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SE/30 Ethernet Solutions?

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daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
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0
I just recently acquired a Macintosh SE/30 in fantastic condition. I'd love to get it hooked up to my ethernet network and hopefully the internet as well.

I know about the Asante MacCon PDS Ethernet card for the IIsi and SE/30, but can't seem to find one. There's one here on ebay, but waaay out of my price range:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290452268267


Does anyone here have one for sale? Or know where I could find one? Or know of a comparable solution? My goals are to get online (email, twitter, AIM) and connect to my local network (file sharing, perhaps?)

I'm new to vintage macs, so please bear with me. I'm particularly fond of the SE/30 because it was introduced right after I was born :)
 
dmr727

dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,420
5,157
NYC
A PDS ethernet card is definitely the best option. You might also want to register and post a request with these guys to see if someone has one they'd be willing to part with:

http://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?sid=06b31b7d97d31c6d41b4959f03c85b35

Another option is a SCSI to Ethernet adapter. Something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Asante-mini-SC-...ultDomain_0&hash=item2c55947384#ht_3014wt_872

It's not as ideal a solution as a PDS card because you're sharing your SCSI bus with ethernet traffic, but it works fine, and it's not like you're going to see blazing speeds from an SE/30 anyway. :)
 
D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
thanks! it looks like a few people hidden in the framework on that message board have the card... PMing them.

unrelated question, but i'd rather not start another topic:

1: The power light and sound do not work. is this because of a dead battery? No reason to believe they were damaged or anything...

2: there is a small black 'thing' in the case connected to something underneath the PSU with a white wire that, when pushed (like a syringe) pushes out a small hook. Any idea what this is for?

thanks again!
 
dmr727

dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,420
5,157
NYC
daver.cl said:
1: The power light and sound do not work. is this because of a dead battery? No reason to believe they were damaged or anything...

2: there is a small black 'thing' in the case connected to something underneath the PSU with a white wire that, when pushed (like a syringe) pushes out a small hook. Any idea what this is for?
Click to expand...

1: I doubt it's a battery problem. The power light might simply be disconnected - it's an easy thing to forget to reattach. Do you get any sound if you connect headphones to the audio out jack? Non-working external audio can be a sign of leaking capacitors (I have a IIci with this issue). Macs of this vintage are beginning to have issues with this. Fortunately, it's not a death sentence for your SE/30. If you're handy with a soldering iron, you can recap your Mac yourself. For a fee, you can probably convince someone else to do it for you too. Again, the good folks at the 68kmla can help. Check out this thread:

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4884

2: Hmmm...I have no idea. Is it possible it's a security jack of some sort - something that would allow the Mac to be locked down to a table?
 
D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
dmr727 said:
1: I doubt it's a battery problem. The power light might simply be disconnected - it's an easy thing to forget to reattach. Do you get any sound if you connect headphones to the audio out jack? .....

2: Hmmm...I have no idea. Is it possible it's a security jack of some sort - something that would allow the Mac to be locked down to a table?
Click to expand...

1: i do indeed get audio from the rear headphone jack. is the power/audio cable the 2-pin connector in the middle of the motherboard?

2: it's definitely something electrical. it looks like it's meant to go from wherever its starting and latch onto something on the motherboard. I haven't seen it in any teardown photos i've looked at on the net.

i'll try to post a picture.
 
dmr727

dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,420
5,157
NYC
^^^ hmmm...I'm not sure. You're getting outside the realm of my knowledge. But if you're getting audio from the jack, and your speaker is plugged in correctly (and working, although I suppose you have no way of knowing), I bet leaky capacitors are the issue. It's a common symptom.
 
D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
dmr727

dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,420
5,157
NYC
^^^ yeah, I can't see any problem with the caps on my IIci, but supposedly it's sometimes not at all obvious. You might want to try checking with the guys over at 68kmla and see what they think. There are some members that have crazy amounts of knowledge about the compact Macs.

As far as the clips, I've seen those on an accelerator I used to have on a Quadra 900. The clips were to attach to the pins of the Quadra's oscillator - essentially bypassing it and using the accelerator's instead. I found a really crappy pic of MicroMac's Speedy Accelerator, and you can kind of see the clips there:

speedy.gif


I have no idea what it's doing on your SE/30 though - maybe the remnants of some upgrade/hack that was installed in the past?
 
D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
I think you're right. There's already a port (no idea what?) in the back expansion spot... it goes right in where that white connector goes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wellsriley/4781981022/

I can't really get my camera in there, but they all clip in (like you'd clip wires into the back of your stereo system) near the PSU. I guess if I add ethernet I'm gonna have to battle the high voltage tube (which I'm scared sh*tless of, mind you) and remove it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wellsriley/4781981298/
 
MacTech68

MacTech68

macrumors 68020
Mar 16, 2008
2,393
209
Australia, Perth
My guess is that the DB-9 connector is part of a Monochrome display adapter, possibly a Radius part. The clip will be to grab a video clock from somewhere on the logic board.

