While $1000 isn’t cheap, it’s crazy that we live in a time that anyone can order fully customized, partially populated circuit boards for a reasonable cost, when it used to require massive minimum quantity orders (1000+) or an in-house pcb manufacturing branch.
I agree. I used to work for a company that wire wrapped their motherboards. Wire wrapping is so prone to mistakes and is a slow process usually for hobbyist. I never quite understood why the board they were using had to be made that way.
It's all robots and computers. Give it a few more years and even the parts spools for assembly will be loaded into the pick and place machine by a robot. These factories thrive on automation
And with guys finding ways to do diy IC manufacture, we may soon (hopefully) see a day where any hobbyist can make their own tech from raw silicon disks.
Hi I'm Kay Koba, let me be the first, thank you for used many Mac parts I designed! the video of the moment your SE/30 was completed... I'm sure everyone was excited by its overwhelming beauty! No matter what anyone says, I think this is the most beautiful computer in the world. It's the culmination of your efforts. Congratulations Colin!
I'm an older guy who used to work for Apple in the late 80s hand building and reworking the Mac Iicx and Iici. It makes me nerd out watching this and knowing there is a community of people dedicated to preserving what we built. You gained a new sub... Thank you for this.
I worked on one of the boards from your group buy. I was totally blown away that you went through the effort to get the proper diodes to everyone especially since it wasn’t your fault. Your care for the community is awesome!
Yes! That was one thing I forgot to mention in my post. Stand up guy took the crappier boards for himself, and kept everyone updated with parts and info. Top Notch performance all around! It pisses me off to see the boards shipped like that. I can't tell you how widespread that problem is . Definitely, should have sent those warped boards back, 🐂💩customer service.
This is the most TDNC possible video, blazing past "so I bought a second one" all the way into reviving a machine by Ship of Theseusing it into a virtually unrelated machine. Incredible work.
As a CRT enthusiast, seeing people manufacturer brand new pcbs for the main board and the yoke board brings me hope that a lot of otherwise junked tvs and monitors will have a second chance at life. Keep up the good work
And this is why companies should be required by law to open source all their hardware schematics and software source code after they are no longer in production a certain number of years and/or no longer supported. What a treat it is to watch the process of rebuilding a Mac SE. Thank you for the sharing the video! :)
@@jeevesmcqueeves Scope creep. Just a small mispelling. When u start by ordering a new replacement part and end up with new shells, screens, buttons, etc.
Dude, I honestly think the haziness production error with the clear case actually adds to the build. Adds a glassy look, y’know? God damn that thing is a BEUT.
What a stunning build!!! And it's heartening to see that people are stubbornly refusing to let old Macs simply pass into history by re-engineering the new boards and PSU's to keep them going!
But why? Can’t you just run an emulator? Why would anyone need to spend >$1,000, a year of their free time, etc., to recreate a computer that doesn’t accomplish much? I mean, I can somewhat follow recreating a C-64 or Amiga since those seemed to be more specific. But once you get to Mac and PCs era (1984/1981)😢, it became commodity hardware that improved up until the switch to Intel for the 68k side of things. Right?
@@RandallJennings There is something to be said for hardware. I have a couple of 80's synthesisers that have been recreated in software. Sound just as good but nothing like playing the real thing. The tactile experience i would imagine is akin to Colin doing what he's done here. An emulator may well do the self same thing but keeping old machines alive because we can have the full experience
Heh, we'll have to stretch the meaning of preserving a bit there eh, in the end there is like the PCB stiffening bracket left of the original I think - but it's super awesome stuff
I'm not even halfway through this video and I want to thank you. I'm redoing a classic and had rushed to discard some components since there was a battery leak and I wanted to be as extra safe as possible since it was one of my early attempts on doing serious repair on a vintage computer. I foolishly didn't write down everything, but I'm willing to bet that they used a lot of similar components between the Macintosh models, especially ones that use ADB.
@@ceneblock yep, lots of parts commonality there. The via chips, the adb, snd, swim, BBU is the same as in the SE (the classic is just a cost reduced SE)
I'm not a vintage Mac fan myself but this project is just awesome. The thrill of seeing it come together, especially when you turn it on and it works, puts aside all the money you spent and the trouble you went through. Congratulations!
Nice work! I am one of the Amiga motherboard recreators and did the Amiga 4000 replica boards. Its a lot of fun and seeing a final machine with all new parts boot for the first time is a very satisfying feeling!
Masterwork of Macintosh projects. It's a one-of-a-kind, near-perfect rebuild, repair, refurbish (literally) and remake of a computer that defined an era of computer history. Your narration and camerawork are very impressive and highlight the information you convey flawlessly. You deserve a damn trophy for the video alone, not just working on the Mac.
Oh this post is so crazy. I mean the sheer amount of time took not only to fix and assemble but also film. In every step you had to stop, change camera angle, zoom, lights, do the voice over, add the sick music and post edit the whole thing through a year of soldering. This video is on another level.
I used to repair these and other older Macs for years. The last images I have is a 12 cubic metre skip carting everything away when I closed that particular shop. It contained virtually every model from the 128K up to the G3 iMacs. Including 512K, Plus, SE, SE30, 2cx,2ci, 2fx, 2si, LC, LC2/3/475, Performas, Classics, Power Macs, Powerbooks, MacPortables, you name it, it was probably there. Printers, monitors, motherboards. It makes me shudder what got dumped on that weekend. No one wanted it and I had no room at my new location. Heartbreaking it was... I hope you feel my pain. Anyway, thanks for the video, you've done a wonderful job on prolonging the venerable SE30. I used to run my business on one. PS. still got loads of Nubus video boards, SIMs, and other random smaller parts I didn't want to chuck out. (even a small quantity of SE reset/program buttons somewhere). And a small collection of other Macs that I haven't got around to put on eBay. One day I'll have to catalog everything.
