Re: gutting a iigs / enhancing to mac.... need help

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Jayson <xjaysonx@mindspring.com> wrote:

>whats up everyone?  i just wanted to take a second to share my idea of
>what i want to do with a iigs, if you have any reason why you think this
>might or might not work, or think there will be difficulties that i will
>run into, then please contact me.  here is my plan:
>
>I recently purchased a powerbook duo 280c, and while i do have the
>standard floppy dock, i do not have a full sized dock for it.  Since i
>have a love for the classic apple II line, i thought it might be
>creative to take an old apple iigs (preferably a dead one), clean all of
>the contents out of the case, leaving it empty.  Then i would creatively
>wire it up so i can put the powerbook in the case, close it, and with
>the use of the minidock that i can buy later, run all the necessary
>wires to the back of the case.

That's a pretty neat idea, actually.  For me, I've continued to enhance
my real IIGS over the years, adding CD-ROM, Zip drive, 8MB of
memory, a fast modem, 1GB of hard drive storage, etc.  It has been
great and capabilities have improved too.  TCP/IP, FAX software,
a web browser of sorts, TrueType fonts, and speed via new drop
in CPUs.  My IIGS can do things that the designers never imagined
it could do...except one thing.  The darn case was limiting.  So I moved
my entire IIGS and the drives into a PC tower unit and used a
standard PC power supply.  300 watts of power from a fan cooled
power supply really helps water down all those drives and peripheral
cards!

Let me make a suggestion: instead of PowerBook, try transplanting
a DESKTOP PowerMac model into the IIGS case, assuming a
model with a motherboard the fits.  This is A LOT easier because
the power supply of the IIGS can be rewired to supply the Mac
motherboard.  IIGS, Mac, and PC power supplies all supply the
key voltages of +5V, +12V, -12V, -5V, and some ground lines.  You
just need to wire the voltage carrying wires correctly to match the
computer layout.  A desktop Mac's ADB bus can also support the
IIGS keyboard and mouse, which will enhance the authentic look.
And if your Mac motherboard is old enough, the external floppy
drive port can drive an external SuperDrive, which will do
wonders to make your converted unit look like a real IIGS.

In the future, I want to put a IIGS into a Mac II case!