Hello everyone!
Back in 2021 I started down this rabbit hole of creating something really cool to put in my MacEffects SE clear case. I wanted to do something unique, and at the end of it all, I think I accomplished just that. Please check out this video for more details on the project. This page will assume you watched that video and dives into some of the technical bits and parts I used… and of course, the polka dots blanket.
In 2022 I started this project and reviewed the MacEffects Clear case in this video, after showcasing the in-progress build at local shows, I buttoned it up during this live stream for VCF Midwest 2024.
My Color Macintosh SE/30 specs:
MacEffects Clear Mac SE Case (Their NEW case kickstarter!)
Macintosh SE/30 logic board (Rev B)
Motorla 68030 CPU @ 16MHz
128MB of RAM
BMOW ROM SIMM
External DB-25 BlueSCSI (to act as a hard drive)
Internal LS-120 SuperDisk Floppy Drive
Asanté Maccon Ethernet PDS card for Mac SE/30 & Mac IIsi
Lapis ProColor Server II video card for Mac SE/30
Mitsubishi 8.4-inch 640×480 native LCD (VGA input)
Seasonic SS-250SU Power Supply
Remote Battery Holder (By Ron’s Computer Videos)
Mac System Software 7.1.1
LCD Panel:
I purchased this LCD panel off eBay in 2021. There are many similar panels online, some offer touchscreen functionality. While this specific model may not be available, there are many others. Mine is so old it uses a cold cathode backlight, which is power hungry and… a bit quirky. My LCD also came with an incompatible controller board – so I had to contact the seller to get a new board. The original board had HDMI, DVI and VGA – while the new board only had a VGA board.
The model on the back appears to be: AA084VC03
However, there are many similar units, some with touch screens. Just note that this is an older LCD panel, it’s not as crisp as say an iPad display and due to the analog video connection, there can be some video noise.
Video ROM:
The Mac SE/30 has a dedicated Video ROM. Some have suggested if I remove this, that the 2nd monitor shown in the Monitors control panel may disappear. Earlier with this board when the video ROM was removed (for cleaning) the system would refuse to startup. Therefore I haven’t experimented with this further. Thankfully the Lapis video card defaults to the primary display, so having a secondary B&W display int he Monitors control panel doesn’t bother me and I don’t think it’s hindering performance.