Did I just spend half an hour watching a project video on something I didn’t think I actually cared about? Yes, yes I did. Did I come away super impressed and glad to have watched it? Also yes. Thanks for giving us a look at a year in the life, Colin. Even when I think I don’t care about a project you take on, I’m super impressed with the results, and this ending shot may be the best build I’ve ever seen you do. Appreciate this share!
This is just brilliant. The SE/30 was one of the first vintage Macs I collected back in the early 2000s (for a mere $25), and was the last to be sold off 15 years later (for $450!) when time, space and interest were in short supply. As I much as I miss it, I’m kinda glad I sold it on when I did: it was starting to show issues with the video display and no doubt would have required a full recapping by now. It is absolutely amazing to see all the third party home brew projects available to support rebuilding the systems today. Back then it was mostly just the mad scientists from the Japanese Colour Classic clubs who were hacking them. Things have come a loooooong way!
This is by far one of my favourite restoration with modernization projects out there. Such a gorgeous and incredible job! The video is also incredibly well done. Congratulations! Its wonderful you've shared with us all this experience and results.
The fun that you had with this project is infectious! Don't get me wrong, I know you're passionate about all your projects but this one, well, this one we can tell you're smiling in all the voice overs. Super green and well done, ya mad lad. As a long time viewer, your work is much appreciated.
I have very less knowledge of old computers and its community. But surely I can say that this video puts a big impact on me. I always try to push myself more into electronics and programming and surly your video helps me. I love your build. Thank you for sharing your journey for this build. Sending lots of love from India 🇮🇳
God... this was the most beautiful thing. A Macintosh SE/30 practically brand new from top to bottom. Colin, you have absolutely out done yourself in an incredible way! Thank you, and the community at large, for showing this beautiful piece of computing history love beyond measure!
I'm a wannabe nerd. I will never be close to doing the things that were done in this video. You and the generous builder community that backed you in this project were top notch. I have a basic understanding of what was done here, but found the extra steps that you took kept me glued to the video. I don't know how many times, I rolled it back to catch the names of the people or communities that reached out, when you hit a wall. I'm am a recent sub, but so far this was your best content video yet. Congrats and hope it gets the hits it deserves!
I’ve been following you for years, but this video, this project, is the most inspiring and completely geeked out video you’ve posted to date. I hope this inspires you to continue to build legacy Macs with new components. I have no more words at this point, I’m absolutely gobsmacked!! 🎉
The ONLY thing I see kinda missing is a clear case for the keyboard that matches the mouse! Other than that, this just looks AMAZING! I had access to an SE when I attended College back in the early 90's. I graduated high school not knowing much about computers, and that Mac was the ONLY computer I could figure out on my own! Great Machine! Thanks for keeping this one alive!
This is amazing. Wonderful narration and detail of all steps of the project. The parts are incredible and it's wonderful to see it all come together after so much care and effort. Will definitely be rewatching!
Can reload and rebrand this as a kind of Halloween video as after all you got to play Dr. Frankenstein - transplanting the brain into a different body with body parts sourced from hither and yon yielding a most beautiful monster 🤓
And of course Dosfox has now managed to bother folks into getting the PALs for the Mac Plus reversed, and patched his way around requiring the IWM floppy controller chip, to build a pure, new parts only Mac Plus. And this after building a more-or-less new parts only Lisa!
Sorry - that could sound a smidge dismissive. Suffice that it is awesome that you could build out a whole new SE/30 from near new, and that the frontier of what is possible is still moving very actively forward.
That’s amazing that you were able to mostly build a Macintosh classic motherboard from scratch! If there’s a way to reproduce new Macintosh classic computers with modern components and LCD, that would be Mac homebrewers’ dream come true!
What an incredible build! Congratulations! I can't imagine the patience and perseverance it took to accomplish this mammoth undertaking. Absolutely worth it though, it's incredibly impressive.
I like the naming scheme of the sections in this video, my favorites are: "wax on, wax off", "change of plans', "just Look at this thing", special place in my heart holds "some nifty accessories" and last but not least: "(RE)loading the new PCB" they are all great and I just can't select my favorite
Fantastic job Colin. Thanks for taking all the time and effort to bring us along with you on your journey. I used one of these at work when new and it is amazing to see another reborn today.
@@OriginalityDaniel depends on things like if the Mac uses voltages the atx standaard didn't use or higher power than the pico PSU can deliver, which might differ per voltage rail. Also, the pico PSU will be flopping around, this one fits perfectly.
Great job and amazing results! It kind of goes beyond the whole "Ship of Theseus" philosophical issue that most restorations create. I'd be interested to see if someday all the parts could be available or replaceable so a completely new SE/30 could be built at home.
This is top 10 TH-cam material. I had no idea this was a thing. I mean it's one thing to "build" a PC, but to actually build a new old Mac, it just doesn't get any better. Bravo on putting together a masterpiece or Retrotech video.
Not gonna lie, the music was SPOT ON! I had to find the tracks for myself. 1 was Fresh Pastries by Lofive. The ending one was 1983 by Ben Elson. New Retro Wave is fantastic!
This video. Seriously. This. Video. So well produced. Such attention to detail. I am amazed. You rocked this. Thank you for sharing your journey. Well done!
Thank you so much for, first of all, doing this project at and thus showing that's possible. And secondly, turning your video on this into an astonishing and hope-giving demonstration of just how effective and capable these communities of aftermarket component creators have become.
21:53 - the real zero ohm resistors that we used to use back in the 1980s actually had a (usually tan / brown colored) cylindrical body just like a carbon composition resistor, with a single black band to indicate the value was zero ohms. The body was important because sometimes a double sided board would not have a solder mask on the top surface, and if the zero ohm had a trace running beneath it the body served as insulation.
