Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What have you done with an early Intel recently?

Speaking of A1181 MacBooks, I'm feeling stymied by my lack of options in hunting down a replacement keyboard for the BlackBook I picked up earlier. My eBay replacement still doesn't work properly, and I've had issues with trying to resolve things with the seller. Postal service issues aside, the eBay options I've seen aren't looking great either.

Anyone in Toronto, ON got a spare A1181 topcase they'd like to sell me? :confused:
 
IMG_1666.jpeg


I pulled out my late 2006 iMac 5,1 Core2Duo out of the closet, and after nearly 13 years, I finally "upgraded" it to 10.7 Lion. It is running WSJT-X ver. 1.7.0, the last version of WSJT-X that will run on 10.7 Lion. The iMac is connected to my ham radio via USB. WSJT-X is an amateur radio software that monitors the bands for weak signal propagation (WSPR) digital transmissions. The iMac decodes WSPR signals that the radio receives, and uploads the data to wsprnet.org, where anyone can view them. You don't need a license to monitor WSPR signals, only an SDR receiver.

A brief history on this iMac. I purchased it new in July 2007 "on sale" from Apple. Up to that point I had only ever had PowerPC Macs. Less than a month later, Apple launched their new 2007 iMac 7,1 Aluminium. At the time I felt screwed, but I learned my lesson about buying last years model from Apple. The iMac originally came with 10.4 Tiger. I bypassed Leopard, and upgraded to 10.6 Snow Leopard in 2009. When Lion first came out, I tried it out briefly on this computer, before downgrading back to 10.6, where it remained until November 2024. I think lots of people downgraded 10.7 back to 10.6, because 10.7 dumped rosetta and broke compatibility with PPC apps. In 2024, Lion isn't as bad as I remember it, I definitely prefer it over Snow Leopard.

Thoughts on this iMac, compared to my late 2005 Powermac G5 Dual Core. The iMac does a much better job with modern web browsing. Using Chromium Legacy it can almost feel like a modern web experience, only much slower. It can run much more modern software that wasn't built for PPC, such as WSJT-X. The 3GB of memory is very restrictive, and I have run into performance issues due to the lack of RAM. My G5 does feel faster, and that's probably due to 12 GB of RAM and a much better graphics card. I have been toying with swapping in an SSD to help with disk swapping speed, but obviously it's not worth it, other than as a hobby project. I don't know how long this iMac will remain on my desk before disappearing back into the closet to be rediscovered again at some later time. None of my kids wanted it, as it's too old, too slow, etc. Also, I cannot believe how much money I wasted on Apple products when I was young. Now in middle age, with kids, college, bills, saving for retirement, etc. I could never imagine just dropping a grand + on a new Mac every year, or every other year. I should have dropped a grand or two every year on Apple Stock, but I wound up with a small collection of classic Macs instead... I guess we all live and learn from our mistakes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacFoxG4, Amethyst1, DCBassman and 3 others
bkmoore773 said:
I should have dropped a grand or two every year on Apple Stock, but I wound up with a small collection of classic Macs instead... I guess we all live and learn from our mistakes.
Click to expand...
I laughed out loud at this :D I have this thought at least every month. If I had invested all the $$$ I have spent on frivolous crap when I was young, I’d be retiring at 55.

What did I do on early Intel today? My kiddos have been getting into my iPhone to watch YouTube and play games. I used my 2009 mbp figure out how to use shortcuts app to force YT to use face recognition in order to be open and used … much to the chagrin of my 5 & 7 year olds. 😅
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1
ojfd said:
Aha! Someone is into something else than just playing old games :D
What are you using as a receiver?
Click to expand...
Slightly off topic: My iMac is connected to an Elecraft K3S, but that's a very high end transceiver, and way overkill for just receiving weak digital signals on a computer, but I do much more with the K3S than just weak signal propagation reporting.

The K3S is an analog super-hetrodyne transceiver. What that means in simple terms is the radio uses analog electronics to receive and process radio signals, and it presents itself to the computer as a generic USB audio device. The computer can both send and receive via USB audio. And the computer commands the radio via RS-232, such as Push To Talk, frequency selection, filter settings, etc. When it's up and running, all the radio controls are on the computer. The legacy interface (USB Audio and RS232) makes it easy to control and operate this radio with an old iMac.

