Thread
The latest mac build. A Mac Plus/Core 2/Color.
Hey thanks, you just gave me an idea; when I have some idea I'll try and find one of those letters decal sheet to see if I could label a /X or :x on the front bezel. Could look cool!
@nextse7en: How's it going for you? Did you find a solution, or changed your mind on the type of monitor you'll be using?
I can't believe I missed this thread the first time through!
I have been wanting to do something similar and acquired my case donor, motherboard, and 8.4" color LCD last April or May, but other than acquiring parts, I haven't made any progress.
So far what I have is a pile of parts sitting on a desk that boots OS X Leopard 10.5.6. I'm using a Jetway J9F2-KHDE Mini-ITX board and a small 150W PSU. I'm using a iMate Griffin so I can reuse the original keyboard... I could reuse the original mouse too, but I'm too addicted to scroll-wheels and right-clicks to use the original mouse. I may buy a Mighty Mouse just to keep everything Apple.
On mine, I'm leaning towards mounting the motherboard low in the same place as the original, and carefully cutting out a perfect rectangle in the rear for the I/O shield. If it looks clean enough, I'm not sure there's a lot of value in preserving the original port holes.
I've been wishy-washy on the screen. I bought an 8.4" color LCD, but I kind of like the retro look of the original B&W CRT. I have had thoughts about building a custom CRT board with grayscale video amp based on a schematic I downloaded from here, and finding a way to mod the analog board to accept VGA sync. Perhaps boosting horizontal deflection voltage is enough to accomplish this? Based on what vague information I've been able to find on the Color Classic VGA mod, all they did was boost horizontal deflection voltage. If there was much more done than that, they failed to mention it. I'm not too worried about the low resolution of VGA since I'll be using a 24" LCD as a primary and the internal screen will just be a secondary.
I'm also not sure cutting the front off a CRT to use with an LCD is the best idea. My LCD has an anti-glare coating, and so does the CRT. Wouldn't doubling-up on the anti-glare result in a blurry LCD? I have that concern, and also feel bad about cutting up a perfectly good CRT. An alternate idea I had is to get a piece of clear plexiglass (Lexan), place it over the face of the original CRT, and heat it up with a heat gun. It should (in theory) soften and form to the shape of the CRT. Then use that as a lens on top of the LCD. This would result in a shiny and not entirely authentic appearance, but should still match the aesthetics I think.
Anyway, cool project, keep us updated on how you decide to proceed. It may help me make up my own mind on my own project!
I have been wanting to do something similar and acquired my case donor, motherboard, and 8.4" color LCD last April or May, but other than acquiring parts, I haven't made any progress.
So far what I have is a pile of parts sitting on a desk that boots OS X Leopard 10.5.6. I'm using a Jetway J9F2-KHDE Mini-ITX board and a small 150W PSU. I'm using a iMate Griffin so I can reuse the original keyboard... I could reuse the original mouse too, but I'm too addicted to scroll-wheels and right-clicks to use the original mouse. I may buy a Mighty Mouse just to keep everything Apple.
On mine, I'm leaning towards mounting the motherboard low in the same place as the original, and carefully cutting out a perfect rectangle in the rear for the I/O shield. If it looks clean enough, I'm not sure there's a lot of value in preserving the original port holes.
I've been wishy-washy on the screen. I bought an 8.4" color LCD, but I kind of like the retro look of the original B&W CRT. I have had thoughts about building a custom CRT board with grayscale video amp based on a schematic I downloaded from here, and finding a way to mod the analog board to accept VGA sync. Perhaps boosting horizontal deflection voltage is enough to accomplish this? Based on what vague information I've been able to find on the Color Classic VGA mod, all they did was boost horizontal deflection voltage. If there was much more done than that, they failed to mention it. I'm not too worried about the low resolution of VGA since I'll be using a 24" LCD as a primary and the internal screen will just be a secondary.