And if the zero-ohm didn't have a trace running beneath it, it probably could have just been a trace, so I'd assume most of them had traces under them.
@@BrooksMoses - on a double sided board, that would usually be the case. On a single sided board, there would still be a trace under it, but not on the top side of the board ;)
I love these recreation projects, one because they are just impressive works and a lot of fun, but two because these boards and parts are becoming increasingly rare (and what's left of them tend to be neglected and damaged by now).
This was a great video. I don't have any retro computer knowledge at all, but I've always enjoyed learning from your videos, and others like David the 8-Bit Guy and Adrian Black. The end product here was amazing, and despite the cost and time, your joy at the end is what makes it worth it. Thanks for the great content, as always!
I have one, but it refuses to turn on due to a possible defect with one of the chips that I think controls the power. Used to use it often before that to play DOS games.
Same thing here, I built an Omega MSX 2+ last year. Also took almost a year (between waiting for parts and tools), but I gained lots of experience with soldering, 3D printing and diagnostics, some new tools for the collection, and made some new friends in the process. A huge win!
The moment you showed that hazy case my first thought was: I wonder how well my headlamp polishing kit would work on that. Good to see you went in a similar direction!
That plast x stuff works good. If you use it with a motorized polisher it'll clear up old headlights quite well, as long as they aren't so messed up that they need serious wet sanding first.
Back in the day, a friend ran a 5 year old SE 30 and I ran a Classic. I was always blown away by how much more the SE 30 could do, although mine could run The Sims for my daughters, the only time the "dirty thirty" couldn't beat the "crappic." An original SE was also the the first Mac I ever experienced. I'd been a BBC B+ user up to that moment, suddenly, my 1985 "wasn't 1984." Now I'm running an original M1 Macbook Air (fully optioned to the max for 2020) and can't imagine why I'd ever need a Mac Pro. coming up to 4 years on, this thing is still killer! The magic of restoring old macs (and beefing them up) is proof of what Steve Jobs said about Apple after his return - Macs are like luxury car classics, PCs are just the cheap cars ordinary people drive.
You can make a non-polarized capacitor from 2 polarized capacitors that are connected in series but in opposite orientation (positive to positive or negative to negative). The resulting series capacitance will be half the value of each capacitor (assuming they are equal) and the voltage rating will be the same as the rating of each capacitor (again assuming they are identical), not double the voltage. It is standard practice even in industry to make them this way when they are not available anymore. So for example if you need a non-polarized capacitor rated for 100uF/10V you can connect back to back two capacitors each rated 200uF/10V.
There were multiple points during the video where I was teasing you out-loud for your overboard choices, but I cannot argue with the result - that thing is beautiful! LOVE the black motherboard with gold traces especially! Awesome.
Holy Crap Colin! This is an amazing...no, stunning piece of work for the video and the project overall! Also, loved the 80's inspired synth music you chose for the assembly montage towards the end. Now, better question since I'm sure you've been using it for a little while: How's the performance of this Mac now that you've dropped in so much new stuff? I gotta think the BlueSCSI, newer 68030 chip, more memory, etc. would do wonders for giving that little speed demon a good boost?
I can personally verify that working with SE/30 CRTs can be painful. I used to run a computer lab at a University that had these decades ago, and when working on one I touched the wrong (not discharged, apparently) thing and got the shocked out of me. It was a remarkably uncomfortable experience...
For some odd reason, with the black logic board and red analog board, I kept thinking "blackjack". It also seems like it's been almost 21 months since this whole project started. Seems fitting to maybe refer to this as "Project Blackjack"? You and everyone else involved definitely scored your 21 points with video and the project as a whole, Colin! Well done!
Wow - what an incredible effort and accomplishment! Really nice job (and unbelievable patience!!) The end-result is incredible. It’s really nice to see that there is a concerted effort to keep these vintage devices “alive” and running into the future.
Be careful with the Baby Face power supply. Several people are reporting excessive ripple when connected to SE/30's with a lot of attachments (expansion cards, CPU upgrade cards etc.). 5V rail dropping to 4.5V, apparently a 2nd revision is in the works.
@@OriginalityDaniel PicoPSU is great but I didn't think they made one for the SE-30 unless I'm thinking of a Mac Plus or Classic or another compact mac... but yeah I'd say that's a better option if you're using a lot of expansion cards, as long as it doesn't have the same issue @2dfx was describing
I used to own a Mac SE/30 and it was great for .. writing. I primarily watched this video because I also have what is now classified as a "classic car" from 1994, and I have started to experience capacitor problems. They leak and replacement parts are very expensive. I was considering replacing just the capacitors but the board doesn't look right and my best option is likely to buy a used replacement that currently works and replace all the capacitors on that with new ones. You'd think these old cars would die from rust or worn mechanical parts, but it is the electronics that will leave them bricked.
I bought a IIGS in 87 and loved it. When the SE came out I picked one up as soon as they hit the PX and became a Mac fan. You revived a lot of memories with this rebuild and all i can think is "where the hell were all these parts back in the day??!!"
What an awesome video Colin! I've been subbed for nearly 10 years now and to see how far you've come with your knowledge and scope of these electronic projects is so cool. Your videos have always been my little gateway into the world of vintage computers. Something I haven't really dipped my toes in, but is very adjacent to my own hobbies that I can't help but be so enamored with it all. This video was a great way for my perspective to take a step back and see how far the entire hobby has come. You almost take for granted how passionate the people making this stuff really are. And the final result is insanely cool looking! This Mac will not only be a wonderful representation of how far you've come with your skills in this field, but also as a video producer as well. This video is incredibly well put together. The way the go through every step of this year long process, is impressive to say the very least. The shot composition is good, the lighting is always excellent, especially with all of the close-up shots to clearly see all of the computers internals. (I can't imagine those being easy). It's well organized and easy to follow. Just top-notch stuff! I feel the scope of this video has topped many of your others. I know this was a lot of gushing lol but I love to see passionate youtubers continue to do what they love and keep finding ways for their content to be more fulfilling for, not only themselves, but people watching as well! :)
Fantastic! Congratulations! I have to do this. I have a fully working SE/30 that I bought new in 1989. I had the board re-capped years ago. (I still need to re-cap the video board.) I love it. I would love to have one of these to go with it, though. Thanks for sharing this.
