#tinymac — Public Fediverse posts

@UpLateGeek @MARCHintosh nice work! That case is *so* hard to get open.

Search for the posts tagged #tinyMac to see some photos of my and other folks’ builds.

There’s plenty of space for a Pi 3A+ and a waveshare 2.8” LCD. I crammed a little audio amp and speakers in mine, too.

@paulrickards My #MARCHintosh project also involves making a #TinyMac.
While I progressed on the software side (running #BasiliskII on framebuffer, with multiple configs chosen at boot time if a key is held), I lack hardware knowledge.
As your project seems quite advanced, could you share your internal wiring and integration of the CPX to send keys?
Is its internal speaker enough for gaming audio?
Did you also integrate the front knob and buttons?
Thanks in advance.

👨‍💻🤡 "I built" a tiny Mac! Translation: I glued some wires to a Raspberry Pi while watching YouTube tutorials. 📺 Apparently, assembling a pint-sized museum artifact with 63 more RAM is groundbreaking. Who knew #nostalgia could be so... minimal? 😂
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2026/pint-sized-macintosh-pico-micro-mac/ #tinyMac #RaspberryPi #techhumor #DIYprojects #minimalism #HackerNews #ngated

The #TinyMac can have a little HD 20SC as a treat.

#RetroComputing #VintageApple #VintageMac

@colin_mcmillen it’s all sealed up now, but if you search for my posts tagged with #tinyMac you’ll see all the work that led up to this.

Also: it’s not pretty and I’m not proud 😆

Anyway, this feels relevant (playing on Linux, obvs, not Mac OS) #tinyMac

Would I do anything different if I did another #tinyMac build?

- I'd love to make use of the touch switch in the top of the case for something, but I snipped the wires off that early on

- similarly, it would be nice to have made use of the dial on the front to control volume

- adding a data enabled USB-C socket, to allow connection of a hub and peripherals would be nice, or a 3.5mm audio jack (although Bluetooth is pretty good for most things)

As the #tinyMac currently stands, I reckon I've spent about £90 on it. I've spent more overall, though, as I've bought a few parts and replaced them with alternatives. Notably I've gone through a few iterations of amplifier and speaker combinations to get rid of the CPU/BT/Wifi noise, and there's an assortment of USB-C sockets and cables in my bits box now.

Final bill of materials:
- Maclock donor case
- Raspberry Pi 3a+
- Waveshare 2.8” LCD
- 10cm GPIO extension cable
- 15cm SD extension cable
- 2x miniature monitor speakers
- USB-C PD trigger
- some wires
- Kapton tape
- hot glue

Plus an SD card, USB-C PSU (borrowed from my Steam Deck), and a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (any will do, but the Apple ones look neat)

#tinyMac

My #tinyMac hardware build is complete, just in time for #MARCHintosh! It was surprising just how much of a challenge squeezing all the hardware and cabling into the case was in the end. The underlying Linux OS is Bluetooth paired with a spare, modern, Magic Mouse and Keyboard.

Now to get some interesting software on it, and try to get it on #globaltalk

Side-by-side in my feed right now.

#retroComputing #TinyMac #tinyTRS80

@NanoRaptor Thanks! Got it on the #TinyMac 😍

#MARCHintosh #RetroComputing #VintageApple #VintageMac

I’m really happy with the components, now I just need to fit it all together neatly! #tinyMac

Yay! I solved the audio problems with the #tinyMac!

Some things arrived in the post from China today:
- an audio noise/ground hum isolator
- a pair of small speakers designed for use in monitors

The audio isolator almost completely eliminates the noise from the Pi, even when it’s running under load or with lots of network traffic. You need to get your ear right next to the speakers, turned up full, to hear any noise.

The new speakers fit perfectly with the grilles and are much better quality

So, my #MARCHintosh goal is to finish the #tinyMac (hopefully with sort of working, internal, audio solution) and get it on #globaltalk

I've finally decided to give up on the Teeny Tiny Amp in the #tinyMac. The PAM8403 might as well be an RF receiver as an amp, not helped by the Pi being very noisy.

I'll keep looking for a better solution that will fit in in the Maclock case, but for now I'll have to make do with a nearby bluetooth speaker, although it seems to disconnect quite aggressively in Debian.

The #TinyMac now plays a random classic alert sound when you touch the top to wake up the screen 🥹

The inspiration for my #tinyMac

Love it! 😍

Added bonus: the Circuit Playground Express also has a speaker and can play sounds, immediately after power up (by inserting the floppy disk of course). So I can play the Mac startup chime! 😍

Now, if I could get it to boot into Basilisk II quicker 😆

#RetroComputing #TinyMac #VintageApple #VintageMac

I added a Circuit Playground Express board to the #TinyMac and connected the capacitive touch sensor on top to it.

The CPX board connects to the Pi via USB and acts like a keyboard. When the top sensor is touched, it sends a key press waking the screen from blanking.

#RetroComputing #VintageApple #VintageMac

On the subject of #tinyMac shenanigans, and general #mac #retrocomputing goodness, this looks like an interesting thing to run on your Teeny Tiny Macintosh.

I'll be honest: getting this thing to play #badApple in one form or another was definitely on my todo list 😎

https://www.macflim.com

I finally glued the display into my #tinyMac today,talk about nerve wracking!

Anyways, a tiny dab of superglue at each corner of the "glass", to hold it in place, followed by a thin sausage of sugru around the edges of the display aperture. Then very gently pressing the LCD into place, lining it up, then padding with a little more sugru to hold it in place.

It should take about 24hrs to dry/set, due to the thickness of the sugru, but it looks good right now.

I was *so* worried I'd mess it up!

RE: https://mendeddrum.org/@DJDarren/116068359199669856

Somebody else had done a really nice #tinyMac build, and documented it well on YouTube.

Their 3D printed screen bracket is a great touch.

I added USB-PD trigger to the #tinyMac today. It means I can power it with a decent USB-PD capable PSU and get plenty of juice (3A at 5V) for the Pi, display and Teeny Tiny Amplifier. No more undervoltage alerts from it at all, even when under load and banging out some tunes from the Teeny Tiny Speakers, which are now mounted in the case.

I’ve also been making a little internal wiring loom to tidy up the connections between everything. Should make it easier to assemble and disassemble.

Mac and TinyMac.

#VintageApple #VintageMac #RetroComputing #TinyMac

@alexshendi Just what you see in this thread. Also worth looking at the #TinyMac tag.

I used this Waveshare 2.8” DPI display for Raspberry Pi.

https://www.waveshare.com/2.8inch-DPI-LCD.htm

Obligatory flying toasters.

#RetroComputing #VintageApple #VintageMac #TinyMac