I found two of these in storage and I know that one of them has both a processor upgrade and ethernet card installed.
I want to get it running as both a Localtalk to Ethernet bridge (from my Mac SE/30 - I have the Apple bridge software) and a station to work with 3.5" diskettes and Zip drives (I have both modules).
I am sure both batteries are dead and I cannot locate my power supply.
Are there cheaper alternative power supplies available or must I look for a used one that works?
Will this model work plugged into 110v AC with the battery module removed, or must it have a functioning battery available?
Thanks!
The 1400 will work with power adapters for the 2400, 3400, G3 series and clamshell iBook -- they're pretty common. The machine will function just fine without the battery, though on that subject, you'll want to disassemble both laptops and remove the internal clock (aka PRAM) batteries as they're known to leak over time.
Good tip!
I removed the rechargable batteries, but now I will research disassembling the units so that I can remove/replace the PRAM batteries! Thanks!
The Apple Manual says the PRAM batteries are rechargable. Do you think they still need to be replaced?
The cells used as reserve batteries in PowerBooks are Lithium Vanadium Pentoxide types which are rechargeable. They have been observed to commonly leak after 20 years which is why replacement is recommended. They are still available, but relatively expensive as this is a specialty chemistry.
REALLY?!?
Amazon sold me: Panasonic VL2330-2 Lithium Coin Cell Battery, 3V, VL2330/HFN Rechargeable (Pack of 2) for $14.99.
Did I buy the wrong rechargable batteries?
It turns out my PB1400s had the external monitor internal card installed and NOT the internal ethernet adapter.
I was lucky to find a very clean PB1400c/166 on sale on eBay and when I asked for a photo of the back panel with its door open, sure enough it has the internal ethernet adapter installed!
I made a pre-emptive offer and it arrived today, complete with power adapter and the internal PRAMs will hold their data for at least a short period of time, as I reset the clock, etc. The PB battery seems dead, as expected.
I actually set it to May 17, 1999, which was a Monday, as if I set it to "21" it thinks it is Tuesday, May 17, 1921! I have the clock update app in my collection and one of the first installs will be to update the clock to 2021.
It also seems to have a 2Gb hard drive installed! :)
I may have to make this one my primary PB1400c and sell off the other two.
Next stop: installing Apple's Localtalk-Ethernet software and using this PB1400c as a Localtalk to Ethernet bridge to replace my Farallon iPrint between my Mac SE/30 and my MacMini2,1 running Tiger Server.
This will help me determine why I am unable to mount my MacMini server on the SE/30, even though I can see it under AppleTalk; perhaps the problem is the iPrint.