Wonder if we'll ever be able to do stuff like this for the PowerPC era machines... I'd do awful, awful things for the opportunity to basically just transplant the guts of a late model iBook/PowerBook G4 into my iBook Clamshell, lol.
If you can find them, the SE/30 supposedly supported 16MB 30-pin SIMMS, allowing a maximum capacity of 128MB. The SE/30 also supports A/UX, Apple's UNIX variant, although it is picky about which keyboard you connect. A/UX was the fist UNIX I had access to, and later admin'd more than 30 years ago, in my case on Apple IIFX hardware modified for US DoD use. I was surprised to find that A/UX was available on the Internet, and getting it running on an SE/30 was a blast from the past.
No more drive activity noise? Install a relay module to make noise! Old fan makes noise? Swap it out for a quieter Noctua fan! Haha, but seriously cool project. Hope the machine ends up in a museum someday :)
Without a shadow of a doubt, this is the kind of reason why I love the retro computing community. Beautiful machine at the end of it all as well. Great video work too. Absolutely, you should feel proud of this one.
@@volvo09 Except that he told them, in the form of the "customer reference" section being "R15, R16, R18" so presumably anybody responsible for printing the label, putting the label on the bag, putting the part in the labeled bag, or double-checking the work could have known... But yeah, I'm pretty sure he wrote that
Colin, you've outdone yourself! What an amazing journey and an even better final result! Congratulations on your success, and on first try, no less! It looks great, and I truly hope to see another "from the ground, up" rebuild some day. And pleeeeease, do not shy away from these longer format videos when you have the chance. I love the longer format with your detailed approach. :)
22:55 - I wonder why they opted for a close copy of the original rather than updating it to make user assembly a bit easier... but then again I dont know the whole context of things here since im not personally into vintage computers i just enjoy watching such on youtube.
That was quite the journey. While I haven't used mac's that much growing up, except for school. I still am glad I found this channel a few years back. I still love vintage computers and macs are quite cool for that. Thanks for all the content you put out.
Colin, this project was positively bonkers! But I love it! I remember composing the student newspaper on an SE/30 back in 1991. The performance for the time out of a tiny all-in-one was mind blowing back in the day.
While $1000 isn’t cheap, it’s crazy that we live in a time that anyone can order fully customized, partially populated circuit boards for a reasonable cost, when it used to require massive minimum quantity orders (1000+) or an in-house pcb manufacturing branch.
I agree. I used to work for a company that wire wrapped their motherboards. Wire wrapping is so prone to mistakes and is a slow process usually for hobbyist. I never quite understood why the board they were using had to be made that way.
It's all robots and computers. Give it a few more years and even the parts spools for assembly will be loaded into the pick and place machine by a robot.
These factories thrive on automation
cheaper than original retail price for them
And with guys finding ways to do diy IC manufacture, we may soon (hopefully) see a day where any hobbyist can make their own tech from raw silicon disks.
@@jacobusburger there's a guy who made an entire CPU
Hi I'm Kay Koba, let me be the first, thank you for used many Mac parts I designed! the video of the moment your SE/30 was completed... I'm sure everyone was excited by its overwhelming beauty! No matter what anyone says, I think this is the most beautiful computer in the world. It's the culmination of your efforts. Congratulations Colin!
Thank you for your service. This piece of history is preserved thanks to people like you and the channel owner. VERY SATISFIED WATCH
great work
Keep doing what you do
The stuff you make looks sick Kay! Thanks for being awesome.
Kay Koba LEGEND STATUS!
I'm an older guy who used to work for Apple in the late 80s hand building and reworking the Mac Iicx and Iici. It makes me nerd out watching this and knowing there is a community of people dedicated to preserving what we built. You gained a new sub... Thank you for this.
I worked on one of the boards from your group buy. I was totally blown away that you went through the effort to get the proper diodes to everyone especially since it wasn’t your fault. Your care for the community is awesome!
Yes! That was one thing I forgot to mention in my post. Stand up guy took the crappier boards for himself, and kept everyone updated with parts and info. Top Notch performance all around! It pisses me off to see the boards shipped like that. I can't tell you how widespread that problem is . Definitely, should have sent those warped boards back, 🐂💩customer service.
Ubisoft should hire him.........could learn something.
Wow! Talk about a third party *customer* stepping in for the warranty that wasn't honored by the manufacturer!
Respect!
@@gaterunner64 sounds like an awsome guy
This is the most TDNC possible video, blazing past "so I bought a second one" all the way into reviving a machine by Ship of Theseusing it into a virtually unrelated machine. Incredible work.
yeah, the extent of what he did does definitely not compute.
"Ship of Theseusing it"
Love this 😂
@@sandrafaith I can't :D :D
Holy crap!!! What an absolutely gorgeous job. You didn't even mention the reproduction mouse, but I noticed.
I don't think I would have spotted it if not for this comment. SO COOL.
clear case deserves a clear mouse housing. I wonder if a matching keyboard is next...
Completionists would demand clear cables too 😁
Came to the comments for the same thing. It looks awesome.
As a CRT enthusiast, seeing people manufacturer brand new pcbs for the main board and the yoke board brings me hope that a lot of otherwise junked tvs and monitors will have a second chance at life. Keep up the good work
And this is why companies should be required by law to open source all their hardware schematics and software source code after they are no longer in production a certain number of years and/or no longer supported.
