chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) (10/23/85)
After 10+ months of perfect service, my Mac recently joined the ranks of
the heat related failure statistics when I blew out a cap on the
video/power supply board. This brings up the obligatory questions: How do I
keep this from happening again?
I'd rather not just take off the cover to reduce heat -- there are too many
things in there that I'd like to keep the prying fingers and spilling
drinks from. I'm thinking in terms of either improving the case ventilation
or adding an external fan somewhere. How are the people out there keeping
their machines cool? Mail your solutions to me and I'll summarize to the
net...
As a secondary question, I was rather unhappy with the place I took
it (Businessland in Sunnyvale). They promised a two day turnaround and
ended up taking the better part of a week. On top of that, I got to wait
while they pulled the machine apart again because they forgot to install
the brightness knob when they were putting it together again, and when I
got it home it didn't work. It took me over an hour to figure out that they
had installed the programmers switch improperly and it was jammed against
the interrupt switch, causing it to jump to hades whenever it tried to
boot... Urgh... Is this typical of Businessland? Anyone out there want to
recommend a better repair place in the Bay Area in case I need it again?
Again, mail at me and I'll summarize...
chuq
--
:From the Crystal Caves of Avalon: Chuq Von Rospach
sun!chuq@decwrl.DEC.COM {hplabs,ihnp4,nsc,pyramid}!sun!chuq
Our time is past -- it is a time for men, not of magic.bhyde@inmet.UUCP (10/26/85)
Both of the times I've had my Mac serviced The service guy didn't think through the presence of the programmer's switch and bent it against the logic board when he put the thing back together. I hope I remember to write a reminder on the service form next time. ben hyde, cambridge.
chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) (11/08/85)
A few weeks ago I posted a request for solutions to keeping my mac from
overheating and for good service places in the bay area. Here is the
(highly edited for size) summary of what people sent me. Thanks to everyone
who mailed me comments and suggestions!
chuq
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***** From: David Singer <spar!singer>
I've had both Mac and laserwriter repairs done at ComputerPlus in
Sunnyvale (Mary and Fremont) and been very happy with the quality
of the service. Sometimes they are overloaded, and once it took a
while to get parts and the repair done, but the people in there are
both nice and helpful and seem knowledgable ... they also run nice
seminars on new software, for owners of macs/hyperdrives etc.
***** From: ucbcory.Berkeley.EDU!korn (Peter "Arrgh" Korn)
I've heard about three fans. The first is a conventional small rotating fan
installed inside. It's the one General computer Corp uses. Then there's
the piezzo-electric fan Levvco uses in the Monster Mac upgrades. And finally,
you can put a suction fan under the handle. From all that I've heard, the
piezzo-electric is the best, and is basically inaudiable.
***** From: tekig4!bradn
I've noticed that 512K macs seem to have a common problem with the programmer's
switch: if you push the switch case flat against the mac case, the darn thing
is constantly interrupting. You have to pull the switch out a little to get
it to work. This doesn't seem to be a problem with 128K macs.
***** From: sdcc13!76645572
If you are looking for a fan, I might suggest the fan that Levco of
San Diego sells. It is piezo-electric, that is, the blades don't
turn. Rather, two semi-soft plastic strips vibrate back and forth,
pushing air the same way a waving piece of paper does. It pushes
enough air, not a hell of a lot, but enough. It is silent. It
attaches inside your mac with a velcro strap, so there is no
drilling. I think it runs about $40. Levco is the comapny that
puts out the 'monster mac', one of the 2-meg upgrade kits. I bought
my 512k upgrade from them, and they are honest and reliable.
Standard disclaimer: I don't work for Levco.
***** From: sphinx!beth (JB)
Since a friend and I upgraded my Mac in July I've had a small, quiet,
but quite powerful fan (that I got from Brookstone for $35) mounted on
the wall to the left of my Mac. It's aimed slightly upward, and both
forces air in through the bottom vent and blows over the top sucking
out the heat. It's not quite ideal, since my Mac is angled towards me
and the air that hits the case winds up coming my direction (fine in
the summer, but ooh, it can get cold in Chicago...). It was intended
to be a temporary solution, but like most temporary solutions....
***** From: csl!wargo (Dave Wargo)
A muffin fan is a cheep way to go.
Some sort of ducting on the top of the machine to PULL the air from
the bottom should work.
--
:From the Crystal Caves of Avalon: Chuq Von Rospach
sun!chuq@decwrl.DEC.COM {hplabs,ihnp4,nsc,pyramid}!sun!chuq
Our time is past -- it is a time for men, not of magic.