Reconstructing an auctioned Lisa

[berskyboy]

�On August 15th, 2026.  I won a local auction for an Apple Lisa!!!

Ok, ok, it was posted missing a few parts, and not working but still it turns out it's an Apple Lisa 1 that was converted.  And there is no ugly battery issues, or corrosion.  I'm just missing a few parts (power button and cable, and video cable).  Here are a few photos.  I'm so thrilled.  Even AI said it was worth around $4,000 because of the cosmetic condition of it.  I paid $1,525CAD + action fees.

[stepleton]

It's an interesting mix: based on your photos on 68kmla, you have a Lisa 2/5 motherboard with a Lisa 2/10 I/O board plugged into it; there is also the Widget drive from a Lisa 2/10 in the front. As you mention that the system is an upgraded Lisa 1, then the internal wiring harness going to the drive bay should not be compatible with the Widget.

I would say: do not turn this computer on. There is a chance that a Twiggy drive floppy cable is plugged into the Widget's parallel port. The floppy cable has +12V on several of its pins, and that could damage electronics which are expecting no more than +5V. My recommendation is to pull out the disk cage and let's see what the cabling situation is like in there first...

[berskyboy]

Hi Stepleton,

Yes, I don't think the power supply works, or would need some testing.  This is what I have planned.

- Lisa Front Panel Interconnect Board (Apple Part Number: 652-0112 or 820-0081). [eBay $89]
    or maybe a modern solution?, internal wire harness? 
- Widget Data Connector [eBay $xxxxx] or DIY Make?  connector 2 x 30: 591-0002 B CCI - Date: 5683
- ESPROFILE (Emulating a Lisa Profile). (Either internal, need Widget Data Connector. cable or parallel). [juicycrumb.com $99 + $19]
- A mouse, (or I can use my mouse for my Apple //c). [done]
- Tex ELECT foam and foil capacitive pads. [texelec.com $28.99]
- Apple Lisa Analog Video Board.  - [eBay $.xxxx ]
- Power Supply (check for RIFER Caps and adjust the poteniometer)

I will keep the floppy and the hard drive, but will run OS from Esprofile.  If I get brave enough, I could try and fix the floppy and HardDrive.  Here's a few more pictures.



https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tz8ypdcgdwj9op80mc5fz/Apple-Lisa01.jpeg?rlkey=rmduhyhibcaxhvws1vwms9274&st=v49t17u5&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/82jd6es9lg4hsn156sziw/Apple-Lisa2.jpeg?rlkey=ifuhn3tg8oxyxqozjrz6w1513&st=driy76s4&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ylqmdlyinj8rgibqj8g63/Apple-Lisa3.jpeg?rlkey=aa063xx93tzi8bnr0bzgi8792&st=81zddkhq&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/451tapntrfnwm4b2idh6n/Apple-Lisa4.jpeg?rlkey=qivpf8cx1xvk2do12q8x4wey1&st=u9ap19nj&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3u8cv4fktgc2urohs7hsb/Apple-Lisa5.jpeg?rlkey=txaoyeb003a40y35vjxaw8ewe&st=yqwhvg6l&dl=0

[ried]

Really neat find. Looking forward to following your Lisa adventures 

[AlexTheCat123]

Make sure that you get a Lisa 1 or Lisa 2/5 (they're the same) wire harness to go between your drive cage and the empty edge connector cutout in the card cage. As @stepleton said, you have a 2/5 motherboard, so if you get a 2/10 harness that's designed for connecting a Widget drive, all of the signals coming from the connector will be routed to the wrong places. You'll want to plug your hard drive into the parallel port on the back of the Lisa; the hard drive signals don't even exist on that edge connector on the 2/5 motherboard.

[berskyboy]

Hi AlexTheCat123, thanks so much.  I've also enjoyed watching your videos on YouTube you are a legend.  And You created the Espprofile?  Would that work to run my Lisa?  I know getting the HDD and FDD would be the ultimate goal, but I think if I can get the following setup to see if it boots first:

- Front Panel Power and Keyboard Board
- Create a cable to connect to that Front Panel board

then run an Apple //c Monochrome monitor, and see if she boots to the diagnostic screen.  (After a good look at the power supply).

then I can move on to a few more pieces/parts to get the OS booted

- Lisa Video Card
- HDD,
- FDD

[AlexTheCat123]

Hi AlexTheCat123, thanks so much.  I've also enjoyed watching your videos on YouTube you are a legend.  And You created the Espprofile?  Would that work to run my Lisa?  I know getting the HDD and FDD would be the ultimate goal, but I think if I can get the following setup to see if it boots first:

- Front Panel Power and Keyboard Board
- Create a cable to connect to that Front Panel board

then run an Apple //c Monochrome monitor, and see if she boots to the diagnostic screen.  (After a good look at the power supply).

then I can move on to a few more pieces/parts to get the OS booted

- Lisa Video Card
- HDD,
- FDD

Thank you! And yes, I did create ESProFile. It'll work great with your Lisa. You can buy one from Juicy Crumb like you had mentioned, but I'd suggest ordering some directly from JLCPCB following the instructions on the ESProFile GitHub page, which will likely be cheaper. And then you'll have 5 of them and can sell the others that you don't need.

