Editing Apple Newton Charging Station

{{Infobox computer peripheral
| name         = Apple Newton Charging Station
| image        = [[File:Apple Newton MessagePad Charging Station (Frank Gruendel).jpg|260px|frameless]]
| caption      = MessagePad Charging Station with the spare-pack bay empty (photo: Frank Gründel)
| manufacturer = Apple Computer, Inc.
| type         = Battery charger and desk stand
| compatible   = [[Apple Newton MessagePad]] 110, 120 and 130
| power        = Newton power adapter
| part_number  = H0073LL/A (order number)
}}
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The '''Apple Newton Charging Station''', sold as the MessagePad Charging Station or MessagePad Battery Charging Station (order number H0073LL/A), is a desk stand for the [[Apple Newton MessagePad]] 110, 120 and 130. With a MessagePad sitting on it, the station runs the MessagePad from the adapter and charges the NiCd pack inside it, and it charges a second pack in its own bay at the same time, in two to three hours.<ref name="dspl">Apple Computer IMC Poland, ''Akcesoria do Newton MessagePad'', Polish-language data sheet, PDF created 12 January 1996. Hosted as [[:File:Akcesoria do Newton MessagePad data sheet (Apple Poland, 1996).pdf]]. MessagePad Charging Station for the MessagePad 110 or 120, H0073LL/A: one NiCd pack, the station, an adapter and a pen; charges the pack in the Newton and one spare pack at the same time, in two to three hours; the Newton can be used on mains power meanwhile.</ref><ref name="ds97">Apple Computer, ''MessagePad Accessories'' data sheet, November 1997, L00517K. Hosted as [[:File:MessagePad Accessories data sheet (1997).pdf]]. MessagePad Battery Charging Station, H0073LL/A, for the MessagePad 120 or 130: one NiCd pack, station adapter and pen; charges a spare pack while charging the MessagePad's internal pack.</ref> It came with a NiCd pack, an adapter and a pen.<ref name="dspl" /><ref name="ds97" /> The MessagePad makes contact with the station through the contacts on the back of its case.<ref name="fg130">Frank Gründel, reply in "New MP130, no sound", NewtonTalk, 9 May 2009, [https://marc.info/?l=newtontalk&m=124190850421481&w=2 MARC archive]. The contacts on the back of the 110, 120 and 130 are for the charging station.</ref> The earlier Original MessagePad and MessagePad 100 used a different charger, the Battery Pack Recharger, described on [[Apple Newton NiCd Battery Pack]].

== Testing ==
Frank Gründel's bench test, done before opening the station, uses the labels on his photographs: LED A for the MessagePad, LED B for the spare bay, switches SW1 (pressed through a rubber part by a pack in the spare bay) and SW2, and the test points C1 and C2, where C2 is the outermost pair of contacts in the spare bay.<ref name="fgcs">Frank Gründel, "How to test and disassemble an Apple Newton MessagePad 110 / 120 / 130 battery charging station", PDA-Soft, [https://www.pda-soft.de/chargestationdisassemble.html pda-soft.de/chargestationdisassemble.html] (read 2 October 2026). Community repair guide. The designators are his labels on his photographs.</ref>
# Plug in the adapter with no MessagePad or pack fitted. The voltage across C1 should be about 7.5 V.
# Press SW2. LED A should turn amber.
# Measure across the outermost contacts of the spare bay (C2). It should read 0 V.
# Press SW1. LED B should turn amber, and while SW1 is held the voltage across C2 should be about 7.5 V.
# Fit an Apple NiCd pack in the spare bay. LED B should turn amber, then green when the pack is charged, after about two to three hours. Four ordinary NiCd AA cells can be tested the same way with a piece of card wedged under them to hold SW1 down.
# Put a 110, 120 or 130 with an Apple pack on the station. LED A should turn amber, then green when charged.
If the MessagePad charges but a pack in the spare bay does not, check the fuse between the two bottom-left contacts of the bay: it should read 0 Ω. Frank Gründel describes it as a 5 A type, most likely slow-blow.<ref name="fgcs" />

== Opening the station ==
# Turn the station face down and peel off the four round rubber feet to reach screws S1 to S4. S3 and S4 are longer than S1 and S2.
# A fifth screw is under the label. Either peel back the right-hand end of the label, or cut a hole 5 to 6 mm across centred 18 mm below and 6 mm left of the label's top right corner.
# Separate the top and bottom halves. The three stacked steel plates in the bottom half are there only for weight.
# Remove screws S6 and S7 (S7 is the thinner) and lift the board at the left side.
# Take out the spring inside the temperature sensor and the small rubber part next to it that presses SW1 before they fall out.
# On reassembly, refit the spring and the rubber part, and turn each screw backwards until it clicks into its thread before tightening it.<ref name="fgcs" />

The one component failure Frank Gründel reports is the electrolytic capacitor directly below the adapter socket, which was visibly dead on his station.<ref name="fgcs" /> See [[Capacitor Failure Symptoms]] for what to look for.

== Related pages ==
* [[Apple Newton NiCd Battery Pack]]
* [[Apple Newton MessagePad General Maintenance]]
* [[Apple Newton accessories]]
* [[Battery Refurbishment]]

== References ==
<references />

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