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ATX to iMac adapter - finally!
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Moderator  Join Date: Apr 2001
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Hi,
There's been some interest in transplanting an iMac into a different case, usually because the analog/video board of the iMac has died (green light of death) or the power supply has failed.
I have made an adapter that converts a PC ATX power supply (cheap, reliable, plentiful) to work with an early iMac (233-333mhz.)
This, in conjunction with a longer CD-ROM cable that I made, and a griffin MacPnP adapter, make the iMac usable in any case you like, with larger monitors at resolutions up to 1600x1200.
Here are pictures of the final adapter, and the two test models leading up to it. Bigger pictures are available if you email me, I don't want to flood MacNN with them.
The FINAL adapter -
The test adapter 1 ( first method of experimenting, not suitable for production work.)
The second test adapter, (almost there, still not good enough for something permanent)
Email me or post here if you have any questions...
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
[ 11-22-2001: Message edited by: vmarks ]
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meo
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pretty fsckin' cool.
kinda makes me want to have my rev d imac back... i was going to put it into a 1u case, but i didnt want to make a funky powersupply 
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sine -''-..-
now known as pillowcase
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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Originally posted by sine -''-..-:
<STRONG>pretty fsckin' cool.
kinda makes me want to have my rev d imac back... i was going to put it into a 1u case, but i didnt want to make a funky powersupply </STRONG>
I'm using this adapter with a 1U ATX power supply - I ran it for two weeks in a rackmount 1U case, and am now shoe-horning it all into an LCII case.
Pick up an iMac, you can find them with dead analog/video boards for $150 or less, use this adapter, and if you want performance, get the HARMONi when it comes out.
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
AIM: philoi
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Forum Regular
Join Date: Oct 2001
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Looks nice, Victor. Too bad I threw away an iMac already. I got one from the CompUSA tech shop about a year ago for $10 so I could use the CD-ROM drive from it since my sister's drive had died. I threw away the parts I didn't use. Oh well. Once I get some money, maybe I could get several iMacs and convert them to use an ATX PSU.
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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Originally posted by kbbaucom:
<STRONG>Looks nice, Victor. Too bad I threw away an iMac already. I got one from the CompUSA tech shop about a year ago for $10 so I could use the CD-ROM drive from it since my sister's drive had died. I threw away the parts I didn't use. Oh well. Once I get some money, maybe I could get several iMacs and convert them to use an ATX PSU.</STRONG>
Kevin,
you don't throw out parts, you auction them on ebay! DOH!
anyway, this is good for older iMacs. I'm still working on my one for newer (slot-loading) models.
I don't know how much interest there is in this for other people, but I think it's a good thing to have done, and if it makes an iMac that would otherwise be thrown out more useful...
When are you gonna show me your G4 mods?
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
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Forum Regular
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Originally posted by vmarks:
<STRONG>
Kevin,
you don't throw out parts, you auction them on ebay! DOH!
anyway, this is good for older iMacs. I'm still working on my one for newer (slot-loading) models.
I don't know how much interest there is in this for other people, but I think it's a good thing to have done, and if it makes an iMac that would otherwise be thrown out more useful...
When are you gonna show me your G4 mods?
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com</STRONG>
I did auction the processor on ebay ($170 for a 333). I thought the mother board was dead, but after I threw it away, I remembered that it was the analog video board that was dead, and not the mother board.
I thought you had already seen the G4. Here are the pics:
Front
Left side (Before I finished the front)
Door side
top
Electroluminescent wire. The driver died somehow after I installed all 40 ft of the wire. I still have to get that replaced.
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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Kevin,
I had only seen the side... what's the switch on the front do?
How good are you at figuring voltages from a down converter board? I'm still trying to figure out the slot loading iMacs.
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
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Forum Regular
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Originally posted by vmarks:
<STRONG>Kevin,
I had only seen the side... what's the switch on the front do?</STRONG>
The switch on the front controls the fan I put in to replace the stock side fan. Here is a picture of the fan (over the hard drives) in my computer. I got it from www.1coolpc.com
Originally posted by vmarks:
<STRONG>
How good are you at figuring voltages from a down converter board? I'm still trying to figure out the slot loading iMacs.</STRONG>
I don't have a slot loading iMac at home, so I can only give you the three that Apple provides in the manual for that iMac. (I would think Apple would provide more information in the 415 page manual)
Pin 2: +5V
Pin 4: +12V
Pin 14: +3.3V
Looking at the connector on the down converter board, here are the pins and numbers:
. . . . . . . . . . . . (2-24 even)
. . . . . . . . . . . . (1-23 odd)
...so 2, 4, and 14 are the first, second, and seventh pins on the top row. I think having a multimeter is the best way to figure out voltages though. as long as you don't touch two pins with one end of the multimeter 
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Looks great, Victor. Keep up the good work. I have a slot loading iMac that's waiting to be rackmounted. Any sources for cheap rackmount type cases? I just want to bolt it to the bottom of a desk and forget about it.