Most modern radio receivers are Software-Defined Radio (SDR) receivers. What that means is an analogue signal is converted into digital data, and a CPU uses software to process the signal and create audio. Some SDRs have an internal CPU that does the digital processing, and appear to the computer like a traditional analogue receiver. Other SDRs rely on the computer to do the actual radio signal processing. If the SDR offloads the signal processing to the computer, then I would recommend a more recent Intel- or ARM- based mac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ToniCH and DCBassman
Early Intel Fiddling today: have returned both 2011 MBPs to Catalina, using the very reliable @dosdude1 patcher.
I will then move them both up to Monterey. And before anyone says anything, neither of these machines OCLP in any other way, doubtless due to their fritzed GPUs. These two machines will no longer accept anything except that patched Catalina. Fortunately, they do that without a murmur! I might also take the new-to-me 2011 Mini up to Monterey, just to have the matching set! I've already tried Monterey on the Air, but it's a bit slow with only 4GB of RAM.
 
bkmoore773 said:
Slightly off topic: My iMac is connected to an Elecraft K3S, but that's a very high end transceiver, and way overkill for just receiving weak digital signals on a computer, but I do much more with the K3S than just weak signal propagation reporting.

The K3S is an analog super-hetrodyne transceiver. What that means in simple terms is the radio uses analog electronics to receive and process radio signals, and it presents itself to the computer as a generic USB audio device. The computer can both send and receive via USB audio. And the computer commands the radio via RS-232, such as Push To Talk, frequency selection, filter settings, etc. When it's up and running, all the radio controls are on the computer. The legacy interface (USB Audio and RS232) makes it easy to control and operate this radio with an old iMac.

Most modern radio receivers are Software-Defined Radio (SDR) receivers. What that means is an analogue signal is converted into digital data, and a CPU uses software to process the signal and create audio. Some SDRs have an internal CPU that does the digital processing, and appear to the computer like a traditional analogue receiver. Other SDRs rely on the computer to do the actual radio signal processing. If the SDR offloads the signal processing to the computer, then I would recommend a more recent Intel- or ARM- based mac.
Click to expand...
I have geared up for a hobbyist SDR. I have no previous experience on HAM-radio hobby other than in the 80's I had a hand held radio which could receive police, emergency services, aircraft and even NMT -mobile phones. I remember "spying" them being interesting at the time. I also could listen for Soviet (and other foreign) voice and morse transmissions and imagine it being from military, spies and cosmonauts - some probably were. ;)

Dunno if its so exiting today as an adult but I am eager to give it a try. 👍

I have briefly tried the RTL-SDR but my location is non ideal (I live in a valley and radio reception has always been bad) so I think I need to rig a better antenna to the attic or maybe even outside for it to work more satisfactorily.
 

Attachments

  • RTL-SDR.JPG
    RTL-SDR.JPG
    285.9 KB · Views: 22
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: bkmoore773 and TheShortTimer
DCBassman said:
...which turns out to be an EMC 2330 2009 C2D 2.13GHz! Bonus. Letting the relatively-new battery get some charge. Doesn't seem to like the RAM I gave it, beeping, will mess with that later.
Click to expand...
Nope, not having it with any RAM, even the 2x1GB sticks it came with. Hmmm...
When the original owner delivered it, it was freezing cold, so it might be a bit damp internally. It's been in a warm room for three hours or so already, but I'll sit it in a still warmer spot for a bit while I investigate causes.
 