What a treat it is to watch the process of rebuilding a Mac SE. Thank you for the sharing the video! :)
This video is basically colin falling into scope creep after building a SE/30 Mothetboard
scop... creep?
Scope creep. When the scope or scale of a project just keeps getting bigger and bigger. @@jeevesmcqueeves
@@jeevesmcqueeves Scope creep. Just a small mispelling. When u start by ordering a new replacement part and end up with new shells, screens, buttons, etc.
Feature creep and scope creep 🤣
we love to shave a few yaks, don't we?
Dude, I honestly think the haziness production error with the clear case actually adds to the build. Adds a glassy look, y’know?
God damn that thing is a BEUT.
What a stunning build!!! And it's heartening to see that people are stubbornly refusing to let old Macs simply pass into history by re-engineering the new boards and PSU's to keep them going!
There was an impressive amount of boards recreated
But why?
Can’t you just run an emulator? Why would anyone need to spend >$1,000, a year of their free time, etc., to recreate a computer that doesn’t accomplish much?
I mean, I can somewhat follow recreating a C-64 or Amiga since those seemed to be more specific. But once you get to Mac and PCs era (1984/1981)😢, it became commodity hardware that improved up until the switch to Intel for the 68k side of things. Right?
@@RandallJennings There is something to be said for hardware. I have a couple of 80's synthesisers that have been recreated in software. Sound just as good but nothing like playing the real thing. The tactile experience i would imagine is akin to Colin doing what he's done here. An emulator may well do the self same thing but keeping old machines alive because we can have the full experience
28:20 AC-DC screaming "High Voltage" just entered my head. I love that these projects are preserving history.
Heh, we'll have to stretch the meaning of preserving a bit there eh, in the end there is like the PCB stiffening bracket left of the original I think - but it's super awesome stuff
Incredibly clean deeds,
Done very expensively.
I'm not even halfway through this video and I want to thank you.
I'm redoing a classic and had rushed to discard some components since there was a battery leak and I wanted to be as extra safe as possible since it was one of my early attempts on doing serious repair on a vintage computer.
I foolishly didn't write down everything, but I'm willing to bet that they used a lot of similar components between the Macintosh models, especially ones that use ADB.
@@ceneblock yep, lots of parts commonality there. The via chips, the adb, snd, swim, BBU is the same as in the SE (the classic is just a cost reduced SE)
I'm not a vintage Mac fan myself but this project is just awesome. The thrill of seeing it come together, especially when you turn it on and it works, puts aside all the money you spent and the trouble you went through. Congratulations!
You should keep the bus diagnostic thingy, it would look rad with the transparent case.
The blinky lights must go nuts when the computer is running
@@volvo09 And they can overload the chips that drive the bus.
@@watchmakerful ah, that's no good. So just for diagnostic use.
@@volvo09 there's a reason it's a diagnostic bus
@doursen if it's just an inline led it shouldn't make a difference should it? Or is there an interpreter on the board?
Nice work! I am one of the Amiga motherboard recreators and did the Amiga 4000 replica boards. Its a lot of fun and seeing a final machine with all new parts boot for the first time is a very satisfying feeling!
Thanks for going above and beyond in this rebuild, lots of channels just click bait "custom" with doing nothing but rehousing the boards.
"Labor of love" doesn't even scratch the surface of how much work went into this. Wow.
Holy crap, you put in a lot of work on this video. One of your best. Thanks for this!
Masterwork of Macintosh projects. It's a one-of-a-kind, near-perfect rebuild, repair, refurbish (literally) and remake of a computer that defined an era of computer history.
Your narration and camerawork are very impressive and highlight the information you convey flawlessly. You deserve a damn trophy for the video alone, not just working on the Mac.
Let’s count how many SE/30s TechKnight has taken part in saving. Mine, that’s one. Yours, that’s two…
I was part of this group buy as well, so he gets credit for mine too!
Name checks out
Techknight is one of my best friends. He is awsome
@@theranterboy7884 He’s legendary!
Oh this post is so crazy. I mean the sheer amount of time took not only to fix and assemble but also film. In every step you had to stop, change camera angle, zoom, lights, do the voice over, add the sick music and post edit the whole thing through a year of soldering. This video is on another level.
I used to repair these and other older Macs for years. The last images I have is a 12 cubic metre skip carting everything away when I closed that particular shop. It contained virtually every model from the 128K up to the G3 iMacs. Including 512K, Plus, SE, SE30, 2cx,2ci, 2fx, 2si, LC, LC2/3/475, Performas, Classics, Power Macs, Powerbooks, MacPortables, you name it, it was probably there. Printers, monitors, motherboards. It makes me shudder what got dumped on that weekend. No one wanted it and I had no room at my new location. Heartbreaking it was...
I hope you feel my pain.
Anyway, thanks for the video, you've done a wonderful job on prolonging the venerable SE30. I used to run my business on one.
PS. still got loads of Nubus video boards, SIMs, and other random smaller parts I didn't want to chuck out. (even a small quantity of SE reset/program buttons somewhere). And a small collection of other Macs that I haven't got around to put on eBay. One day I'll have to catalog everything.
Did I just spend half an hour watching a project video on something I didn’t think I actually cared about? Yes, yes I did. Did I come away super impressed and glad to have watched it? Also yes.
Thanks for giving us a look at a year in the life, Colin. Even when I think I don’t care about a project you take on, I’m super impressed with the results, and this ending shot may be the best build I’ve ever seen you do. Appreciate this share!