I'm also not sure cutting the front off a CRT to use with an LCD is the best idea. My LCD has an anti-glare coating, and so does the CRT. Wouldn't doubling-up on the anti-glare result in a blurry LCD? I have that concern, and also feel bad about cutting up a perfectly good CRT. An alternate idea I had is to get a piece of clear plexiglass (Lexan), place it over the face of the original CRT, and heat it up with a heat gun. It should (in theory) soften and form to the shape of the CRT. Then use that as a lens on top of the LCD. This would result in a shiny and not entirely authentic appearance, but should still match the aesthetics I think.
Anyway, cool project, keep us updated on how you decide to proceed. It may help me make up my own mind on my own project!
Yes, I meant those that use a B&W Compact shell such as an SE
Here's an SE/Color CRT modified project. You will note, he had the exact same problem one faces when attempting to put a color CRT into a compact Mac case and no good solution. Obviously, the placement of the neck precludes a tasteful bump through the rear label, and depending on the CRT, a tasteful solution at all. Given that this requires a major case mod, it is not my preferred choice by any means. The LCD is the only way to go on the B&W compacts.
I disagree. I think you could build around that. If you pushed out the entire rear of the case by 3 inches, I think it would look just fine. I think the look and feel of a REAL color CRT is worth the expanded backside.
Get creative. Reverse-engineer what they were thinking when the originally designed the case and put your own Apple Magic into it. I guarantee that real Mac designers ran into problems like that all the time and built around it somehow, and made it all look OK in the end. When it comes right down to it, this is the BACK of the Mac. It should look good but I don't think authenticity is crucial. I would have a huge horrible mess in the back before I would install a weird-looking flat LCD panel in the front that I look at all the time.
Get creative. Reverse-engineer what they were thinking when the originally designed the case and put your own Apple Magic into it. I guarantee that real Mac designers ran into problems like that all the time and built around it somehow, and made it all look OK in the end. When it comes right down to it, this is the BACK of the Mac. It should look good but I don't think authenticity is crucial. I would have a huge horrible mess in the back before I would install a weird-looking flat LCD panel in the front that I look at all the time.
I agree. CRTs have a curve on the front, and i have yet to see an LCD with a curve like a CRT
Besides, LCDs hurt my eyes.
Why'd they ever stop using CRTs in theit Desktop monitors/iMacs, anyway
:?: 
Besides, LCDs hurt my eyes.
Why'd they ever stop using CRTs in theit Desktop monitors/iMacs, anyway
:?: You are basically describing what they did to the Watchmen Mac SE (as well as the Macintosh in "Pirates of Silicon Valley"). However, what you propose is the quintessential debate for any vintage mod conversion. Whether to irrevocably destroy an increasingly rare item or preserve it in such a way it can be fully restored. Most take "the high road" and preserve the case intact. This is my preferred choice, though I am a little more lenient towards Platinum Pluses, SEs and Classics which exist in far greater numbers than the 128K, 512K, SE/30s and CLassic IIs. As for the LCD, this idea of putting it behind the CRT glass is enough for me. It's not a whole lot different than the current iMac, though the glass is not curved of course.
Not sure grayscale would help or not, considering the depth of color throughout OS X, but with a CRT, if you chose to switch to 640x480 or 800x600, it would be as sharp as it was at 1024x768.
The LCD nextse7en suggested, the Camos, is fixed at 640x480. There are others with multi-res native resolutions of 800x600 and 1024x768. My question here is, if one were to go with the 1024x768 at that size and decided 800x600 worked better later, there would be a significant loss of clarity as the image was up res-ed. So it would be best to pick the monitor with the highest acceptable native resolution to begin with. 640x480 is going to be the closest to the original 512x342 resolution, but 800x600 should be perfectly legible and yield more screen-space. I question whether I would want to really use 1024x768 at that size in any practical way.
I agree. 640x480 is unsusable with OS X. Mine's native resolution is 800x600, but it does a pretty good job at upscaling, and 1024x768 displays just fine. But having used both, I switched back to 800x600 with no regret, it's much more legible!
I had not thought about using OS X. 800x600 is the minimum and many applications require 1024x768.