How much are you going to sell the adapters for? Any ideas yet?
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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Originally posted by Tastannin:
<STRONG>Looks great, Victor. Keep up the good work. I have a slot loading iMac that's waiting to be rackmounted. Any sources for cheap rackmount type cases? I just want to bolt it to the bottom of a desk and forget about it.
How much are you going to sell the adapters for? Any ideas yet?</STRONG>
I'm not convinced there's any such thing as a cheap rackmount case. I got one that I scavenged from the dumpster behind IBM- it was a hub case. I'm recycling old 68k macs for my other cases. Centris 610s work well.
The most affordable rackmount power supplies I can find are $50.
As for prices, I plan on selling the adapter with the cd-rom cable.
I'm open to suggestions right now. Please email me with what you think a fair price is.
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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Hear Ye!
My announced price is going to be $80 USD for the adapter and the cd-rom cable.
All adapters will be tested before shipping, if you need an especially long cd-rom cable, please specify how long you require. Otherwise, cd-rom cables will be 18 inches long.
If you have emailed me, I will be sending out an email announcement shortly.
EDIT: IN ADDITION: The price for two adapters and cables will be $130 US. That's a big savings, so if you need two, this is the way to go.
Thanks,
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
[ 12-07-2001: Message edited by: vmarks ]
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, Europe
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Hi VMarks,
Good job you did on the atx to imac power adapter and cdrom cable adapter.
I was wondering if you could show the schematics of your design.
I want to make the adapters myself since I'm a bit strapped for cash.
Do you use the transistor to convert 5v to 3.3 volts?
What /which are the 10 odd extra cables on the 50 pin cdrom connector?
I dont want to rip your design to sell it but want to transplant my own iMac.
Thanks in advance,
Kokosnootje
Nico_Rutte@Zonnet.nl
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Senior User
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I happen to have a dead iMac 233 with what I believe to be is a dead analog-video. How does this help with that? It seems this only helps if you have a dead power supply.
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---I'm on a low Microsoft diet.
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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Originally posted by RoofusPennymore:
<STRONG>I happen to have a dead iMac 233 with what I believe to be is a dead analog-video. How does this help with that? It seems this only helps if you have a dead power supply.</STRONG>
Because in the process of using this adapter in another case, you throw out (route around) the dead analog/video board. Plugging in a MacPnP adapter and SVGA monitor means you use the analog/video board inside the SVGA monitor, most of which are less prone to failure than the one in the iMac.
Added benefit- you can use 17 and 19 inch monitors, with resolutions as high as 1600x1200 (thousands, 2mb, millions, 6mb.)
Roofus, nice to see you here. I'm vmarks at macslash as well!
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
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Join Date: Oct 1999
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Thanks vmarks. Didn't realize you were the same person from MacSlash!
I've e-mailed you already from a different addy. Good job on this hack and I think I'm going to reverse engineer the cable on the CD-ROM when I get to putting that iMac together.
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---I'm on a low Microsoft diet.
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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Originally posted by RoofusPennymore:
<STRONG>Thanks vmarks. Didn't realize you were the same person from MacSlash!
I've e-mailed you already from a different addy. Good job on this hack and I think I'm going to reverse engineer the cable on the CD-ROM when I get to putting that iMac together.</STRONG>
Roofus, I didn't get your email yet, but I sent you one showing the circuit traces on my card.
I make up a longer version of the 50-pin cdrom cable, but if you can reverse-engineer it back down to the 40pin plus four for power, that will allow people to use regular IDE cd-rw, dvd, dvd-r drives! Let me know when you start work on that!
Thanks,
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
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Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001
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In case anyone's wondering why the price is as high as it is, it's because parts costs are high for small numbers.
I'm basically making them in sets of threes, at high cost. If I could get orders in quantity, the price could come down dramatically.
Victor Marks
lvmarks@mac.com
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