• Quite a pivot

    Sergei Silnov • 02/12/2024 at 23:04 • 0 comments

    After some play with two 8" displays, I realized that the box with macbleth can be much smaller, like 6 inches (ca. 15 cm)  . Then why make it bigger?

    Now I use this device as a battery-powered Mac mini with a 5.5" camera recording monitor that I can also use with my camera.

    I'm going to make a nice mount and cables, but I like the system as it's!

  • Detachable screen

    Sergei Silnov • 01/25/2024 at 12:44 • 0 comments

    This project was suspended for some time, but now I come up with a fresh idea, 

    the core - is just a power board and the battery and the screen is detachable.

    This allows to make this device much more compact, like 150x110x35mm

  • Wire cutters

    Sergei Silnov • 12/01/2023 at 14:45 • 0 comments

    It used to be a ribbon cable

    But I still love my cats.

  • Display

    Sergei Silnov • 11/29/2023 at 16:00 • 0 comments

    Initially, I bought this display. It works fine with Windows, but not the mac.  The HDMI-MIPI adapter only supports RGB colors, while macOS defaults to YCbCr colors. 

    There are 2 ways to force RGB colors on macOS

    1.  Overriding defaults for a given display ID https://gist.github.com/guipacheco2/85ae80660a7ac987c12b
    2. Patching current screen configs https://gist.github.com/GetVladimir/c89a26df1806001543bef4c8d90cc2f8

    But first way, the settings will be broken once you adjust the screen layout. The second way, adjustments won't persist unless you do the magic every time. While it's ok for a desktop, for the main screen it's quite annoying. 

    Yet another problem, the backlight stays on while the display is in sleep. I didn't find another HDMI-MIPI converter, so decided to save this display for another project and ordered another one. Still waiting for it to be delivered.

  • Antennas

    Sergei Silnov • 10/13/2023 at 19:11 • 0 comments

    The original antennas are hard to remove from the Mac mini case, so I replaced them with 3 flexible PCB 4dBi 2.4/5GHz antennas. I didn't perform extensive testing, but in a few experiments, performance for both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is similar to MacBook Pro 14" 

  • Power connector

    Sergei Silnov • 10/10/2023 at 12:03 • 0 comments

    Mac Mini M1 uses 12v PSU and 10x2 2.0mm pitch connector. 

    Layout can be found here: https://www.ifixit.com/Document/qMotFqYMafDIeWWb/MacMini2018_DC_Connector.pdf

    I used a regular PCB connector and thick enough wire in silicone insulation

    Mac Mini M2 uses a different 2 pole screw terminal. Much better for DIY, unexpected from Apple!

  • The mainboard

    Sergei Silnov • 10/09/2023 at 08:58 • 0 comments

    The idea is simple. Apple doesn't make small 8-9" macOS devices, so I have to make one myself.

    Mac Mini M1 (or M2) suits well the purpose because the main board is small, doesn't require active cooling (despite the fan in the case) and can be powered with DC power supply.