"Market" for old macs?

[Jim Leonard]

While I value both your advice, you're both scaring me.  :-)  I think I'll 
leave my SE/30 as is and just blissfully ignore the mystery DB9 female port on 
the back.

Scott Stevens wrote:
> On Sun, 4 Dec 2005 23:27:50 -0800 (PST)
> Cameron Kaiser <spectre at floodgap.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>>>Any illustrated online guides for opening up an SE/30?  I
>>>don't like to fiddle around with a screwdriver and hope I
>>>don't damage things.
>>
>>It should be the same as any Compact Mac. The essential tool is
>>a Mac Cracker, a long shaft Torx T-15 screwdriver (Fry's carries
>>them under that exact name). Depending on the model, there are
>>four or five such screws on the back -- two are invariably deep
>>under the handle, hence the need for the shaft, and two or three
>>in plain view. Separating the two case halves can be done by
>>hand, but you can get a "case cracker" (different from a Mac
>>Cracker) to do the separation if you're worried about this. I
>>can do it with a flathead screwdriver, but do so very carefully.
>>
>>That should get you inside. Mind the CRT, of course.
>>
> 
> 
> I just use a long-handled narrow flat blade screwdriver.  For as
> often as I open a compact Mac it works fine.  Size the blade by
> fitting it in the other screws on the case back.  For repair shops
> that open Macs all the time, the torx is important.  For 'the rest
> of us' a cheap regular screwdriver is fine.  I 'cracked' an SE
> Saturday night with my screwdriver (upgraded the 20M drive with an
> Apple 250M after carefully wrapping and preserving the original.)
> 
> It's VERY important to be careful inside the Mac once the cover is
> off.  It's extremely easy to snap the glass nipple on the CRT and
> ruin it.  Apple in their infinite wisdom put a circuit board on
> the back of the neck to act as a 'torque amplifier' for this
> purpose.  Just bumping the board wrong can let all the 'magic
> vacuum' out of your CRT.
> 
> But since the compact Mac was expressly designed to NOT be user
> servicible, that meets the requirements of the time.

-- 
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org)                    http://www.oldskool.org/
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