Just scored a 128K for $76 bucks on eBay!! Woo hoo!!

Lookin' forward to seein'em! :beige:

If you can't get the 512k logic board working, want to sell the ROMs? I need a pair of original 512k ROMs (and a pair of 128k for that matter) to restore an upgraded board.

I just hope it's a 128k board inside. My recent mega conquest included a 128k, but when I got it home, it had a 512k upgrade inside. Damnit! Good luck!

I'll be mighty upset if it's been upgraded. I'll just have to grab parts on eBay as I see them. In any case, it'll be nice to finally own a 128.

My 128K was delivered today!

The machine is well-yellowed, but overall free from scuffs and scratches; and is relatively clean. Looks like this guy was well taken care of.



I thought the 512s I recently picked up were pretty yellow, but looking at the keyboards side-by-side it’s easy to see that the 128K is far worse. 128K on the top, 512K on the bottom:



The seller on eBay was not the original owner of this Mac because he didn’t appear to know what was up with the switch hanging out the back. I though maybe that it was connected to a fan that had been modded into the case or something, but it turned out to something completely different. First order of business was opening it up to check it out.

The inside is almost spotless. No cob webs. No rust. No corrosion.



So that little switch on the back leads down to the logicboard and is attached to a homemade prototype board. What could it be?



I pulled out the logicboard to find that the previous owner had modded this pristine original 1983 board to accept 8 Megs or RAM! A cool mod, but NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I was really hoping that the board was original and untouched. On the bright side, at least it wasn’t upgraded to a Mac Plus or 512K board.



Fortunately, he soldered DIP sockets to the board and popped the 512K RAM chips into them. So if I wanted I could easily remove them and put original 8K chips back in. (If I can find them.)



As usual, the internal 400K floppy drive isn’t reading disks. It’s not even accepting them. So I think it needs some grease and a little TLC. I’ll just have to add it to the growing list of floppy drives that I need to repair. At least it powers on! That’s a start, but with the floppy drive on its back, I couldn't boot it up to see what the switch does.



Memorial Day weekend is coming up. Looks like it’s going to be a dip-a-thon!

That proto-board looks interesting. I wonder what it is. Maybe a video output? Probably not, though.

Of the handful of 400K drives I've come across, all had seized due to the lubricant drying up. Recall a site which detailed where you needed to clean, but can't find it any more.

I'd consider the 8MB RAM upgraded to be a nice score! At the very least it makes the Mac usable, and it's still a 128K 99.9% of the way.

JB

When you said a 128K, I thought you meant it was badged as 128K. But, it's an original Macintosh, before the 128K branding, so an even better score. I would have paid $76 gladly!

Of the handful of 400K drives I've come across, all had seized due to the lubricant drying up. Recall a site which detailed where you needed to clean, but can't find it any more.

Click to expand...

About fifteen years ago I had a pair of 400K drives new in the sealed anti-static bags, which I had bought with a lot from an Apple Service Center. Both of those drives were seized up.

So those drives seize at the drop of a few years or maybe a decade. A little alcohol to clean the old lubricant-turned-to-varnish and a little lithium grease fixed them right up.

I'd consider the 8MB RAM upgraded to be a nice score! At the very least it makes the Mac usable, and it's still a 128K 99.9% of the way.

Click to expand...

I don't see how it could possibly be 8MB of RAM. The Mac 128/512/Plus can't address more than 4MB. The address map doesn't support more. Maybe if someone rewrote the ROMs, but I think it more likely that it's a smaller RAM upgrade.

8 Mbit, perhaps? :b&w:

I don't see why your so upset, 128k is almost a totally useless amount of RAM. If I got that Mac and found that inside i'd be over the moon! Especially since it looks a well done mod and is quite unique in the sense it's a home made jobbie. Hell, I wouldn't be dissapointed if it was a 512k Mobo inside, who will know unless you open her up? :

From a collector's standpoint, I think it is more about having an authentic machine, than having a ratrod'd one..... Irregardless of how neat said ratrodding may be... :

Of the handful of 400K drives I've come across, all had seized due to the lubricant drying up. Recall a site which detailed where you needed to clean, but can't find it any more

Click to expand...

I found this one concerning 400K drives, can be helpful.

http://www.vintagemacworld.com/400kflop.html

Irregardless of how neat said ratrodding may be... :

Click to expand...

*twitch*

I finally got my hands on a working 400K drive. I was able to pop it in the 128K and boot it up. Turns out, it is still a 128K. The little switch that was modded to the main board bumps the RAM up to 512K. Kinda neat. Eventually I'll get a non hacked board for it. But it is nice to see that it is indeed still a 128K. I was really looking forward to using the machine and getting a feel for how much you can do with 128K. Plus, like said before, it's all abut getting an authentic machine.

Booted up in 128K mode:



Flicking the switch on the back and booting it up bumps the RAM up to 512K:

Very nice

And nice mod anyway.

Coolness. I'm a little jealous but my 128k should be complete by the end of the week. I also had a 128k that was upgraded with a mux board and larger 256 kbyte DRAM chips. I stripped the mux board and put 64kbyte DRAM chips back in. 400k drives and original ROMs will be in by the weekend.

Are you going to leave your board as-is or restore it?

Eventually I'll get a non hacked board for it.

Click to expand...

I mainly collect the various portables, but have been looking into the compacts lately. If you decide to not keep the board, keep me in mind. :beige:

That is a neat mod! To be honest, I'd leave it as it is because it seems really unique.

Anyways, congrats!

I kept the board in the 128k position and tucked the switch inside the case. Eventually I'd like to get my hands on a "virgin" board. But for now, it's fine as it functions as a 128.

I got the proper 64kbit DRAM chips from Jameco for under a buck a piece.

Did it at least have the original ROMs in it or were they replaced with Plus ROMs?

Good point. I can't remember if I checked the ROMS. I'll have to look when I get home.

The 128K restoration is complete, except for the external floppy. It starts to boot the machine, I get the "Welcome" message, but then it craps out with a low voltage error. I'll have to check the voltage on the floppy port and see if it's 5V. Hopefully that's all that it is. Other than that, the machine runs great off the internal floppy.

Anyway, it was pretty dirty when I first got it, and a little yellow: (more pics up top)





I dipped everything in some peroxide/oxy:





I cleaned the cables with isopropyl alcohol. The top two were just as bad as the dirty one on the bottom. They shined up pretty well.



The keyboard and mice came out really nice.





All done!



Now, I have a 512K that needs the same TLC........

Damn nice pictures and writeup as usual. It looks fantastic.

Looking forward to the whole set lined up in a pic (128, 512, Plus, SE and Classic) all freshly de-yellowed.

what kind of peroxide/oxy mix did you use? the only time I've used it on beige plastic, it turned too white.

I'm also interested in the cocktail you used to clean it up, don't think I read it on your site?

Thanks. Soon!

I'll be doing the 512K this weekend, then I think I'll be done catching up on restorations. Then I can get back to looking for new goodies!