From: sch@unx.sas.com (Steve Holzworth)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.announce
Subject: Re: Repair your own Plus/SE power supply
Followup-To: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Date: 13 Oct 1992 13:11:38 -0500
Organization: SAS Institute Inc.
Expires: 30 days
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

	*
	* this article is BASED on one posted by Steve in CSM.hardware,
	* expanded on by Werner, CSMA-moderator.  All credit goes to Steve,
	* all criticism and blame to Werner - PLEASE!
	*

I've mailed this to a few people in response to their Plus problems.
There seems to be enough related traffic to warrant a post.

	*
	* thanks, Steve;  I think we'll name it a FAQ and I'll archive
	* it on RASCAL and post it (this) ONCE to CSM.announce ]
	*

First: DON'T pay someone $250.00 for a new power supply.
It's much cheaper (and fairly easy) to fix yourself.

	*
	* or have it fixed at one of several competent and reliable
	* small mail-order based outfits. ]
	*

Second: It does NOT require special tools to open a Mac Plus/SE.

	*
	* yes, it does.  for most people a TORX is VERY UNUSUAL (and
	* it used to be VERY hard to find one (that wasn't gold-plated,
	* or should have been ;-) ]
	*

Ideally, you need a long shaft Torx driver (similar to a hex key, but
not the same) to get to the screws in the case handle. You can GET BY
with a long, narrow-bladed, flat screwdriver. It will fit into
the slots in the Torx nut. Be careful not to strip it out.
	*
	* DO NOT use a flat screw-driver; do NOT ADVISE to use such
	* a screw-driver; I am certain that more than 50% of people
	* who'd try would ruin the screws!   The cheapest way I have
	* seen a TORX-substitue screw-driver done, was buying the
	* right-sized (15, I believe) Torx head for a drill (<$1),
	* a little 10 cents plastic tube (used in the American toilett
	* flushing mechanism) that is just the right size (hollow)
	* to stick the Torx head in, and hold it securely in place),
	* stick it into the screw and use a pair of pliers to grip
	* the tube at the other end and (have enough leverage to)
	* turn...]

	
There is a book out by Sam's, called something like "How to Repair
and Upgrade Your Mac". It describes most typical failure modes for
Mac power supplys, describes how to analyze them, and what parts to 
replace/upgrade. It comes with a diskette of test programs for checking
and adjusting the monitor size, alignment, etc., and lists suppliers
for the assorted suspect parts.

	*
	* I don't know the SAM's book, but, in any case, Larry Pina's books
	* have been highly acclaimed on the net:  here are the particulars:
	*
	*	Macintosh Repair & Upgrade Secrets
	*	by Larry Pina, Hayden Books, 1990,
	*	ISBN: 0-672-48452-8, $32.95
	*
	*  outdated by:
	*
	*	The Dead Mac Scrolls (by Larry Pina)
	*	Goldstein & Blair 1992, $32
	*
	* and then there is:
	*
	*	Chilton's Guide To Macintosh Repair and Maintenance
	*	by Gene Williams, Chilton Book Company, Radnor, Penn,
	*	Copyright 1986, ISBN: 0-8019-7639-1 (Paperback), $13.95
	*

I picked up a dead Plus, performed all upgrades recommended in the book
(which also repaired the problem), and now have a working Plus with
an upgraded power supply (including monitor drive components).

Total investment:
Free dead Mac Plus
$60.00 for an upgrade kit from Soft Solutions - includes better flyback,
assorted better capacitors, and a new crt power socket (I bought a power 
transistor also)
Approx $25.00 for the book. (It also covers SEs and Mac 512s)

	*
	* considering you could have done it by experts cheaper and with
	* a warranty, not the right way to do it for most of us.  But it
	* is a fun project, and I am not discouraging anyone...  ---Werner
	*	
	* the place I have mine done is:
	*
	*	OmniTek (Rick Allphin) in Austin, Texas.
	*	(512) 345-4339
	*
	* but he recently moved to a large farm/ranch 2 hours west of town
	* and I he hasn't quite settled down yet, and I'm afraid I will never
	* again see the "same night turn-around" of the past, or the 2 days
	* turn-around everyone else could rely on; now it is probably more
	* like 3-7 days ... but that's ok.  I know he does analog (power)
	* repairs under the $85 that book and parts cost Steve, fixing mother-
	* boards may not be a fixed price but depend on "what"... I don't
	* recall, though...

Not a bad deal.

	*
	* yep.  nice of you to type in the article, Steve.  Kudos... ---Werner
	*

--
Steve Holzworth
sch@unx.sas.com
x6872
SAS Institute - Open Systems R & D
Cary, N.C.


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