This is the Portable with a backlit LCD screen (model M1526), a revision of the first version (1989 model M5120) that was unusable in low light situations. I bought it from the U.S. in 2000 – at that time it was just an obsolete Mac, and the price was quite low.
The Apple mouse makes it easy to navigate with smooth scrolling, and the Magic mouse features a multitouch surface with gesture support. You can add extra storage for your MacBook, transfer large files between work and home, or back up important data with a Mac external hard drive. Apple Fitness+ is coming late 2020. $4.99/month after free trial. One subscription per Family Sharing group. Offer good for 3 months after eligible device activation. Plan automatically renews until canceled. Restrictions and other terms apply.
Explore the world of Mac. Check out MacBook Pro, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and more. Visit the Apple site to learn, buy, and get support. The Macintosh Portable was Apple computer's first attempt at making a portable Macintosh personal computer that held the power of a desktop Macintosh. Released in 1989, it was received with excitement from most critics but with very poor sales to consumers.
I turned it on once in a while, but the last few times it didn’t boot at the first attempt, then it didn’t start up at all. I opened it up to take a look, and as I imagined all the capacitors had to be replaced.
I ordered the capacitors online: most of them are SMD, built to be soldered by machines, and they’re hard to find in the few local shops of electronic components.
This is what the motherboard looked like after unsoldering the dead capacitors:
Then I cleaned the pcb and soldered the new capacitors:
Here’s the motherboard:
This is the CPU, a 16MHz Motorola 68000:
Apple Macintosh Portable Backlit
Some Macintosh models had the signatures of the people that engineered the computer molded on the case; the Portable is one of those, and the lower case has many signatures:
The computer can be taken apart without unscrewing a screw: all the pieces are kept together by plastic hooks. Sadly, after many years, the plastic becomes very fragile and it’s hard not to break the smaller hooks. Here is an exploded view of the Macintosh Portable:
There are two optional cards: a modem and a memory expansion.
A detail of the trackball:
For the left handed, it was possible to swap the position of the keyboard and the trackball; you could even mount a numeric keyboard in place of the trackball. In that case you had to carry a mouse too, but with the computer itself weighing 7Kg (16 pounds), a few more grams weren’t such a big deal.
The ports on the back are the same as the ones on the desktop models of the time (floppy, SCSI, ADB, serials, audio), except for the video out connector that looks like a VGA but is a digital output instead: Apple promised an adaptor that they never produced, saying that third parties already made one.
The handle for carrying the computer is used to unlock the monitor when it’s closed on the computer.
Even closed, it’s quite bulky:
Apple operating system definition. One last picture of this Mac:
These are the manuals that came with the computer: Macintosh Portable Owner’s Guide, Macintosh Utilities User’s Guide, Macintosh Portable Handbook, and a couple of leaflets that contain welcome and getting started floppy disks.
First Mac Laptop
Apple offered an official case for the Portable, and in the following pictures you can see it along with the instructions and accessories.
Further reading
![Apple Apple](https://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/appletv2.020312-640x370.jpg)
![Portable Portable](https://cdn-blog.adafruit.com/uploads/2015/12/NewImage99.png)
- Technical specifications on Apple Support and EveryMac.com
Known issues
Unlike later portable computers from Apple and other manufacturers, the battery is wired in series with AC power supply. There being no possible alternative direct connection to AC supply, a flat battery meant the computer could not be operated. The original power supply had a very low output. Several popular unauthorized workarounds were devised, including using the power supply from the PowerBook 100 Series which provides a higher output. As with automotive batteries, the sealed lead acid cells used in the Portable failed if they were fully discharged. The batteries are no longer manufactured and it is very rare to find an original battery that will hold a charge and allow the computer to start. It is possible to repack the battery with new cells, or use alternative 6 V batteries.[1] There were three lead-acid cells inside the battery; each were manufactured by Gates Energy Products (now EnerSys) and they were also used in Quantum 1 battery packs for photographic flash use.
Despite the dramatic improvement in terms of ergonomics offered by the responsiveness, sharpness, and uniformity of its active matrix panel, one of the drawbacks of the Portable was poor readability in low-light situations. Consequently, in February 1991, Apple introduced a backlit Macintosh Portable (model M5126). Along with the new screen, Apple changed the SRAM memory to less expensive (but more power-hungry) pseudo-SRAM, which reduced the total RAM expansion to 8MB and lowered the price. The backlight feature was a welcomed improvement, but it reduced the battery life by about half. An upgrade kit was also offered for the earlier model as well, which plugged into the ROM expansion slot. The Portable was discontinued in October 1991.
Apple First Laptop
In addition, at 16 pounds (7.2 kilograms) and 4inches (10 centimetres) thick, the Portable was a heavy and bulky portable computer. The main contributor to the Portable's weight and bulk was its lead-acid battery. [2]