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The Black Mac???

LS120

Experienced Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2016
Messages
83
Location
New Zealand
does anyone know anything about this Mac pc... the front has The Black Mac.. and thats all i know about it.. cant seem to find any info on the net at all..

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Looks like a regular early model Mac (128, 512, or Plus) Something when addon boards or accellerators were installed they would put a sticker on the front. So I guess opening it up to see if it has an addon board is your next bet.

Mostly likely someone just put a sticker on it. The serial number should be on the bottom lip next to the brightness knob and/or on the back. You can lookup your system here: https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/
 
Where's the picture coming from? If this is from you, just open the Mac and look inside. There's most likely some 3rd-party add-on explaining why it is named that way.

If the picture is not yours, ask whoever made it for details.
 
The term Black Mac was used to refer to the famous Tempest Mac which has a cover plate over the floppy drive. The unit pictured is not that.

The sticker might indicate the company that owned it but finding a company that used block italics for its logo will be a challenge.
 
i dont have the unit as of yet its coming.. this was from an estate sale and the guy had a wall of macs but this and a Black version stood out so i got them both.. i'm not into mac's but it got me looking at these 2.. will update when i get them and open them up..
 
I should clearify that point. Lets say you see a mac with a Radius accellerator sticker on it. There is a really, really good chance that part was scavenged for sale and all you have is the sticker. I have seen plenty of macs with accelerator stickers and all without the parts. I also bought a Kaypro 4/84 with an 8088 upgrade card sticker on it... it too was missing the parts.

When it comes to compact macs,, avoid the classic and classic II and ALWAYS make sure the machine boots before buying it.. ALWAYS.. If you are buying it sight unseen I wouldnt pay more than $25.00 unless you like having spare CRT's....
The original mac line's failure point is typically the analog board.. so again.. boot it before buying it.. a locked up unworking floppy drive is normal.. they ALL need a rebuild,,, but seeing it boot is key.
 
No idea why you hate the Classic so much. It's IMO the best 68000 compact Mac you can get. True to the original 1984 design but with "modern" ports like SCSI and ADB. It's said to represent the $1,000 Mac that Steve originally wanted to do in 1984 but couldn't.

Yes, they have SMD caps which leak and must be replaced. And if you have bad luck, the battery may leak as well. But if that's an obstacle, better stay away from Amigas and PCs from the late 80s to the early 90s as well, as they are not different in that regard.

I have exactly two compact Macs in my collection: a Classic and a Color Classic. That's all I ever want or need. While a 128k/512k/Plus may hold a higher value, they are just unpleasant to use with their 400k/800k disk drive, proprietary mouse and keyboard and what not...
 
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I dont HATE them. Dont put words in my mouth. They were cheaply made and EVERY SINGLE CLASSIC I have come across has been detroyed by battery leakage and cap leakage (both extremely caustic over time). Since Most people are novices they should stay clear.

I have two color classics. One working one not. I would not recommend them either. Terrible plastic contruction of that brittle plastic that crumbles and,, I dunno 120 SMD caps that all leak. Yes l was able to fix mine but I still would'nt recommend it to anyone just for the amount of work involved.

I understand about the proprietary mouse and keyboard (but that was common back then, most brands and models were propritary so its par for the course). 400K and 800K drives are easy to rebuild and the FloppyEMU makes loading disks a breeze. I trust the originals far more than a classic.
 
No idea why you hate the Classic so much. It's IMO the best 68000 compact Mac you can get.
The classic has no expansion, the SE is the best 68000 compact you can get. There are CPU upgrades as well as ethernet for the SE.
 
I had a classic and sold it after I recapped it (which is a pain because of spacing issues). Still have a few SE and SE30's around and like them. Over the years I only ditched a few macs.

I also like you can have dual floppies in an SE which work well with programs that run from floppy in OS 6.
 
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