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Should I get a 5151 or a 5153 monitor?

Appreciate the info HUGO and the link. I wouldnt call a psu swap on a machine spoiling originality however. I mean trust me I try to repair and use original psus whenever possible.. another member bought one of those brand new drop in modern Apple II psu board. I asked him for the original one which he retrieved from the trash. I repaired it and put it back in service. But even if a psu has to get swapped out.. its just a power supply. Who is nostalgic for a power supply? I thought it was thr actusl computers that bring us to this hobby..

And for the record I used the internals of a 5160 psu inside my 5155.. so in my book its Kosher. But of course thats just my opinion.
 
Interesting finding this remark.

I think the 5155 psu is probably one of the better designed computer SMPS I have ever worked on. Straightforward, very easy to repair (with the documentation), good over-voltage and over current protection.

Admittedly not the higher range output power of many later computer psu's, but it still can support one Hard drive added to the 5155 while still powering the Amber VDU in there. It has a very interesting system for boosting and then regulating the supply for the VDU, that I have not seen in other supplies. It also sported very good quality transformers with generous insulation making failure of those unlikely. Like any aged psu though, the electrolytics may require attention at some point.

I think what happened was that lot of people couldn't fix and/or understand the 5155 psu, primarily because a schematic and manual and circuit description was never published for it, leaving people helpless and in the dark, without being able to complete a proper diagnostic and repair process. So it all went hit & miss.

So very sadly, a lot of these original 5155 PSU's got thrown away when they failed and more modern ones inserted in their place as a "quick fix", spoiling the originality of the 5155 computer. This is what inspired me to create the service manual for the 5155 psu, so the remaining ones could be saved and kept going indefinitely. I only go to this much effort making a manual for some machine, if I think it is worth it.

If you ever need to repair the 5155 psu, this is the document that will help you do it:

Wow! What a FANTASTIC service manual! Great Job!

-Chris
 
Interesting finding this remark.

I think the 5155 psu is probably one of the better designed computer SMPS I have ever worked on. Straightforward, very easy to repair (with the documentation), good over-voltage and over current protection.

Admittedly not the higher range output power of many later computer psu's, but it still can support one Hard drive added to the 5155 while still powering the Amber VDU in there. It has a very interesting system for boosting and then regulating the supply for the VDU, that I have not seen in other supplies. It also sported very good quality transformers with generous insulation making failure of those unlikely. Like any aged psu though, the electrolytics may require attention at some point.

I think what happened was that lot of people couldn't fix and/or understand the 5155 psu, primarily because a schematic and manual and circuit description was never published for it, leaving people helpless and in the dark, without being able to complete a proper diagnostic and repair process. So it all went hit & miss.

So very sadly, a lot of these original 5155 PSU's got thrown away when they failed and more modern ones inserted in their place as a "quick fix", spoiling the originality of the 5155 computer. This is what inspired me to create the service manual for the 5155 psu, so the remaining ones could be saved and kept going indefinitely. I only go to this much effort making a manual for some machine, if I think it is worth it.

If you ever need to repair the 5155 psu, this is the document that will help you do it:

That's an awesome resource, thanks!
 
Appreciate the info HUGO and the link. I wouldnt call a psu swap on a machine spoiling originality however. I mean trust me I try to repair and use original psus whenever possible.. another member bought one of those brand new drop in modern Apple II psu board. I asked him for the original one which he retrieved from the trash. I repaired it and put it back in service. But even if a psu has to get swapped out.. its just a power supply. Who is nostalgic for a power supply? I thought it was thr actusl computers that bring us to this hobby..

And for the record I used the internals of a 5160 psu inside my 5155.. so in my book its Kosher. But of course thats just my opinion.
Can you pretty much just "drop in" the internals? It is pretty much the same shape, right?
 
Arrived in pretty good shape with the original box. Unfortunately, it received a slight injruy during the trip. Considering what COULD have happened, though. It went pretty alright. Hopefully I can get the broken piece back on fairly seamlessly. I'm about to hook it up and power it on. Will report back once I've done that.

Any suggestions on how I should go about putting the plastic piece back on?

ETA:
Success! It works! Now I just need my keyboard!
 

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Can you pretty much just "drop in" the internals? It is pretty much the same shape, right?
a 5155 psu and a 5160 psu? Nope if you saw the 5155 psu its a strange beast in a completely different enclosure. Plus you need to add the 12v CRT power connector which I thankfully found in my odds and ends parts. It was 8 years ago so I dont remember all the details but it wasnt a drop in type of thing, it needed modification and mounting to make it work.
 
Arrived in pretty good shape with the original box. Unfortunately, it received a slight injruy during the trip. Considering what COULD have happened, though. It went pretty alright. Hopefully I can get the broken piece back on fairly seamlessly. I'm about to hook it up and power it on. Will report back once I've done that.

Any suggestions on how I should go about putting the plastic piece back on?

ETA:
Success! It works! Now I just need my keyboard!
The first thing you should do is contact the seller and tell them it arrived damaged and show photos. Thats on them. ITs always on them.
 
Any suggestions on how I should go about putting the plastic piece back on?

I would use specialist medium/thin CA glue and put a very small amount on the broken edges and push them back together. Have some sort of paper towel or wipe ready just in case you apply too much and it spills out from the crack. Be warned that if it does spill out from the crack and dry it could be ugly and near impossible to remove... So start off with barely any glue. If it is however done properly, the crack should disappear and it will look like nothing happened.
 
I would use specialist medium/thin CA glue and put a very small amount on the broken edges and push them back together. Have some sort of paper towel or wipe ready just in case you apply too much and it spills out from the crack. Be warned that if it does spill out from the crack and dry it could be ugly and near impossible to remove... So start off with barely any glue. If it is however done properly, the crack should disappear and it will look like nothing happened.
I have since repaired it and it's looking mostly fine. Still was disappointing though considering the rest of the monitor was absolutely pristine.
 
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