- Joined
- Oct 3, 2015
- Messages
- 6
- Motherboard
- Mac Mini > Need year & Model # > See Rules!
- CPU
- Intel> Need model # > See Rules!
- Graphics
- Intel version # > See Rules!
hope this mod is allowed here. if it's not please remove post
so after years and years of thinking about this mod, i finally scratched the itch and got started.
the goal of iMac G4 20" using:
mac mini 2009 logic board
original power supply
arduino dome-fan driver
TMDS to HDMI to DisplayPort on mac mini
so i thought of using a mac mini instead of a nuc or other solutions others have used here. that's why i'm not sure if this post is allowed here, but aside from that difference a lot of the electromechanical engineering challenges ARE similar.
why a mac mini? it was nice to not be bothered with the hackintosh aspects of the build. it'll be a genuine mac not hampered by finding parts that are compatible with OS X. it's compatible with El Capitan, so at least i'll be good for updates for the next year. although i oogled over the genius MacTester57's implementation of the startup chime sound, it was really nice to hook up the mac mini's internal speaker wires directly to the original iMac's internal speaker and have it work off the bat.
i'm going to try the same idea with the sleep indicator LED.
i can't think of a way to drive the case fan yet, i don't think there's a way to directly drive one from the mac mini logic board's circuity.
i'm going to keep this thread has a running journal of my work. i was going to wait until i was finished to post a cleaner tutorial but got really excited once i saw the iMac's LCD come up the first time. took my breath away. the only artifact i got is one green pixel in the lower left quadrant. other than that the video is pristine. so i can report that video works fine going through a DVI to DisplayPort cable, into the mac mini or macbook pro
when the mac mini goes to sleep the backlight turns off as well, which gave me relief. system profiler lists it as "iMac Display"
now that the lcd seems to be working, my next step is to tidy up/solidify all the connections. which is just as tedious as performing the TMDS->DVI conversion itself. then, i'll attack the arduino thermistor-controlled fan driver. i was about to go the picaxe route but realized i didn't own a pic programmer. and i thought i'd be a fun time to try arduino programming anyway.
could not have been possible without nights of reading and rereading the work done by MacTester57 and Ersterhernds and dremeljunkies. so i give many many thanks to them
so after years and years of thinking about this mod, i finally scratched the itch and got started.
the goal of iMac G4 20" using:
mac mini 2009 logic board
original power supply
arduino dome-fan driver
TMDS to HDMI to DisplayPort on mac mini
so i thought of using a mac mini instead of a nuc or other solutions others have used here. that's why i'm not sure if this post is allowed here, but aside from that difference a lot of the electromechanical engineering challenges ARE similar.
why a mac mini? it was nice to not be bothered with the hackintosh aspects of the build. it'll be a genuine mac not hampered by finding parts that are compatible with OS X. it's compatible with El Capitan, so at least i'll be good for updates for the next year. although i oogled over the genius MacTester57's implementation of the startup chime sound, it was really nice to hook up the mac mini's internal speaker wires directly to the original iMac's internal speaker and have it work off the bat.
i'm going to try the same idea with the sleep indicator LED.
i can't think of a way to drive the case fan yet, i don't think there's a way to directly drive one from the mac mini logic board's circuity.
i'm going to keep this thread has a running journal of my work. i was going to wait until i was finished to post a cleaner tutorial but got really excited once i saw the iMac's LCD come up the first time. took my breath away. the only artifact i got is one green pixel in the lower left quadrant. other than that the video is pristine. so i can report that video works fine going through a DVI to DisplayPort cable, into the mac mini or macbook pro
when the mac mini goes to sleep the backlight turns off as well, which gave me relief. system profiler lists it as "iMac Display"
now that the lcd seems to be working, my next step is to tidy up/solidify all the connections. which is just as tedious as performing the TMDS->DVI conversion itself. then, i'll attack the arduino thermistor-controlled fan driver. i was about to go the picaxe route but realized i didn't own a pic programmer. and i thought i'd be a fun time to try arduino programming anyway.
could not have been possible without nights of reading and rereading the work done by MacTester57 and Ersterhernds and dremeljunkies. so i give many many thanks to them