Yeah, that sounds like a good plan for initial testing. Keep in mind that the image won't look quite right on the Apple //c monitor (it won't be able to sync to it properly), but you'll still be able to make out everything that's on the display and confirm whether or not it's starting up properly.

The cable that connects to the front panel board is a small portion of the edge connector that also connects to the floppy drives in the drive cage, so I'd suggest just making the whole cable at once instead of having to make a partial cable and then taking it apart to make a full one later. You'll probably struggle to find one on eBay now that VintageMicros has closed, but luckily Adrian built one from scratch while restoring his Lisa and documented the whole process on video: https://youtu.be/ohLDLJR-4-o?list=PL4tFqFVNf5LQ-OE8JGNMJQoVOmgkyTorC&t=422

And just to reiterate because I had someone email me recently who made this mistake: don't plug a ProFile or Widget into the 26-pin connectors on the cable that you build. Those are for floppy drives and will likely fry both your hard drive and parts of your Lisa if you plug a hard drive into one.

[berskyboy]

I wanted to ask the list...

To get it running I need.

1.  Lisa Front Panel Interconnect Board (Apple Part Number: 652-0112 or 820-0081)
2.  The cable harness, which I think I can DYI
3.  Apple Lisa Analog Video Board.
And some other parts like the key foil capacitive pads for the keyboard.  And a look at the PSU

I found one link on eBay for #1 but he doesn't ship to Canada does any have any other leads or where I can look or post for desired parts.

My plan
Run the Lisa from ESProFile, with Apple Lisa Keybaord, and Apple //c mouse, using PSU,
CPU board, Lisa I/O board, 2 x RAM boards, and Lisa CRT. 

[sigma7]

I found one link on eBay for #1 but he doesn't ship to Canada

Contact the seller to double check, I find most will mail to Canada if you ask nicely (but I haven't tried recently... ymmv)

[ried]

1.  Lisa Front Panel Interconnect Board (Apple Part Number: 652-0112 or 820-0081)

Is this the lighted power soft switch? If so, I have an extra and can send it (gratis). Canada's alright with me.

[berskyboy]

1.  Lisa Front Panel Interconnect Board (Apple Part Number: 652-0112 or 820-0081)

Is this the lighted power soft switch? If so, I have an extra and can send it (gratis). Canada's alright with me.

Hi Ried yes, I have no way of turning it on.  I need the board also that's where you plug in the keyboard.

My address is

[redacted by sigma7]

I can wire you some money too.

[ried]

[redacted by sigma7]

No need for payment. Karma is real. sigma7 kindly forwarded your details and it'll be on its way tomorrow. Cheers.

[berskyboy]

Hi, good morning,

So I put the Apple Lisa Video card in.  I put the Yoke pins into the Tube carefully making sure it lined up and the pins were straight.  I put P1 (Red and White) and P2 (Green and Yellow)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/a6ufm4ge7x852k15bavbi/P1-and-P2-Lisa-Video-Board.heic?rlkey=bcjfbaaf32te7pq0tfvz5lrbd&st=22w2u3qi&dl=0

1. I also wanted to know how to ground the white wire,

2. The small green and white wire seem to be grounds?

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qae6ed3mu7onn45dfcffi/Ground-plus-green-and-yellow.heic?rlkey=upumms96ri0otqhf03pn03d0e&st=nnic0692&dl=0

Resource:
Apple Lisa Manuel
https://media.512pixels.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lisa-DIY-Guide.pdf. (page 47-48)

[sigma7]

1. I also wanted to know how to ground the white wire

2. The small green and white wire seem to be grounds?

The white wire from the tube socket does go to the spade connector on the metal chassis as in your picture.

The two thin green and white wires go to the front panel safety interlock switch (near the bottom left corner of the CRT). Many people just disable the switch, so that may be why your wires are cut.

[berskyboy]

The white wire from the tube socket does go to the spade connector on the metal chassis as in your picture.

so the white wire goes to the read circle?
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lgmzu07e6eve7dusb7v0t/White-Wire-goes-to-Red-Circle.jpeg?rlkey=0wxa7j8uncfm485z00tj1p9ht&st=t4yvxw57&dl=0

Also, do I need to worry about this? (I asked AI about the picture)

⚠️ Crucial Step: Where is the CRT Aquadag Ground Strap?
Because that white wire goes to the neck socket, you must verify the main CRT static grounding strap is still present.
- Look for a bare, uninsulated braided metal wire or a thin tension spring stretched tightly across the black matte coating (aquadag) on the wide, curved part of the glass funnel.
- This braided strap must connect to a grounding point on one of the four metal corner mounting ears of the CRT frame.

Double-check that the bare metal grounding strap is contacting the black glass coating before you reinstall the main plastic outer housing.