+Ransom #1 Posted March 13, 2011 I just bought a //e from 99'er Forever and a couple of floppy drives from Rockin' Kat. With the color monitor and joystick I bought on eBay, I have a very nice system! And thanks to ADTPro and a serial cable, I have a lot o' software at my fingertips, too! Remember the days when people brought home their shiny Apple ][ computer and had no desk to put it on, so they put it on the kitchen table? That's where I am, now. Here's the system (with Mickey relaxing in the background). It consists of an Apple //e Platinum Edition, an Apple 5.25 drive, an AppleColor Composite Monitor, and an Apple Joystick //e: Let's boot up ADTPro and transfer some software: At the ADTPro menu: Here's the recieve process. It goes pretty quick. An entire floppy gets transferred and written in about a minute. You can see my laptop off to the left in this one: Let's boot the newly written disk and see what we got: All in all, this is pretty cool stuff to me. Not only do I get to use a real Apple ][ for the first time in fifteen years, I have all the software I could ever want! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goochman #2 Posted March 13, 2011 What connection with ADTPro did you use to transfer disks so fast? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Ransom #3 Posted March 13, 2011 Just a serial cable (serial USB dongle on the Mac, Super Serial Card II on the ][). It transfers at 115,200 bps. Seems to write to the floppy at the same speed, alternating between reading on the serial then writing to the floppy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mirage #4 Posted March 13, 2011 Awesome! I'm glad you got that Platinum! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
classicgamer_27330 #5 Posted March 14, 2011 10 LET A=2 20 PRINT A 30 END Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cebus Capucinis #6 Posted March 14, 2011 Awesome! I'm glad you got that Platinum! I wanted that Platinum. It went to a good home though! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+save2600 #7 Posted March 14, 2011 Yeah, sweet deal Ransom! Cool you were able to scrap together such a nice system. What else you plan on doing with it? Mostly a gaming machine? I totally remember the style of that joystick too. Has a nice feel to it, but I wonder how many games took advantage of it in the analog domain? Probably not many...? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Ransom #8 Posted March 14, 2011 Awesome! I'm glad you got that Platinum! Thanks! I wasn't looking for this model in particular, but it's worked out very well. Color-wise, it goes with the drives, joystick, and monitor I randomly ended up with. I guess it was meant to be. I wanted that Platinum. It went to a good home though! I'm a little surprised I ended up with it, actually! I originally wanted a //e Enhanced or, failing that, a //e with a rev. B motherboard to which I could then add the Enhancement Kit. Why? Because that's what I was familiar with. But 99'er Forever was offering this at a really good price and it included a Super Serial Card II, so I went for it. I'm glad I did. It's a really nice machine. It's taking me some time to get used to the keyboard layout, but the machine itself is fantastic. Yeah, sweet deal Ransom! Cool you were able to scrap together such a nice system. What else you plan on doing with it? Mostly a gaming machine? I plan to take a little walk down memory lane and do some programming on it. I also plan to do something I never did in the 80s when I had one for about six years: learn ProDOS. I stuck with DOS 3.3 back then (other than while using Appleworks), and now I think it's time to upgrade. I'm currently re-buying all the Addison-Wesley Apple ][ programming and technical reference manuals I had back then, in preparation for going on a little programming binge. Applesoft BASIC to start with, of course. We'll see if I ever have time to pick up 6502 assembly again. I'm looking forward to the immediacy of interpreted BASIC, though. I totally remember the style of that joystick too. Has a nice feel to it, but I wonder how many games took advantage of it in the analog domain? Probably not many...? You're right, it does have a classic feel when it's in self-centering mode. And it's super tight. I was thrilled to get it MIB. As I recall, very few programs needed you to put it into non-self-centering mode. Maybe just drawing programs, or ones simulating a mouse? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockin' Kat #9 Posted March 15, 2011 It's always nice to see someone post who is enthusiastic about the Apple II. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prodos8 #10 Posted March 15, 2011 Very nice! My Apple //e back in the day (1985) was an enhanced version (65C02) with the DuoDisk 5.25" drives and an Apple Color RGB monitor, FUN times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockin' Kat #11 Posted March 15, 2011 Back in the day my Apple II experiences were with //e's at school and a friends IIgs. Thinking back I'm sure the //es were actually stealth IIgs systems as I remember the sliding apple logo from when the computers were turned on without floppies quite well... makes me wish I could have been there when they got rid of all that stuff. I've got a platinum //e with one of the dual disk drives and the Apple Color RGB monitor which was made to match the platinum //e aesthetically, but it's all stashed under a desk as there isn't really room to set it up right now and my permanent desk space available for Apple II is dedicated to my IIgs. Someday I hope to have room to get all my different Apple II models set up at once. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Ransom #12 Posted March 15, 2011 RGB monitors...ah, those were the days. I had one with my //c back in '85 or so. I remember using the 9" green screen that came with it for a year or more, then buying the RGB monitor. I remember it cost an arm and a leg at the time, but it was so clear and sharp.... It's sad that all these CRTs' phosphors will fade over time, and we'll have no choice but to use LCD panels. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
potatohead #13 Posted March 15, 2011 Nice! Yeah, I wanted it too. Really glad to see it's being used though! Great machine. Kind of laughing at your "on the table" setup. That's where I end up doing stuff too right now. Just killing time, until some room in the house frees up... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Ransom #14 Posted March 19, 2011 I freed up some room! I also disassembled the drives, cleaned them out, and tuned them up (adjusted the rotation speed, etc.). Doin' good now! Some day I'll have to get a large enough desk or table for it that I can put my floppy disk file, an open programming manual, and some snacks on it in addition to the computer and peripherals. Then I'll be all set! But for now, this will work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rockin' Kat #15 Posted March 22, 2011 I also disassembled the drives, cleaned them out, and tuned them up (adjusted the rotation speed, etc.). Doin' good now! How exactly do you adjust the rotation speed anyway? I know it has something to do with a strobe light and those marks on the drive wheel, but that's really about it. snacks You've officially been banned from the school computer lab. No food in the computer lab! Nah... but I remember when I was in school, that was a big no no because too many stupid people spilled drinks and food into the keyboards... No Cheetos now.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Ransom #16 Posted March 22, 2011 How exactly do you adjust the rotation speed anyway? I know it has something to do with a strobe light and those marks on the drive wheel, but that's really about it. First, get a copy of a program that will help you analyze your drive (such as Master Diagnostics //e, which is what I use). Then follow the instructions to get a continuous readout of the rotation speed (in the case of Master Diagnostics, you need to use the program to create a scratch disk, then go Disk Drive Analyzer-->Disk Speed Utility), put the scratch disk in, and enjoy the continuous readout of the rotational speed and/or the variation from the spec, depending on your utility. Then you get a small jeweler's screwdriver and carefully insert it into the little hole on the bottom of the drive case, near one of the front feet. Get it slotted into the screw in there, and gently turn it back and forth until you get the speed close to the ideal. There will be some variation over time, but I figure if you're +/- 5 RPM or less, that's good. I've gotten one +/- 2 RPM once, but that's as good as I've ever gotten it. snacks You've officially been banned from the school computer lab. No food in the computer lab! Nah... but I remember when I was in school, that was a big no no because too many stupid people spilled drinks and food into the keyboards... No Cheetos now.. D'oh! I'll have to buy one of those "unspillable" mugs with the fat bottoms and narrow tops now... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nintendo Penguin #17 Posted May 23, 2011 I still have my Apple IIgs... and we had so many games for that thing... I think I'll set it up for a couple of days and take some pics! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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