I found this one on eBay for an exceptional price, but it seems to indicate a native resolution of 640x480, though it claims to support SVGA and XGA, so that must mean it will up-res the higher resolution? On such a small screen perhaps that won't matter? For US $70 it seems worth trying.
I found this one on eBay for an exceptional price, but it seems to indicate a native resolution of 640x480, though it claims to support SVGA and XGA, so that must mean it will up-res the higher resolution? On such a small screen perhaps that won't matter? For US $70 it seems worth trying.
This one is exactly the one i used for my project. It doesn't show on eBay US, I don't know why.
I'll make some screenshots on mine to let you see!
Actually, as I said before, it does matter a lot in my opinion. Especially on such a small screen, the native resolution is way better than any re-scaled resolution.
I'll make some screenshots on mine to let you see!
It looks fine in situ ...
... and in use ....
... but this ...
... makes me flinch. Hello? Exposed high voltage circuitry?? :O
You could easily build the enclosure for the back out of Lexan or plexiglass if you're going to paint it. Lexan is a little easier to work with and more durable in my opinion (doesn't crack or shatter), and you can get the stuff at the hardware store. And you're just building a rectangular prism I think. That's not difficult. Do get the special plexiglass cutting tool if you use lexan though because it won't snap if you just score it and try bending it. It's strong stuff. Either that or run it through a table saw. Once you glue it together, you can sand the edges and make it all look seamless.
I'm not sure exactly where you can get sheets of plastic but that could be a better alternative, maybe cheaper too. (Lexan isn't cheap, maybe 2x cost of normal plexiglass.)
I'm not sure exactly where you can get sheets of plastic but that could be a better alternative, maybe cheaper too. (Lexan isn't cheap, maybe 2x cost of normal plexiglass.)
A better idea than Lexan would be to use ABS sheets. Parts-Express.com has it in several thicknesses. It cuts easily with a hack saw and can be solvent-welded with MEK for an extremely strong bond. I love using the stuff for custom dash work in car audio installs.
I agree that would be superior to lexan. Maybe you can even somewhat match the color an not need to paint it? I wish they had that at the hardware stores around here. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough!
The stuff from Parts-express comes in black, so it would already be color-matched for that guy. 
I think platinum or beige-colored plastic would be hard to get in an exact match, although if Mac cases are made of ABS plastic, you could actually cut up a donor Mac case for a color match. I'd only recommend doing that if the donor case is already badly beaten, broken, and cracked! You could also cut up and use pieces from the donor monitor. That MEK stuff is like magic on ABS, it bonds instantly and dries fast because it's actually solvent-welding. MEK is also not known to be carcinogenic (but should be used with adequate ventilation). I've never seen ABS sheets at hardware stores, but car audio shops may have it. You can also cut up the shell of a broken discarded TV, radio, etc.
I think platinum or beige-colored plastic would be hard to get in an exact match, although if Mac cases are made of ABS plastic, you could actually cut up a donor Mac case for a color match. I'd only recommend doing that if the donor case is already badly beaten, broken, and cracked! You could also cut up and use pieces from the donor monitor. That MEK stuff is like magic on ABS, it bonds instantly and dries fast because it's actually solvent-welding. MEK is also not known to be carcinogenic (but should be used with adequate ventilation). I've never seen ABS sheets at hardware stores, but car audio shops may have it. You can also cut up the shell of a broken discarded TV, radio, etc.
I tried the Dremel diamond-cutting of a CRT front to put over a LCD on my Macminitosh/Macintosh SE/x mod (see thread). It looks great, and is IMHO much better than "over-modding" the case's back.
/facepalm. Of course!
One CC hack I recall had part of an Apple Stylewriter attached - the colour matched perfectly.
I had a strange idea - what if you found an even smaller LCD, and made the cut CRT into a back-projection screen? ie like one of those DIY home theatre projectors, but inside the Mac. The resulting image would be sitting perfetly on the curve of the CRT glass (in theory)
Excellent idea. Something like this would work perfectly. Just reverse the image and you're in business. This helps put it into perspective better.