This is just brilliant. The SE/30 was one of the first vintage Macs I collected back in the early 2000s (for a mere $25), and was the last to be sold off 15 years later (for $450!) when time, space and interest were in short supply. As I much as I miss it, I’m kinda glad I sold it on when I did: it was starting to show issues with the video display and no doubt would have required a full recapping by now. It is absolutely amazing to see all the third party home brew projects available to support rebuilding the systems today. Back then it was mostly just the mad scientists from the Japanese Colour Classic clubs who were hacking them. Things have come a loooooong way!
This is by far one of my favourite restoration with modernization projects out there. Such a gorgeous and incredible job! The video is also incredibly well done.
Congratulations! Its wonderful you've shared with us all this experience and results.
This is so over the top, every five minutes you dropped another level up to this project, absolutely incredible. Fantastic video as always!
The fun that you had with this project is infectious! Don't get me wrong, I know you're passionate about all your projects but this one, well, this one we can tell you're smiling in all the voice overs.
Super green and well done, ya mad lad. As a long time viewer, your work is much appreciated.
Good gravy, Colin. This was a tour de force!
I have very less knowledge of old computers and its community. But surely I can say that this video puts a big impact on me. I always try to push myself more into electronics and programming and surly your video helps me.
I love your build. Thank you for sharing your journey for this build. Sending lots of love from India 🇮🇳
I always wanted to refurbish my old SE30 since a few years now. You just gave me so many ideas Colin! Thanks for that.. another excellent video!
God... this was the most beautiful thing. A Macintosh SE/30 practically brand new from top to bottom. Colin, you have absolutely out done yourself in an incredible way! Thank you, and the community at large, for showing this beautiful piece of computing history love beyond measure!
I'm a wannabe nerd. I will never be close to doing the things that were done in this video. You and the generous builder community that backed you in this project were top notch. I have a basic understanding of what was done here, but found the extra steps that you took kept me glued to the video. I don't know how many times, I rolled it back to catch the names of the people or communities that reached out, when you hit a wall. I'm am a recent sub, but so far this was your best content video yet. Congrats and hope it gets the hits it deserves!
I’ve been following you for years, but this video, this project, is the most inspiring and completely geeked out video you’ve posted to date. I hope this inspires you to continue to build legacy Macs with new components. I have no more words at this point, I’m absolutely gobsmacked!! 🎉
The ONLY thing I see kinda missing is a clear case for the keyboard that matches the mouse! Other than that, this just looks AMAZING! I had access to an SE when I attended College back in the early 90's. I graduated high school not knowing much about computers, and that Mac was the ONLY computer I could figure out on my own! Great Machine! Thanks for keeping this one alive!
This is amazing. Wonderful narration and detail of all steps of the project. The parts are incredible and it's wonderful to see it all come together after so much care and effort. Will definitely be rewatching!
This was a lot of fun to work on...frustrating at times with the diagnostics, but fun overall!
Can reload and rebrand this as a kind of Halloween video as after all you got to play Dr. Frankenstein - transplanting the brain into a different body with body parts sourced from hither and yon yielding a most beautiful monster 🤓
And of course Dosfox has now managed to bother folks into getting the PALs for the Mac Plus reversed, and patched his way around requiring the IWM floppy controller chip, to build a pure, new parts only Mac Plus. And this after building a more-or-less new parts only Lisa!
Sorry - that could sound a smidge dismissive. Suffice that it is awesome that you could build out a whole new SE/30 from near new, and that the frontier of what is possible is still moving very actively forward.
That’s amazing that you were able to mostly build a Macintosh classic motherboard from scratch! If there’s a way to reproduce new Macintosh classic computers with modern components and LCD, that would be Mac homebrewers’ dream come true!
What an incredible build! Congratulations!
I can't imagine the patience and perseverance it took to accomplish this mammoth undertaking. Absolutely worth it though, it's incredibly impressive.
I like the naming scheme of the sections in this video, my favorites are: "wax on, wax off", "change of plans', "just Look at this thing", special place in my heart holds "some nifty accessories" and last but not least: "(RE)loading the new PCB" they are all great and I just can't select my favorite
Incredible project. The passion shines through. I’m blown away by the process, your attention to detail, and the community work that went into it.
Fantastic job Colin. Thanks for taking all the time and effort to bring us along with you on your journey. I used one of these at work when new and it is amazing to see another reborn today.
27:32 This is one of the best build montages I have ever seen
You can't fault them for the power supply cost. Those meanwell integrated power modules are not exactly cheap. And it has three of them.
Pretty neat modules though, just a module you design into your board and bam, you have a DC voltage rail.
@@volvo09 yes, I looked into them before for a project, drop in and done.
would the PicoPSU by dekuNukem be a better option?
@@OriginalityDaniel depends on things like if the Mac uses voltages the atx standaard didn't use or higher power than the pico PSU can deliver, which might differ per voltage rail.
Also, the pico PSU will be flopping around, this one fits perfectly.
This montage at 27:50 gave me chills. I felt something forgotten and that music is ..OMG. And my jaw drooped when you showed grand finale.
Great job and amazing results! It kind of goes beyond the whole "Ship of Theseus" philosophical issue that most restorations create. I'd be interested to see if someday all the parts could be available or replaceable so a completely new SE/30 could be built at home.
This is top 10 TH-cam material. I had no idea this was a thing. I mean it's one thing to "build" a PC, but to actually build a new old Mac, it just doesn't get any better. Bravo on putting together a masterpiece or Retrotech video.
This is some visual and audio asmr for computer assembly stuff and project making stuff, great work
Not gonna lie, the music was SPOT ON! I had to find the tracks for myself. 1 was Fresh Pastries by Lofive. The ending one was 1983 by Ben Elson. New Retro Wave is fantastic!
This video. Seriously. This. Video. So well produced. Such attention to detail. I am amazed. You rocked this. Thank you for sharing your journey. Well done!
