�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.
It's an interesting mix: based on your photos on 68kmla (https://68kmla.org/bb/threads/i-won-the-bid-for-a-local-auction-i-have-an-apple-lisa.53038/#post-600299), 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...
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/l1zoxsf71wl2bo7sbaxvx/Apple-Lisa1.jpeg?rlkey=dvn7bsd4exqs0p1lev4u20rg2&st=cafx12l4&dl=0)
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
Really neat find. Looking forward to following your Lisa adventures 8)
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.
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
Quote from: berskyboy on Today at 05:53:23 PMHi 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.