Wanted: Apple //e and Accessories

[+Ransom]

I'm looking for an Apple //e w/ Apple 5.25" drive controller card (19-pin version) and extended 80 column card. Enhanced (65C02) version of the //e preferred. Apple Super Serial card a plus.

 

Also seeking two 5.25" UniDisk drives, Apple branded color monitor, Apple branded joystick, and a selection of CIB game software.

 

Everything must be in great shape and work perfectly.

 

Equipment boxes and/or manuals a plus.

 

Send me a PM if you're selling any of this stuff.

[Mirage]

You don't happen to have a working PET to trade, do you? (I don't have quite all that you're asking for anyway, by the way). But I think a PET is about the only thing I'd let my ][e go for

 

Either way, free bumpage for some early Apple lovin'.

[+Ransom]

If I had a PET, I'd drive it to your house and give it to you for free.

 

I just never formed a connection to any of the computers I've owned and sold over the years, other than the A8 and Apple ][ series. They were the first two computing platforms I owned. I wrote many, many programs (mostly games) for each. I learned how to program on the A8, and learned how to program well on the Apple. I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without the experience I gained on those computers.

 

I short-sightedly sold the Apple so I'd have enough money for a 386SX-16 back in 1990. And while that, too, led to some great programming experiences (and my first online experiences, which led to meeting a lot of great people -- including my wife), I should have kept that Apple until I could afford the 386 without having to sell the old stuff. I would have just been a matter of months.

 

At the very least I should have had the foresight to keep all the floppies that contained the source code to all the programs I wrote. I also should have kept the respectable collection of programming manuals and technical documentation I had. It'll cost me dearly to recover all the docs some day, and of course I'll never have the programs I wrote again.

 

What's your story with the PET? Did you own and/or use one back when?

[Mirage]

Yeah, story of my life too

 

The elementary school I went to had PETs, no Apples. So aside from sneaking in time on the TRS-80's at Radio Shack, my first couple years were spent getting what little time I could with the PETs in the school library's computer room. Later in High School we had Apple ][e's, but by that time I had my own computer(s), so it wasn't as big of a deal to me. I never got really close with the Apple computers at all.

 

Totally OT, but a minor win story to offset your code loss story: cleaning out the basement yesterday I found printouts to 3 copy/util programs I wrote for the C64, so I will get to type those in (if I can decypher the special codes) and have a few of my programs back. I also found a printout for a darts game I wrote for the Mac in Z-Basic.

 

I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for eventually. I got my ][e from a guy I worked with a few years ago. Just got to talking about old computers and he said he still had his Apple setup, and I ended up buying the whole deal from him. Main ][e (enhanced, I think, not sure), green Apple monitor with stand, joysticks, 1 drive (maybe 2, can't recall offhand), and a bunch of floppies etc, all in nice shape. I should get one of those CF setups for it at some point, otherwise it's going to just keep sitting in the closet

[+Ransom]

Yeah, story of my life too

 

The elementary school I went to had PETs, no Apples. So aside from sneaking in time on the TRS-80's at Radio Shack, my first couple years were spent getting what little time I could with the PETs in the school library's computer room. Later in High School we had Apple ][e's, but by that time I had my own computer(s), so it wasn't as big of a deal to me. I never got really close with the Apple computers at all.

 

How cool! Your school was a little different than most. My first school experience with a computer was with a brief encounter with a Heathkit (at a private school I attended for a few years), but all the rest was either Apple ][s or IBM PCs.

 

Totally OT, but a minor win story to offset your code loss story: cleaning out the basement yesterday I found printouts to 3 copy/util programs I wrote for the C64, so I will get to type those in (if I can decypher the special codes) and have a few of my programs back. I also found a printout for a darts game I wrote for the Mac in Z-Basic.

 

Nice! Get typin'!

 

 

I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for eventually. I got my ][e from a guy I worked with a few years ago. Just got to talking about old computers and he said he still had his Apple setup, and I ended up buying the whole deal from him. Main ][e (enhanced, I think, not sure), green Apple monitor with stand, joysticks, 1 drive (maybe 2, can't recall offhand), and a bunch of floppies etc, all in nice shape.

 

That's awesome. You're fortunate to have run into someone who kept his old stuff so long and in such good shape.

 

 

I should get one of those CF setups for it at some point, otherwise it's going to just keep sitting in the closet

 

I agree, the CF cards seem to be key. Same goes for the A8; I have to get a flash drive for that as well. I just don't have the patience for floppies any more. Especially when it comes to the multidisk games and games that access the disk repeatedly during play. (Not to mention the problem of keeping the old floppies and drives in shape for the next 40 years.)

 

But what am I saying -- I don't have time to play all my cartridge games as much as I want to, let alone to re-open the door to the world of games on floppies.

 

That said, what are some of your favorite games that only appeared on the Apple ][?

