This is going to be my worklog thread for the modifications on my iBook G4 so far. So far the plans are:
RIT Dyed Black Everything (But Top Lid) Fiber Optic Backlit Keyboard (Ported to G4) Clear Lid (Ported to G4) Integrated Bluetooth (1.2Ghz No Internal Bluetooth... :/) Integrated IR Sensor (Front Left Corner) Integrated IR Sensor Bar (In Top Lid.. for? You guessed it.. Wiimote IR Cursor) Backlit ports (Preferably Red... Same color as backlit keyboard.) Backlit Speakers MCE DL-DVD+-R Drive Installation (Not quite a mod. But a planned upgrade) It's already maxed in RAM, and I'm looking to get the largest PATA drive I can find for it.
I've already considered the detrimental effect on battery life these mods will have, thats perfectly fine as I'll have my MacBook for my main traveling machine soon. Plus I've got two batteries
iBook Pre-Mods:
Upside down, flash.
Top Lid.
Bottom, No flash.
Side View, LED.
Mod Process Pictures: It's important to clean the parts you're dying. The oils from fingerprints and dirt can repel the dye/water.
Find a pan that will fit the case, with a bit of extra room. Also, if I can recommend.. Stainless steel. The name pretty much gives away why. You won't have a purple/red/blue/brown stained pan when you're done.
My good old pan, filled with about a bit less than a gallon of water. Boiling it up. And some friendly RIT dye!
I had to post a picture of this because it looked awesome. Pre-Stirring after putting the dye in the pan.
I'm meeeeeeeeeeeeeelting! (Bottom case is submerged. I think you can see it a little.) Shiny New Bottom Cover Dyed (Correctly):
[img]http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6786/1000352iq4.th.jpg[/img] The dyebath gets quite bubbly, not to mention I didn't want a purple stovetop. A cookie pan over the top of it should take care of it. And remember, don't put paper towels too close to the flames like I did
[img]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/222/1000366ro5.th.jpg[/img] Dip switch I inserted into the hollowed out FW400 Port. It controls 5V+ to the Bluetooth dongle. In other words, it's a bluetooth on/off switch. Next step for this is to get an 8 Pin DPDT switch and make the port usable again.
Fun Update (Sarcasm...): One thing you should never do while modding, is assume. I assumed that the battery connector for the iBG4 14' and iBG4 12' were the same. Soldered the wires in matching order. What I didn't realize is that since the battery connector on the 12' flips, the order does too. Ruined the on-board power supply, and thus killing the logic. New one is in the mail.
The screen from this computer was used to revive a PBG4, so this project will continue under the 14' model. Besides, there are reports of 14's hitting 1.53Ghz. Let the overclocking begin!
Have you used black die before for something like this? I'm wondering if it actually comes out completely black or if it's more grayish.
It would be textured shades of gray, though you could make it darker with subsequent dying.It would look like concrete or marble... depending on the condition of the plastic. The somewhat organic finish which comes with these dye jobs is interesting and aesthetic... moreso than painting, I think.
Just to mention, you can also dye the battery cover. It's held on by a strip of double-sided adhesive, like two-sided tape, but much, much stronger. You'll want to use something wide and flat to fit between the cover and battery and gradually pry it off. It really doesn't take much work at all.
Somewhere in Philadelphia, there's a guy walking around with what used to be my red iBook G4 ;D
You're right about that battery cover. Thanks for the idea I'm pretty sure I'm leaving the semi-translucent keys from the iBG3 the same color, and the trackpad too. I think it'll add a nice contrast effect.
I've never RIT Dyed anything before, but all of the ones I've seen online look awesome. I was sad when I found out that the iBG4 had white stained plastic, so I just moved the covers from my iBG3. And then I discovered dying! I'll have some before/during/after pictures up soon.
If you're using the silver palmrest from the G3 as well, you'll need to use a bit of fine-grit sandpaper along the inside edges where it fits around the magnesium frame when assembled, as the G4's frame is just slightly larger... at first, it seems as if it will fit, albeit snugly. I found out the hard way when the heat from my hard drive caused a crack in the left palmrest, starting from the lower left corner, moving inward toward the keyboard. Of course, I was using a 5400rpm Seagate, which tends to churn out a lot of heat... more than the newer 7200rpm model I have in my MacBook, so the newer ones may run cooler. But, I would still add a little clearance room, and I would use sandpaper, as a Dremel is going to remove too much too quickly for something like this, where you want to remove barely anything at all -the added clearance should be less than half a millimeter on all sides.
Top and bottom are clear, and there is a blue LED on the FW400 port. This is pretty much my proof of concept model. New G4 bottom came in today, along with 5/15 boxes of dye. Apple remote came in too. Just waiting on the IR LEDs and the USB IR Receiver to get this thing going.
Sorry about the crappy quality of the photos. Camera is pretty bad.
They get the job done, and the LEDs look good so far! ..,.and I still like Image Shack best (despite the more "feature bloated" options), for this sort of think.
Yeah, I love imageshack. Their new account system is really buggy though. This is just straight up uploading... the best.
And thanks. I decided on a name for the finished product. The WiiBook! Google revealed that no one has used that name for any iBook mod (other than placing a Wii on a MacBook Pro ) Not incredibly original regardless, but whatever.
Update: I got my G4 Titanium 500Mhz Keyboard today, and moved all the keys from it to my iBG3 keyboard. It looks pretty awesome actually. It contrasts with the white case so nicely I almost feel bad dying it. I'll give you a word of advice on keyboards, if you can buy one done already do it. The plastic mounts for the keys broke on at least 5 keys. And I was very gentle in lifting them off. But I keep spare keyboards to cannibalize so no big deal.
Since the dying did not go as well as I planned, I don't have a pictures of the final product yet. I should have some time to get this done tomorrow afternoon, so maybe I'll have some pictures then.
But I keep spare keyboards to cannibalize so no big deal.
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