bkmoore773 said:
Slightly off topic: My iMac is connected to an Elecraft K3S, but that's a very high end transceiver, and way overkill for just receiving weak digital signals on a computer, but I do much more with the K3S than just weak signal propagation reporting.
Click to expand...
I 've never heard of that brand. Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Stabo(?) yes, but not Elecraft. But I'm not a radio amateur either. When I saw your post, I had my TinySA on the table testing various handhelds for harmonics. I thought that picture in your post looked very similar to what I had in front of me. :)
 
ojfd said:
I 've never heard of that brand. Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Stabo(?) yes, but not Elecraft. But I'm not a radio amateur either. When I saw your post, I had my TinySA on the table testing various handhelds for harmonics. I thought that picture in your post looked very similar to what I had in front of me. :)
Click to expand...
Off topic so apologies. Elecraft is small radio manufacturer located near Santa Cruz, CA. Their radios are all made here in California. In many ways, Elecraft reminds me of early Apple, where the owners are also engineers who design the radios they themselves want to use. Both owners are veterans of Silicone Valley, who decided to take their engineering and manufacturing skills and apply it to their passion and hobby; amateur radio.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheShortTimer, ToniCH and ojfd
DCBassman said:
Nope, not having it with any RAM, even the 2x1GB sticks it came with. Hmmm...
When the original owner delivered it, it was freezing cold, so it might be a bit damp internally. It's been in a warm room for three hours or so already, but I'll sit it in a still warmer spot for a bit while I investigate causes.
Click to expand...
Got it booting with a 2GB sodimm in one slot. Filling the other slot with anything results in beeps. To get it fired up, it takes one to three power button presses and holds. First, the light fades in, then out. Second, instant on, then out. Third, light stays on, then begins to flicker or flash. Let go, and it boots. Chucked in a SSD and installed Lion, and it runs nicely. But I really hoped I could get the 4GB into it. No more time today. Rats.
 
I decided that after about seven years of NOT using an optical drive, first in my Quad G5 and then with my MacPro, I would ditch the optical drives.

On my MacPro that freed up two SATA connectors. So, back in went my two 6TB drives. Both are failing and DriveDX says 56.x% of health on both. So, I won't be using them for anything critical. But at a minimum, they can function as scratch disks for Photoshop.

And at least I'll be using them more than I was the optical drives!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Certificate of Excellence, Amethyst1 and DCBassman
rampancy said:
Speaking of A1181 MacBooks, I'm feeling stymied by my lack of options in hunting down a replacement keyboard for the BlackBook I picked up earlier. My eBay replacement still doesn't work properly, and I've had issues with trying to resolve things with the seller. Postal service issues aside, the eBay options I've seen aren't looking great either.

Anyone in Toronto, ON got a spare A1181 topcase they'd like to sell me? :confused:
Click to expand...

I feel your pain. In the quest for the almost perfect Blackbook, I combed the 'bay for parts Blackbooks, but could never find one that didn't have a chipped-up top case or that wasn't completely destroyed. I ended up buying a NOS top case and bezel; both collectively costing more than what I paid for the notebook. I also swapped out the display, which was tinted a lovely shade of tan, with one from my gaggle of plastic Macbook parts. It now lovingly runs Snow Leopard.
 
Amethyst1 said:
Put in a 4 GB module (pricey though) and call it a day. :)
Click to expand...

ToniCH said:
Does it do this with only the 1 RAM slot occupied? If yes, I would not invest in more RAM or anything else until I would figure out if there are other more serious problems with it.
Click to expand...
Still think it may be a bit damp internally. When it does boot, it runs well. SL on SSD and just 1GB ran fine.
 
ToniCH said:
Does it do this with only the 1 RAM slot occupied? If yes, I would not invest in more RAM or anything else until I would figure out if there are other more serious problems with it.
Click to expand...
Indeed. It won't do diagnostics, recovery, or respond to any boot-time key press sequences except PRAM reset.
 
Been fudging around with the wallpaper on the 20" Cinema, trying to get some depth in here. Think I finally (completely) nailed it.

Screenshot 2024-11-22 at 16.17.46.jpg

If you look at the ring behind Moya Brennan (Enya's big sister) you can see that the front is popping out and Karan S'Jet (from the Homeworld video games) is floating between the front and back of the ring. A layer emboss on the back part makes the cables look round like they would in 'real life' (if this were at all real). And Moya still looks as if she's out front of it all, which is the idea.

Took hacking Karan and the ring in to four layers to get what I wanted.
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: Certificate of Excellence and Amethyst1
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back