Super cool 8)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77El1RmSY0Q
In this video he doesn't fix the machine, which someone donated to him in an atrocious state: he just strips it down to the frame. The I/O board looks like what you get if you leave a peach on the counter and then head off on a month-long vacation; the motherboard is also pretty much toast; and the battery goo seems to have wicked into the ribbon cables even. The chassis has been bent a bit; Adrian suspects it was dropped by German customs, who may also have been responsible for some pretty slapdash treatment of some of the fasteners. Fortunately the plastic panels are mostly okay. The CPU board fared the best, there's just one memory board (Adrian assumes that by now someone has made a tiny 2MB memory board replacement, lol), and the power supply is gone altogether.
Adrian is no fool and understands that any kind of restoration here is going to be a Project. He's not certain that it's compatible with the kind of release schedule that YouTube demands of a full-timer. He concludes the video by hoping that Lisa experts in the audience can help him get a more realistic idea of options for next steps.
Yeah, this initial video was just the teardown to assess its condition. I understand he'll try to get it running by using some of the re-engineered boards from the community later on. Should be a fun series to watch.
Having done this exact thing to around 10 Lisas, it's neat to watch someone else tackle it for the very first time.
I've already added his machine to the tracker. Interestingly enough, his machine conflicts with one we assume existed at one point.
Adrian and I have been talking about this project for about two weeks now, and I'm going to try and do everything I can to help him get it working again. The motherboard and I/O board are absolutely horrendous (the only ones that I've seen that were worse were the ones in my first Lisa that inspired me to make replicas) and I'm not sure that they can be saved without an absurd amount of effort. Adrian happens to be visiting my city soon, so I'm planning on giving him some bare boards and a working power supply when he stops by. Hopefully we can get it up and running again!
Quote from: ried on October 25, 2025, 07:26:16 PMI understand he'll try to get it running by using some of the re-engineered boards from the community later on. Should be a fun series to watch.
Wish I'd known this up front! I went in expecting a miracle and felt sad at the end that he was basically giving up.
Glad there's a future for this thing and looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Well, regarding the 2MB question, I do have a working solution.
Oh nice, it's awesome to see a clone of the RAMStak! I've been wanting to clone it for a while, but it looks like you beat me to it. Are you planning on publicly releasing the files anywhere?
Wait, who is this new Lisa1 person? :D
Quote from: ried on October 26, 2025, 10:33:51 PM
Wait, who is this new Lisa1 person? :D
Hah, I wasn't paying attention and thought it said Lisa2! Do we have a new admin?
Next episode is live! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ84-9zjmYY
Parts 3 & 4 are live now, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Mp-OVm92U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSlv7GZdFUg
Part 5 is live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohLDLJR-4-o
As a semi-expert, this has been a series I've watched with appreciation but also some of the apprehension that comes with watching someone learn what you already know. Mental commentary whilst viewing the latest included things like "oh test the PSU a little bit more outside of the machine, won't you"... "no, that's the standby power"... "holy cow that's way more power than that PSU normally puts out"... "where's the beeps?"... "the 'office system' is the name you're looking for" and so on.
It just goes to show that there are different styles for getting things done, and Adrian is getting it done. I like his channel quite a bit; he seems like a stand-up guy himself, and I hope he has all kinds of fun with his Lisa. And certainly despite all my experience, he's certainly gone much further in Lisa disassembly than I ever have.
Really there's a part of me that wishes that his Lisa were slightly more broken, if only because it would require him to discover and to show-and-tell more of the machine through troubleshooting!
Yeah, when he's talking about putting several amps of load across both the 5v and 12v sections I was wondering what might happen... :o The PSU clearly reads 1.2 or 1.8A on the label.
But it's been fun watching someone who is way more technically knowledgeable than I am get to know the Lisa. Whereas my technique is mostly swapping out components to identify a failed component, his actual testing of the individual components has been pretty informative.
Edit: His European 220-240v PSU is labeled 1A. I've never seen that before. Each one that I have reads 1.2 or 1.8A. I learn something new every day around here.
That's amps of AC input current, and multiplied by input voltage you get power. The 220VAC-240VAC PSUs need less current for the same power since the voltage is higher.
The output current ratings for the 1.8A supply are not available anywhere that I'm aware of, but the 1.2A PSU is specified in the hardware manual (e.g. PDF page 73 of this document (https://lisa.sunder.net/LisaHardwareManual1983.pdf)).
We see that actually my worries were misplaced and Adrian may not have exceeded the PSU spec at all. +5V can go up to 8A, and while Adrian IIRC pushed +12V to 3A and not the 2A listed here, the 1.8A PSU surely has capacity for more in consideration of the Widget spindle motor.
That said, I would still be a little surprised if the Lisa 1 or Lisa 2 consumes anywhere near 8A on the +5V rail. Of course Apple must have spec'd it for a reason; what am I missing?
Quote from: ried on December 14, 2025, 12:23:04 PMHis European 220-240v PSU is labeled 1A. I've never seen that before. Each one that I have reads 1.2 or 1.8A. I learn something new every day around here.
The actual rating on a PSU is how much power it can output. It is the same: 150w, on the European PSU and on it's US equivalent model. The "1A" vs "1.2A" is more of an informative value and is derived from e.g. 150W/120V = 1.25A (they print 1.2A), or 150W/220V = 0.7A, they print 1A.
Also, the "amps" on the output rails (5V, 12V and others) can me much larger than 1A.
The LisaHardwareManual1983.pdf , page 259 lists:
+5V +/-5% , provides 4 to 8 Amps
+12V +/-8%, provides 0.35 to 2 Amps
+33V (acceptable values are between 32 to 36V) , provides 0.3 to 0.7 Amps
-5V +/-10%, provides 0 to 0.2 Amps
-12V +/10%, provides 0.01 to 0.2 Amps
+5v Standby +/-5%, provides 0 to 0.1 Amps
Very informative! Thank you both. 8)
Quotea little surprised if the Lisa 1 or Lisa 2 consumes anywhere near 8A on the +5V rail. Of course Apple must have spec'd it for a reason; what am I missing?
I've measured the +5V current drawn by the card cage at over 6A when loaded with 2MB memory, without any expansion cards or floppy drive(s). Your milliamps may vary.
Quote from: stepleton on December 14, 2025, 07:16:31 AMReally there's a part of me that wishes that his Lisa were slightly more broken, if only because it would require him to discover and to show-and-tell more of the machine through troubleshooting!
Ha, I told him the exact same thing! But it's already been a bigger multi-part project than the stuff he normally tackles, so maybe it's for the best that it's this way...
He's got that Plexus UNIX machine sat behind him that I seem to recall is a bit of a basketcase. I always wonder what's cooking with that thing. I can see it not being the best for views; maybe it's now reserved for Patreon members. (Ashamed to admit that I am not one at the moment.)
Oh well. If you want a Project, get yourself a PERQ; it worked for me! (And is probably still working for me; who knows what will break next?)
Quote from: stepleton on December 14, 2025, 07:59:20 PMHe's got that Plexus UNIX machine sat behind him ... maybe it's now reserved for Patreon members.
Adrian has 6 videos of the Plexus in this channel , e.g. this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iltZYXg5hZw
He got if fully operational (until it breaks again).
Huh, I guess I just forgot about him getting the full way through it! Well, that means I can watch it again for more quality troubleshooting theatre :-)
Part 6 is live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMEDMvb4IjM
Adrain's videos have really got me in the mood to get back into my Lisa 2/5. It's been fun watching him work through getting the computer back up and running. Looking forward to the rest of the series.