[Mirage]

 

How cool! Your school was a little different than most. My first school experience with a computer was with a brief encounter with a Heathkit (at a private school I attended for a few years), but all the rest was either Apple ][s or IBM PCs.

 

That said, what are some of your favorite games that only appeared on the Apple ][?

 

Quite a few school districts in Minnesota had PETs instead of Apples at the time. Many of the PETs were the really early ones with the tape drives and calculator keyboards. My district in particular always wanted to be cutting edge, so I suspect they probably ordered or pre-ordered the PETs before the Apple II was even available, or readily available. Nothing against the PET, but I think that attempt to "stay ahead" sort of backfired on them that time, since then they were stuck with the PETs since they were such a huge expenditure (I believe they had at least 25, from memory), and the Apple machines were much more advanced (but more expensive). It worked out for me, but it would have been nice to have more exposure to Apples since I ended up with a Vic-20 eventually anyway. And the formative years I'm referring to were before the IBM PC was released, so that was never an option for my Elementary school during the years I'm talking about. I think they may have had a couple Apples by the time I left in '83-'84 but I already had a C64 by then.

 

I have no idea about what my favorite Apple-exclusive favorites would be. I had one friend whose parents had one, and we used to play Lode Runner on it a lot, and I think maybe Apple Panic or something similar to that. But neither of those were ][ exclusive of course. Usually we played his ColecoVision

[+Ransom]

Quite a few school districts in Minnesota had PETs instead of Apples at the time. Many of the PETs were the really early ones with the tape drives and calculator keyboards. My district in particular always wanted to be cutting edge, so I suspect they probably ordered or pre-ordered the PETs before the Apple II was even available, or readily available. Nothing against the PET, but I think that attempt to "stay ahead" sort of backfired on them that time, since then they were stuck with the PETs since they were such a huge expenditure (I believe they had at least 25, from memory), and the Apple machines were much more advanced (but more expensive). It worked out for me, but it would have been nice to have more exposure to Apples since I ended up with a Vic-20 eventually anyway. And the formative years I'm referring to were before the IBM PC was released, so that was never an option for my Elementary school during the years I'm talking about. I think they may have had a couple Apples by the time I left in '83-'84 but I already had a C64 by then.

 

I have no idea about what my favorite Apple-exclusive favorites would be. I had one friend whose parents had one, and we used to play Lode Runner on it a lot, and I think maybe Apple Panic or something similar to that. But neither of those were ][ exclusive of course. Usually we played his ColecoVision

 

You were totally on the dark side, then! Commodore, Coleco...no Atari or Apple. Did you have something against the letter A?

 

I know you mostly as a broad-based collector who has a pretty darned good collection of Atari stuff. So what led you to Atari?

[Mirage]

 

You were totally on the dark side, then! Commodore, Coleco...no Atari or Apple. Did you have something against the letter A?

 

I know you mostly as a broad-based collector who has a pretty darned good collection of Atari stuff. So what led you to Atari?

 

No, I had a 2600, so that led me in.

 

Now I enjoy A8, 5200, 7800 as well, though I never had any back then except for an 800xl very briefly (like 1 day). Computer-wise, I always just had what everyone around me had, and that was Commodore. I literally only knew I think 2 people ever who had Atari computers, and one was a 16k 400 so that barely counted, and the other was a friend's dad's, so that barely counted either. And only a couple with expensive Apples, too. One being the guy who ran probably the best local BBS on one, then my friend's parents. But dozens upon dozens of guys had Commodores.

 

Thank goodness we can now enjoy many more systems than we were able to back then!

 

<comes full circle> -- but the ones we had back then are always the most special, so I hope you do get a ][e again! You may as well look for a working PET if you're out and about and happen across one, because I would probably trade you the ][e for one! (prefer full keyboard style).

[+Ransom]

No, I had a 2600, so that led me in.

 

Now I enjoy A8, 5200, 7800 as well, though I never had any back then except for an 800xl very briefly (like 1 day). Computer-wise, I always just had what everyone around me had, and that was Commodore. I literally only knew I think 2 people ever who had Atari computers, and one was a 16k 400 so that barely counted, and the other was a friend's dad's, so that barely counted either. And only a couple with expensive Apples, too. One being the guy who ran probably the best local BBS on one, then my friend's parents. But dozens upon dozens of guys had Commodores.

 

Same here, really. I knew one guy whose dad had an Apple, one whose dad had an Adam, and one whose dad had an IBM. I was the only one I knew who had an Atari computer, and that was only because of brand loyalty from the 2600. Not that I would have been able to get an Apple or IBM at the time! My parents would have fainted if I'd told them the price of those. Which is probably why every kid I knew who had a computer had a Commodore. Two or three thousand dollars for a basic computer was just unbelievably expensive for a middle class family in those days.

