Ersterhernd's NUCiMac G4

[ersterhernd]

A couple of video links to this build...

Video Links

External Demonstration

Hardware Details




Ersterhernd

 

[MacTester57]

I've just bought this 17" iMac G4 at an auction on Ricardo.ch:

So far I have not dared to tackle the delicate rewiring of the screen. After I've seen your build , I just could not longer resist.

I will have to pick it up now...

I think, that I will wait for the Haswell NUC now and buy some parts on ebay in the meantime.

MacTester

 

[dddirtman]

wow well done and well documented

 

[ersterhernd]

I've just bought this 17" iMac G4 at an auction on Ricardo.ch:

So far I have not dared to tackle the delicate rewiring of the screen. After I've seen your build , I just could not longer resist.

I will have to pick it up now...

I think, that I will wait for the Haswell NUC now and buy some parts on ebay in the meantime.

MacTester

Mmmmmm, I can hardly wait! An iMac by MacTester...

Should be SWEEEEEEET!


Glad you're jumping on board, I think you'll have a lot of fun with this one!


Ersterhernd

 

[ersterhernd]

wow well done and well documented

Thx dddirtman! I appreciate the comment. This was an intense yet very fun project to do.


Cheers!

 

[rehpotsirhc]

A couple of video links to this build...

Video Links

External Demonstration

Hardware Details

Ersterhernd

Haha nice youtube collection, I like the video of you doing tequila shots

 

[ersterhernd]

Haha nice youtube collection, I like the video of you doing tequila shots

...it's more fun in Mexico!

 

[ersterhernd]

Since this build was put together, I've been testing out the best option for the WiFi antenna(s). The problem is that the dome is metal on the inside, which shields the WiFi Signal so much that OSX won't even see every available router in the house. I've tried the external antenna, which works, but there's only one and the throughput is acceptable but not fantastic.

I've utilized the two antennas that shipped with the NUC case. I've tried several antenna locations, but found the best for connectivity and throughput to be as shown below. The NUC antennas are marked with green arrows. They are mounted directly to the air intake vent on the base of the dome with 2-sided 3M sticky pads.

In these locations, I can connect to any router in the house, upstairs or down. Although the WiFi connection is still somewhat sensitive to router location relative to the iMac, all of the routers I connect to provide a decent internet connection now. Prior to this antenna placement, not all routers would connect.



Ersterhernd

 

[ersterhernd]

The screen brightness function native in OSX is not working in this iMac, because I did not wire in any dimming functionality to the LCD. In fact, I'm not even sure how to do it. To circumvent this lack of brightness control, I use a free application that runs in the menubar automatically at startup. Its called ScreenShade and is linked to below. Using the option+ and option- keys, the brightness control works on this iMac G4 just as it does natively in OSX on my other systems with separate monitors.


https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/27646/screenshade



Ersterhernd

 

[spence4]

Since this build was put together, I've been testing out the best option for the WiFi antenna(s). The problem is that the dome is metal on the inside, which shields the WiFi Signal so much that OSX won't even see every available router in the house. I've tried the external antenna, which works, but there's only one and the throughput is acceptable but not fantastic.

I've utilized the two antennas that shipped with the NUC case. I've tried several antenna locations, but found the best for connectivity and throughput to be as shown below. The NUC antennas are marked with green arrows. They are mounted directly to the air intake vent on the base of the dome with 2-sided 3M sticky pads.

In these locations, I can connect to any router in the house, upstairs or down. Although the WiFi connection is still somewhat sensitive to router location relative to the iMac, all of the routers I connect to provide a decent internet connection now. Prior to this antenna placement, not all routers would connect.



Ersterhernd

Question and suggestion for you; since I am selfish, I will start with the question. How easy is it to clean up an iMac case? A lot of the ones I see on ebay either have some black/grey scuff marks or have yellowed. I assume the yellowing is impossible to fix, but how about the scuff marks? Alternatively I have seen "brand new" enclosures also on ebay for like 25-40 bucks, but they do not have the silver Apple. Is this silver apple just stuck on the case or is it inlayed?

That turned out to be more than one question didn't it?

My suggestion regarding the wifi range is this: why not dremel out a section of the metal cage in the shape of those wifi antennae? The plastic shell will make the missing chunks unnoticeable and I am sure that it will not damage the structural integrity of the cage. I can see your problem with the throughput using one antenna, but to me the bigger concern is the fact that it looks so purty on its own and that eyesore of an antenna ruins its lines. I mean why not just plug in an ethernet cable at that point.

Obviously still waiting for the right to come up on ebay, but once it does I'll begin following in your footsteps again. On a different note I got my new board from intel with the proper headers no problem. I'm trying to figure out a way to get a 1 TB 2.5 HDD into the Cube PSU so I only need to have a power cord and HDMI cable coming out the back.