[COLUG] PowerBook in need of electronics expertise

[Andrew Barr]

I had a friend of mine recently hand me an Apple PowerBook. a quite nice
one in fact. It has only one minor issue preventing it from starting,
unfortunately it is one that I cannot fix myself. This isn't necessarily
Linux-specific, other than the fact that I will be replacing Mac OS X
with Debian/PPC, but there are most likely a number of people on this
list who can either help me or know where I can get help.

The problem is this: the flex cable ZIF sockets for the keyboard and
touchpad are broken. The small swivel arm that holds the ribbon cable in
place is not there any more, so the connection isn't held. I was
wondering if anyone had the expertise or could point me in the right
direction to getting this fixed. I would be willing pay for both
materials and time. This should be an easy fix for someone with the
right tools and know how--the sockets are both in very easy-to-reach
locations and complete disassembly of the machine is not required. I
hesitate to send this machine to Apple or any other laptop repair type
place because I figure they will want to replace the system board
entirely and I don't have that kind of money readily available to me.

Thank you in advance for any help anyone can offer me.

Regards,
Andrew Barr
Pre-CIS Student
Ohio State University
barr.156 at osu.edu
(614) 581-3537 (Verizon)