 

 

Thank goodness we can now enjoy many more systems than we were able to back then!

[/quote[

 

Amen, brother!

 

<comes full circle> -- but the ones we had back then are always the most special, so I hope you do get a ][e again! You may as well look for a working PET if you're out and about and happen across one, because I would probably trade you the ][e for one! (prefer full keyboard style).

 

It's a deal. But since I know nothing about PETs...any hints on how to recognize the "full keyboard style" versus other ones? I looked at some pictures, and all the keyboards look the same to me.

 

Here's where I was researching: Commodore PETs

[Mirage]

It's a deal. But since I know nothing about PETs...any hints on how to recognize the "full keyboard style" versus other ones? I looked at some pictures, and all the keyboards look the same to me.

 

Here's where I was researching: Commodore PETs

 

I just mean anything that doesn't look like that calculator-style one in the first picture (with the built-in tape drive). Those are flat, square keys on a tiny keyboard, very much like a calculator... C= was a mostly a calculator company at the time. I'd take one of those in a pinch I guess, but I really want the regular keyboard with no built-in tape drive.

[+Ransom]

Ah, ok. The chicklet keyboard is out. I agree with that. Funny that they're making a comeback on Macs.

[+Ransom]

I now have an AppleColor Composite monitor on its way to me.

 

Do you have any of the other stuff I've got listed in the first post?

 

PM me if you do!

[Mirage]

Ah, ok. The chicklet keyboard is out. I agree with that. Funny that they're making a comeback on Macs.

 

Oh no! The Mac chicklet keyboards are totally different now (but you probably realize that). I used to love the regular Mac Pro keyboard or whatever they called it - the all white and clear one with no boarder. Once I tried one of the newer style ones for awhile, I can't tolerate using anything else. Same with my MacBookPro one, it feels almost the same. Just great.

 

It is funny though, and it's the very first thing I thought when I saw the chicklet Mac keyboards!

 

Good deal on getting a color monitor. I would probably use my ][ a lot more if I had something other than the green (actually amber I think) monitor.

[99'er Forever]

I now have an AppleColor Composite monitor on its way to me.

 

Do you have any of the other stuff I've got listed in the first post?

 

PM me if you do!

 

 

I have a bunch of Apple II stuff I need to go through. I have a really nice IIe that is beige with a light gray keyboard. I'll probably need another week to get pictures of it.

[Madaracs]

Quite a few school districts in Minnesota had PETs instead of Apples at the time. Many of the PETs were the really early ones with the tape drives and calculator keyboards. My district in particular always wanted to be cutting edge, so I suspect they probably ordered or pre-ordered the PETs before the Apple II was even available, or readily available.

 

I was in MN school district 194. We had PET computers too. Until Jr. High. Then everything was Apple II.

[+Ransom]

Ah, ok. The chicklet keyboard is out. I agree with that. Funny that they're making a comeback on Macs.

 

Oh no! The Mac chicklet keyboards are totally different now (but you probably realize that). I used to love the regular Mac Pro keyboard or whatever they called it - the all white and clear one with no boarder. Once I tried one of the newer style ones for awhile, I can't tolerate using anything else. Same with my MacBookPro one, it feels almost the same. Just great.

 

It is funny though, and it's the very first thing I thought when I saw the chicklet Mac keyboards!

 

I was hoping they were better than they looked, but I haven't actually touched one yet. Still using my PowerBook G4 (1.67 GHz), believe it or not. This is the year we hope to upgrade (my wife's using a PowerMac G5 (dual processor)). They just came out with new Macbook Pro's. Now I'm waiting for Lion to come out, and for the new Mac Pro to come out, and then we'll buy.

 

Good to hear that the keyboards aren't as bad as they look. I certainly like the one in my PowerBook, and it has a short travel like nearly all notebook keyboards.

 

 

Good deal on getting a color monitor. I would probably use my ][ a lot more if I had something other than the green (actually amber I think) monitor.

 

Hopefully it'll work out. I figure if I don't end up with a //e anytime soon, I can at least hook a console to it (as long as I use some external speakers for audio).

[+Ransom]

I have a bunch of Apple II stuff I need to go through. I have a really nice IIe that is beige with a light gray keyboard. I'll probably need another week to get pictures of it.

 

Sounds good. Just give shoot me a PM when you're ready.

 

(BTW, it's not the one with the built-in numeric keypad, is it?)

 

If you have any technical manuals or CIB software, I'd love to have a chance at that stuff, too.

[+wood_jl]

Good to hear that the keyboards aren't as bad as they look. I certainly like the one in my PowerBook, and it has a short travel like nearly all notebook keyboards.

