nearly to the face of the black plastic casing as you suggest and as I would expect. Is this normal? Does the connector use only three of the four pins? I am accustomed to other industries (audio & electrical) where stock multi-pin connectors are used off the shelf but custom wiring applications do not require all pins to be used in manufacture. Leaving out a sleeve would accomplish this but I also thought it might be conceivable that the sleeve might have come loose and fallen out, or gotten stuck on the adapter plug's pin (not the case), during my short time with it. It would be very easy to miss!
Not having easy access to another matching AC adapter, I looked at what came up on eBay with a search for M1893, and of the 7 results (most untested/unknown working, as usual) three or four had pretty darn good closeup photos of the connector face. They all showed the same thing: a black unlined (no sleeve) hole in that lower left position. So unless loss of it is a very common scenario it would appear that this is normal. It is easy to see with a flashlight that all four pin holes have metal at the depth of the hole, and with one sleeve missing to defeat that position for comparison, I think I understand 110% the details you were explaining in your previous reply about the "pipes" that I am referring to as "sleeves". I would really hope they are not supposed to move in or out, maybe just "pressure fit" in there though, which might allow for movement with age/shrinkage, but who knows.
Very good to hear the internal connection on the board is a solid one, you are indeed right that these early models were built like tanks, I've always said so. I went from a PowerBook 170 to a G3 Pismo (both purchased new), - imagine my shock at the obvious difference, then to my current everyday 12" G4 PowerBook. Holy crap! You can't be gentle enough. My biggest concern is dealing with the power cable attachment to the port. When I got our daughter a used end-of-the-line (all the great features) 14" G4 iBook last Fall, my resounding advice is a hyper-awareness of that connection. "Hey, it's not a joystick!" Always straightly aligned, using gentle pressures, and always aware of the cord and not getting it yanked on.
If anything changes I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!