This is the most beautifull project on your channel. I am glad you went down the rabbit hole. Thanks for sharing, I have enjoyed this video so much!
Thank you so much for, first of all, doing this project at and thus showing that's possible. And secondly, turning your video on this into an astonishing and hope-giving demonstration of just how effective and capable these communities of aftermarket component creators have become.
Your creation deserve to be in a live gallery for techies like us to appreciate your work.
21:53 - the real zero ohm resistors that we used to use back in the 1980s actually had a (usually tan / brown colored) cylindrical body just like a carbon composition resistor, with a single black band to indicate the value was zero ohms.
The body was important because sometimes a double sided board would not have a solder mask on the top surface, and if the zero ohm had a trace running beneath it the body served as insulation.
And if the zero-ohm didn't have a trace running beneath it, it probably could have just been a trace, so I'd assume most of them had traces under them.
@@BrooksMoses - on a double sided board, that would usually be the case. On a single sided board, there would still be a trace under it, but not on the top side of the board ;)
You didn't just fall down a rabbit hole, you fell into a bloody transwarp conduit. you ended up on the otherside of the universe.
This is such a freaking epic project!! Props for pulling this off and making such a gorgeous video of the whole process! 👏🏻
I love these recreation projects, one because they are just impressive works and a lot of fun, but two because these boards and parts are becoming increasingly rare (and what's left of them tend to be neglected and damaged by now).
What, no startup sound!?!?! Props to the build. Those final assembly shots were so satisfying.
This is gorgeous. Congratulations Colin on such a fabulous new build!
This is a piece of art work. You are awesome, buddy!
This was cool! I love how the case turned out after the polish. I think it looks better than being fully clear. Well done!
same; the hazier glow makes it more dreamy
This was a great video. I don't have any retro computer knowledge at all, but I've always enjoyed learning from your videos, and others like David the 8-Bit Guy and Adrian Black.
The end product here was amazing, and despite the cost and time, your joy at the end is what makes it worth it. Thanks for the great content, as always!
Done the same with HP nc6000 business notebooks. All parts were new available on eBay, even cases.
I love those laptops!
I have one, but it refuses to turn on due to a possible defect with one of the chips that I think controls the power.
Used to use it often before that to play DOS games.
Same thing here, I built an Omega MSX 2+ last year. Also took almost a year (between waiting for parts and tools), but I gained lots of experience with soldering, 3D printing and diagnostics, some new tools for the collection, and made some new friends in the process. A huge win!
The moment you showed that hazy case my first thought was: I wonder how well my headlamp polishing kit would work on that. Good to see you went in a similar direction!
That plast x stuff works good. If you use it with a motorized polisher it'll clear up old headlights quite well, as long as they aren't so messed up that they need serious wet sanding first.
Back in the day, a friend ran a 5 year old SE 30 and I ran a Classic. I was always blown away by how much more the SE 30 could do, although mine could run The Sims for my daughters, the only time the "dirty thirty" couldn't beat the "crappic." An original SE was also the the first Mac I ever experienced. I'd been a BBC B+ user up to that moment, suddenly, my 1985 "wasn't 1984." Now I'm running an original M1 Macbook Air (fully optioned to the max for 2020) and can't imagine why I'd ever need a Mac Pro. coming up to 4 years on, this thing is still killer! The magic of restoring old macs (and beefing them up) is proof of what Steve Jobs said about Apple after his return - Macs are like luxury car classics, PCs are just the cheap cars ordinary people drive.
This is one cool modern retro pc. I love it.
You can make a non-polarized capacitor from 2 polarized capacitors that are connected in series but in opposite orientation (positive to positive or negative to negative). The resulting series capacitance will be half the value of each capacitor (assuming they are equal) and the voltage rating will be the same as the rating of each capacitor (again assuming they are identical), not double the voltage. It is standard practice even in industry to make them this way when they are not available anymore. So for example if you need a non-polarized capacitor rated for 100uF/10V you can connect back to back two capacitors each rated 200uF/10V.
Beautiful work! I think the foggy-ness of the case really adds nice charcter!
Yeah, I don't think it would look right if it was crystal clear
There were multiple points during the video where I was teasing you out-loud for your overboard choices, but I cannot argue with the result - that thing is beautiful! LOVE the black motherboard with gold traces especially! Awesome.
Holy Crap Colin! This is an amazing...no, stunning piece of work for the video and the project overall! Also, loved the 80's inspired synth music you chose for the assembly montage towards the end.
Now, better question since I'm sure you've been using it for a little while: How's the performance of this Mac now that you've dropped in so much new stuff? I gotta think the BlueSCSI, newer 68030 chip, more memory, etc. would do wonders for giving that little speed demon a good boost?
I can personally verify that working with SE/30 CRTs can be painful. I used to run a computer lab at a University that had these decades ago, and when working on one I touched the wrong (not discharged, apparently) thing and got the shocked out of me. It was a remarkably uncomfortable experience...
For some odd reason, with the black logic board and red analog board, I kept thinking "blackjack". It also seems like it's been almost 21 months since this whole project started. Seems fitting to maybe refer to this as "Project Blackjack"?
You and everyone else involved definitely scored your 21 points with video and the project as a whole, Colin! Well done!
14:30 there's some kind of charm in having to even do the same bodge as the original, what a project
Given that, inflation adjusted, a SE/30 would have been $10,000 in modern money, you got that computer cheap!
And what about the Lisa?
@@olsmokey About $48,000
The video schematic issue is super accurate to the original so it’s kinda a win in that respect lol
My God man. Amazing work and no ads
Wow - what an incredible effort and accomplishment! Really nice job (and unbelievable patience!!) The end-result is incredible. It’s really nice to see that there is a concerted effort to keep these vintage devices “alive” and running into the future.