 

At school I've been using a new HUGE-widescreen iMac, and it's beautiful. The chicklet keyboard is nothing like as bad as the old ones. But it definitely is not as easy to type blazingly-fast on, as a larger, more-full-stroke keyboard. If your're doing lots of left then right mouse clicking (copying/pasting like crazy, as you would in a foreign language class, where you're copying snippets of spanish to Google Translate to cheat during the online portion of your work) then you may find the mouse - which leans/bends left and right instead of having buttons - doesn't work as easily as conventional counterparts. They cater heavily to aesthetics, and indeed they do LOOK awesome.

 

But oh, the screen is divine, and the other parts are quite usable, but not as comfortable/productive as, say an IBM Selectric-style keyboard and conventional 2-button mouse.

 

BTW: They used Commodore PETs in the Northeastern Wyoming school districts, in the old days.

[Mirage]

 

But it definitely is not as easy to type blazingly-fast on, as a larger, more-full-stroke keyboard.

but not as comfortable/productive as, say an IBM Selectric-style keyboard

 

 

Oh, I disagree! At least for myself... once I got used to the new chicklet keyboards, my fingers just glide and barely move. I can fly on one now, and moving back to any full-stroke keyboard (even a good one) just slows me down. Once I got used to it. I'm sure it depends on the person though, and amount of practice.

 

then you may find the mouse - which leans/bends left and right instead of having buttons - doesn't work as easily as conventional counterparts.

 

 

But this I agree with totally... like I always say, Apple cannot design a mouse! I have used one at work for the past 2 years, and I have somehow gotten used to it, but as soon as I switch to a real mouse, it's like lubrication. And forget FPS gaming with an Apple Mouse. The new Mighty Mouse is a bit interesting, with the top being gesture-sensitive, but I still can't tolerate the shape or basic operation, so still don't use it. At home I use a Logitech mouse on our 27" iMac, always.

 

Hey, totally off topic, but it's free bumps to hopefully get Ransom a ][. My wanted posts always fall to oblivion fast and no one ever sees them again.

[+Ransom]

Hey, totally off topic, but it's free bumps to hopefully get Ransom a ][.

 

Thank you.

 

No problem about the off-topic stuff. Thanks to the discussion, I can feel a little better going into the Mac purchases later this year. I've been dreading it, wondering how much longer my Mac keyboard from 2002 will hold out.

 

Almost totally irrelevant aside: I've been trolling eBay (for the first time in more than a year) looking at what Apple ][ stuff actually sells for so I'd have some idea of what to offer and what's a good deal. I saw an Imagewriter II, which is something I used to have but do not want. Still, I saw that the seller had noted that it turns on, but since he didn't have an Apple ][ he couldn't test it further. Not being in the eBay mindset, I tried to be helpful and sent him a message letting him know that if you load a sheet of paper in it, then hold down Form Feed while you turn it on, it'll print a test sheet for you. Silly me. The message I got back was, "I don't have paper."

[Mirage]

OK, this thread is ridiculous. I actually dreamed last night that I went into the basement and my ][e was all set up in a permanent position on a desk. And I know it was because of this thread, because I said to myself in the dream "oh, I had told Ransom it was in the closet, I guess it's not!" I guess I do need to make a permanent place for it and get a CF setup.

[+Ransom]

LOL, Mirage. When you start dreaming about it, you know you have to do something!

 

BTW, I looked around at the available CF card solutions, and all I could find is ones that use a CF card to simulate a hard drive. So you can't boot an image of a protected floppy from them, for example. But I did find that one of the guys who made the original CF card interfaces for the Apple ][ is working on a new one that will allow booting from floppy disk images. The web page is here.

 

I sent him an email expressing my interest, and he said he's about to send off the third PCB revision for the project and is still working on the firmware.

 

I'm willing to wait a while for that one, rather than spending $75 or so on the current ones.

 

If you're interested, you might want to send him an email and let him know so you can be added to the list.

[Mirage]

Holy cow, $150?! I'm sure it's awesome and all that, but I don't really want to put that much into it myself. Honestly, for the ][, it would be more about just programming and messing around with the thing, not really playing games. Aren't there lots of cracked games for it anyway like for most any other machine out there, that would load off the CF 'hard drive'?

[+Ransom]

Holy cow, $150?! I'm sure it's awesome and all that, but I don't really want to put that much into it myself. Honestly, for the ][, it would be more about just programming and messing around with the thing, not really playing games. Aren't there lots of cracked games for it anyway like for most any other machine out there, that would load off the CF 'hard drive'?

 

There are lots and lots of cracked games for it, and it's easy to load them from a modern computer with ADTPro, so I'm not sure if any sort of CF card solution is necessary for me, either. I'm taking a wait and see approach. Gotta get that ][ first, and explore it. As you know, it's lots more fun doing this stuff one step at a time.

[Mirage]

What? I can do this via the cassette ports, and even with a Mac? OK, I will look into this soon. It didn't even occur to me that I could probably do this for ~free. Thanks.