The capacitors may be bad on the logic board. If you look around the little "can like" parts you might see what looks like a darker or wet area around them. They should ALL be replaced, but getting them OFF can be problematic.

Replacing them with Tantalum capacitors is your best line of defense.
 
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D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
MacTech68 said:
The capacitors may be bad on the logic board. If you look around the little "can like" parts you might see what looks like a darker or wet area around them. They should ALL be replaced, but getting them OFF can be problematic.

Replacing them with Tantalum capacitors is your best line of defense.
Click to expand...

I really think the capacitors are ok. I checked pretty thoroughly and didn't see any signs of leakage or corrosion.

I will take more detailed photos tomorrow and inspect further. Thanks for your input!
 
MacTech68

MacTech68

macrumors 68020
Mar 16, 2008
2,393
209
Australia, Perth
daver.cl said:
I really think the capacitors are ok. I checked pretty thoroughly and didn't see any signs of leakage or corrosion.

I will take more detailed photos tomorrow and inspect further. Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

Regardless of whether they're leaking or not, If you have a board that is pristine, for the sake of longevity of the board, I'd replace them.

These surface mount Electrolytic caps are known to leak and corrode tracks in just about EVERY piece of electronic equipment they are used in. VCRs, Cam-corders, TVs etc etc

Tantalum caps won't leak and the worst failure is to be blown apart if fitted in reverse or have over-voltage applied. Otherwise, tants tend to short (very rarely).

The trouble with using Tantalum is getting the right size for the solder pads which were originally intended for the SMD Electrolytic. The same values sometimes come in different case sizes (A, B, C, D), but you can get sizes that match. I've done this before.

It's entirely up to you to do it or not. If you do possess excellent DE-soldering skills it's worth a try. If not, a local TV/Video repair tech may be able to help.
 
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D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
Yeah, I have no soldering experience whatsoever... I'm still very new at all of this.

I think the C6 capacitor was leaking.. there were a few drops of greenish liquid on the board near it, upon closer inspection this morning. I cleaned it up a bit, but I'm guessing there's more to it than that?

Humbug, I thought mine was in such great shape too...
 
M

max¥¥

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2008
640
29
Over there....
daver.cl said:
Yeah, I have no soldering experience whatsoever... I'm still very new at all of this.

I think the C6 capacitor was leaking.. there were a few drops of greenish liquid on the board near it, upon closer inspection this morning. I cleaned it up a bit, but I'm guessing there's more to it than that?

Humbug, I thought mine was in such great shape too...
Click to expand...
can you post some close up pics of c6
 
D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
I should also mention that I occasionally get the SimasiMac pattern when I boot it up... but it goes away if I power down and power up again.

Not sure if it's the actual "SimasiMac" symptom, but I'll try to reproduce and snap another photo. Is that a definite sign that my capacitors need to be recapped?

Edit: here's the photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wellsriley/4783387077/in/set-72157624342373733/


Thank you guys again so much for your help!
 
M

max¥¥

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2008
640
29
Over there....
daver.cl said:
I should also mention that I occasionally get the SimasiMac pattern when I boot it up... but it goes away if I power down and power up again.

Not sure if it's the actual "SimasiMac" symptom, but I'll try to reproduce and snap another photo. Is that a definite sign that my capacitors need to be recapped?

Edit: here's the photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wellsriley/4783387077/in/set-72157624342373733/


Thank you guys again so much for your help!
Click to expand...
as for simsaiMac try cleaning the rom and ram chips and sockets and if than dose not help you will need to replace c6 and c7 [this might help]
 
D

daver.cl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
70
0
max¥¥ said:
as for simsaiMac try cleaning the rom and ram chips and sockets
Click to expand...

What do you recommend cleaning with? I've seen people doing anything from compressed air to running things through the dishwasher...
 
MacTech68

MacTech68

macrumors 68020
Mar 16, 2008
2,393
209
Australia, Perth
daver.cl said:
I should also mention that I occasionally get the SimasiMac pattern when I boot it up... but it goes away if I power down and power up again.

Not sure if it's the actual "SimasiMac" symptom, but I'll try to reproduce and snap another photo. Is that a definite sign that my capacitors need to be recapped?
Click to expand...

This is indicative of the early stages of failure of an Aluminium Electrolytic capacitor.

Back in the days, Sony's diagnosis of cam-corder was to warm the circuit board with a hair dryer. If the cam-corder then started working, the caps needed replacing. :D

Don't be too sad. I'm actually amazed that you have found an SE/30 in such early stages of failed caps. I wouldn't have expected to find one in such good condition as this in 2010! :)
 
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