Be careful with the Baby Face power supply. Several people are reporting excessive ripple when connected to SE/30's with a lot of attachments (expansion cards, CPU upgrade cards etc.). 5V rail dropping to 4.5V, apparently a 2nd revision is in the works.
would the PicoPSU by dekuNukem be a better option if you have tons of upgrades?
where did you see this? I may be seeing something similar
I wouldn't leave the cover / shielding of the power supply either
@@JonSchwenn JDW has a great TH-cam video also covering the same issue
@@OriginalityDaniel PicoPSU is great but I didn't think they made one for the SE-30 unless I'm thinking of a Mac Plus or Classic or another compact mac... but yeah I'd say that's a better option if you're using a lot of expansion cards, as long as it doesn't have the same issue @2dfx was describing
I used to own a Mac SE/30 and it was great for .. writing. I primarily watched this video because I also have what is now classified as a "classic car" from 1994, and I have started to experience capacitor problems. They leak and replacement parts are very expensive. I was considering replacing just the capacitors but the board doesn't look right and my best option is likely to buy a used replacement that currently works and replace all the capacitors on that with new ones. You'd think these old cars would die from rust or worn mechanical parts, but it is the electronics that will leave them bricked.
This was a fun watch.
I bought a IIGS in 87 and loved it. When the SE came out I picked one up as soon as they hit the PX and became a Mac fan. You revived a lot of memories with this rebuild and all i can think is "where the hell were all these parts back in the day??!!"
31:52 "It's becoming clear..." Heh. Like the case. 🤣
Holy crap. This is insanely impressive. Shout out to you and everyone involved, what an accomplishment to crowdsource like 80% of an ancient machine!
What an awesome video Colin! I've been subbed for nearly 10 years now and to see how far you've come with your knowledge and scope of these electronic projects is so cool. Your videos have always been my little gateway into the world of vintage computers. Something I haven't really dipped my toes in, but is very adjacent to my own hobbies that I can't help but be so enamored with it all. This video was a great way for my perspective to take a step back and see how far the entire hobby has come. You almost take for granted how passionate the people making this stuff really are.
And the final result is insanely cool looking! This Mac will not only be a wonderful representation of how far you've come with your skills in this field, but also as a video producer as well. This video is incredibly well put together. The way the go through every step of this year long process, is impressive to say the very least. The shot composition is good, the lighting is always excellent, especially with all of the close-up shots to clearly see all of the computers internals. (I can't imagine those being easy). It's well organized and easy to follow. Just top-notch stuff! I feel the scope of this video has topped many of your others.
I know this was a lot of gushing lol but I love to see passionate youtubers continue to do what they love and keep finding ways for their content to be more fulfilling for, not only themselves, but people watching as well! :)
Fantastic! Congratulations! I have to do this. I have a fully working SE/30 that I bought new in 1989. I had the board re-capped years ago. (I still need to re-cap the video board.) I love it. I would love to have one of these to go with it, though. Thanks for sharing this.
Wonder if we'll ever be able to do stuff like this for the PowerPC era machines... I'd do awful, awful things for the opportunity to basically just transplant the guts of a late model iBook/PowerBook G4 into my iBook Clamshell, lol.
same
You could even make your own G4 cube, or even better, a PowerTrashcan.
If you can find them, the SE/30 supposedly supported 16MB 30-pin SIMMS, allowing a maximum capacity of 128MB.
The SE/30 also supports A/UX, Apple's UNIX variant, although it is picky about which keyboard you connect.
A/UX was the fist UNIX I had access to, and later admin'd more than 30 years ago, in my case on Apple IIFX hardware modified for US DoD use. I was surprised to find that A/UX was available on the Internet, and getting it running on an SE/30 was a blast from the past.
Now your mac is prison-ready.
LMCO
No more drive activity noise? Install a relay module to make noise!
Old fan makes noise? Swap it out for a quieter Noctua fan!
Haha, but seriously cool project. Hope the machine ends up in a museum someday :)
Without a shadow of a doubt, this is the kind of reason why I love the retro computing community. Beautiful machine at the end of it all as well. Great video work too. Absolutely, you should feel proud of this one.
Awesome build and the end result pays for itself. That's some sarah-n-tuned level of dedication that was applied
Sarah is the GOAT
21:24 "ORDER MORE DUMBASS" they got no chill 🤣🤣🤣🤣
right dude could have sent him an email before writing the snarky message.
He wrote that...
@@justandardprocedure yeah, he wrote that. The parts supplier doesn't know how much you need.
@@volvo09 Except that he told them, in the form of the "customer reference" section being "R15, R16, R18" so presumably anybody responsible for printing the label, putting the label on the bag, putting the part in the labeled bag, or double-checking the work could have known... But yeah, I'm pretty sure he wrote that
Colin, you've outdone yourself! What an amazing journey and an even better final result! Congratulations on your success, and on first try, no less! It looks great, and I truly hope to see another "from the ground, up" rebuild some day. And pleeeeease, do not shy away from these longer format videos when you have the chance. I love the longer format with your detailed approach. :)
22:55 - I wonder why they opted for a close copy of the original rather than updating it to make user assembly a bit easier... but then again I dont know the whole context of things here since im not personally into vintage computers i just enjoy watching such on youtube.
That was quite the journey. While I haven't used mac's that much growing up, except for school. I still am glad I found this channel a few years back. I still love vintage computers and macs are quite cool for that. Thanks for all the content you put out.
@ActionRetro I think the gauntlet has been thrown down for the Curse Mac.
Colin, this project was positively bonkers! But I love it! I remember composing the student newspaper on an SE/30 back in 1991. The performance for the time out of a tiny all-in-one was mind blowing back in the day.
3:44 chip from the Philippines 🇵🇭
Be very proud of this. It is an amazing result. My SE30 was my favorite machine growing up and I was genuinely happy watching your story. Thank you.