J.Ivy Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 My IIE currently sits on my dining room table, for me to play with every few weeks. Beyond that.. well it mainly just gets looked at and i get questions about it when friends come over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iKarith Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 That I can help you with... Do you want a ][e??? Do you like the Classic Disk ][s or the Unidisks?? MarkO I have a ROM3 board in a functional (but melted!) case of another IIgs, but that machine's got a severe drive problem because the only 5.25 drives I've got don't have Apples on them (BTW the Commodore 1541 and 1571 are HEAVY!), and my 800k drive is actually busted open and needs some work. I use a CFFA3k and Appletalk to get stuff on to it. I've also got two other ROM01 boards with clipped batteries. One of them works fine. The other has some kind of fault in the keyboard circuitry—if you control-reset with an ADB keyboard, it acts like you've got a Command key pressed too. The ADB MCU and GAL are SMDs and I can't actually test that, let alone replace it. Reflowing the solder may fix it, or it may need new ADB chips and someone who can do SMD soldering. I'm teaching myself to solder and with my eyes I'll be able to do through-hole DIP stuff eventually, but not SMD. Was gonna take the board to KFest to see if Henry or James or someone would be willing to poke at it and see what they can do. The damaged board has some sentimental value to me. And I have a specific long-term project in mind if it can be made to work again. Using a //e keyboard is a valid solution, if it works, as long ADB works for mouse, which we never got to test. The Baked Apple will live again! Since that's more fun, I'll describe it first: I think I can fix my 800k drive, but its case is toast. If I can find a dead UniDisk 3.5 (in //c white with offset button), I'll get my 800k drive working possibly with a Mac drive mechanism if that's what it takes. I've got one around here I know works even. I bet you can guess what I have in mind for the Baked Apple by now. There are more dead //e systems out there that don't need their shells than dead UniDisks, and I like to find one with an older keyboard. Helps if it's a plastic top, but I think that was common enough. I'd like to fit the Baked Apple into it, replace the lamp (dead bulb or not) with an LED (still debating on green or dimmed warm white, I don't think those older keyboards ever had LEDs at the time), and of course I'd need to cut out the back and epoxy in new standoffs, some of which need to be nylon. Haven't decided if I want to rig up Disk ][ drives to the end of the SmartPort daisy chain or use some of the pre-platinum UniDisk 5.25s, and I have no idea where I'm going to find someone who can cut me a new back panel or what I'd do about getting an ADB mouse in M0100 or 3rd party mouse shell. I want to put some kind of "hard drive" into the system. I've actually got a CMS card and drive, but there's some problem with either the card, the cable, the drive enclosure, or with me, because I never got it to work. One of these days I need to go visit pilgrim out in his bunker and take that with me. He's had a lot of experience with them. But ultimately I think I want a memory device of some kind, and trying to connect a SCSImonster to a CMS card sounds like a needless exercise in wasted money and needless masochism. I'd be better kicking a few bucks to Ian Kim or someone else for an Apple-specific solution. The other things I'm hoping to accomplish at some point is to build a //e for Appletalk Raspple II testing, and I have … hardware hacking in mind for the Apple //c. Hope to acquire the machine for doing that at KFest. Someday I'm going to a Starbucks with a 12v powered screen, a //c, and a battery. The //c will talk. It may even be able to connect to the network. Whether or not it can, I fully expect to ask at some point to borrow a phone to check my email. And I intend to be prepared if they actually have one. There will be games and speech synthesis. And we'll see what happens at a Starbucks when someone like me brings such a thing in. I predict it will be GLORIOUS, and there absolutely will be someone off in the corner with a camcorder. I may have to do it in Salem so there's a larger pool of people who can actually watch it go down, but I really ought to do it in Portland just because … Portland. I'm a very warped individual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) My IIE currently sits on my dining room table, for me to play with every few weeks. Beyond that.. well it mainly just gets looked at and i get questions about it when friends come over. I have had One Apple ][e on my Dinning Room table for 6 months now.. I have had a Second One, right next to it for a Week Now... I have had Two different Domino's Delivery Drivers say, "Hey, Is that an Apple ][e"?? MarkO Edited June 24, 2016 by MarkO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSprinter Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 I enjoy the occasional round of Pinball Construction Set. Someday I'll look into getting a mockingboard clone and a replacement for the floppy drives so I can maybe stream games for the system. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas042893 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I use my IIgs mainly for creating art. With various programs and peripherals, the visual and aural art on my IIgs just comes out so much better than any attempt I've made on newer computers even with the evolution of Photoshop and digital sound and video manipulation. (I also love my Atari ST for the same, and also when I need CAD and other design heavy tasks.) I speak 16 bit better maybe haha. I'm looking forward to getting a Transwarp clone soon, and now I'm on a hunt for a ComputerEyes GS card since I've found evidence they existed. I also want to hunt some adapters down so I can use my actual IIgs hardware in digital gallery displays. My IIe is great for productivity and games of course, and I use it frequently. I actually just had to take a break this week because the only 3.5 drive I have left for my IIgs breathed its last breath. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I use my IIgs mainly for creating art. With various programs and peripherals, the visual and aural art on my IIgs just comes out so much better than any attempt I've made on newer computers even with the evolution of Photoshop and digital sound and video manipulation. (I also love my Atari ST for the same, and also when I need CAD and other design heavy tasks.) I speak 16 bit better maybe haha. I'm looking forward to getting a Transwarp clone soon, and now I'm on a hunt for a ComputerEyes GS card since I've found evidence they existed. I also want to hunt some adapters down so I can use my actual IIgs hardware in digital gallery displays. My IIe is great for productivity and games of course, and I use it frequently. I actually just had to take a break this week because the only 3.5 drive I have left for my IIgs breathed its last breath. Sometimes a certain kind of interface or set of constraints really helps the creative process and gives things a certain kind of look or sound. On a similar note, I sometimes still sequence on a Korg M1. And last I heard Vince Clarke was still sequencing using a BBC micro. I bet there are a number of people still sequencing on an Atari ST. As for graphics, I still miss making pixel art on the Color Computer 3. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Woohoo, my first post here in a while. I had an Apple IIc in 1985, used it until about 1992, kept it in a closet and then my attic and started taking it back out for nostalgia purposes every few years around 2000. It finally croaked about 3 years ago (I'm sure it's fixable, but the drive won't read anything) and I took the opportunity to finally upgrade to a IIgs, which is a system I lusted after when it was first out but didn't have my own money to buy. I hooked that IIgs up initially to just futz around with it and run some of my old IIc software, and feeling somewhat limited by that and not wanting to spend any more cash on it, I put it, too, up in the attic and left it there. Now I've got it hooked up again and it still works (though is more yellowed than when I put it away), and I've upgraded to 4MB of RAM and have discovered both the wonders of ADT Pro and just ordered a Floppy Emu. I can't wait to try out GS/OS, and there are dozens of IIgs and even regular II games that I've always wanted to play. That's going to keep me busy for a while, just doing all the stuff I wanted to do back in 1987 or 1988 but never could before. In the meantime, I'm going through all my old disks again, ostensibly to figure out what works and what doesn't, but if I get involved in a game of Pure Stat Baseball or Strike Fleet along the way, so be it I don't have a lot of room to keep my IIgs set up in the house proper so it's probably going to end up in the basement at some point, but at least I can keep it permanently hooked up down there for whenever I feel like firing it up. But I'm sure that eventually I'll run out of new stuff to try, so at that point I'll probably just play my favorite games over and over every year or two. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Right now I'm trying to sort of recreate the early experience of the Apple ][ with my ][+ (it's the closest I'll ever get to an original ][, I wager ). I've been playing around with some of the early tape games; even some of the low-res games are surprisingly entertaining. I even got rainbow-colored ribbon cables for my Disk ][s. And right now I'm trying to get a set of the old black Atari Super/Ultra Pong-style paddles. Glutton for punishment, I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 No big rush on duping the II experience. It isn't all that different, if any, from the II+. In fact I'd say the II is more annoying and less capable. And, sure, just load Integer BASIC into ram or get a firmware card for that last step. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 I've got a Language Card and DOS, so yeah, I have Integer BASIC as well. I think I'd still like to get a ROM card just for the hell of it, but I'm afraid of what they must cost. In my recent adventures with Integer BASIC games and cassettes, I've found that there are actual differences between Break Out, Brick Out, and Little Brick Out. I had figured it was just a name change. I guess the Brick Out games were the ones modified/enhanced by Bruce Tognazzini. I was familiar with Little Brick Out and thought it was interesting that Break Out (as written by Woz, I guess?) was much more...well, basic...and had a different standard color set.Does anyone know when joysticks first started to appear for the Apple? Most (all?) of the early games either call for paddle controllers specifically, or were otherwise clearly intended for paddles. (Yet there are certain games like Bob Bishop's Starwars that seem like they'd be impossible to play with paddles!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 A rom card will cost anywhere between 80-200 at ebay prices. If everything is date-correct original and a bidding war erupts then expect 300-500. The rom card is convenient and allows you to add in your own rom. Some 16k language cards provide for that too. The one from Apple does. I prefer the Microsoft 16K RamCard, or the Apple Language Card. As far as joysticks go, I've got one dated 1978. I doubt it was the first. The best way to research this is to peruse the early magazines and newsletters from users groups. I wonder if anyone ever made a list of firsts? First drive, first monitor, first modem, for the Apple II.. And I had no idea there was a different in the breakout style games. Amusing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 A rom card will cost anywhere between 80-200 at ebay prices. If everything is date-correct original and a bidding war erupts then expect 300-500. The rom card is convenient and allows you to add in your own rom. Some 16k language cards provide for that too. The one from Apple does. I prefer the Microsoft 16K RamCard, or the Apple Language Card. I've got the Language card but I'm not too clear on how to actually use it. I thought it just stored another language in RAM? I'll have to take another look at it. As far as joysticks go, I've got one dated 1978. I doubt it was the first. The best way to research this is to peruse the early magazines and newsletters from users groups. I wonder if anyone ever made a list of firsts? First drive, first monitor, first modem, for the Apple II.. And I had no idea there was a different in the breakout style games. Amusing! Yeah, off the top of my head, with Brick Out and Little Brick Out you get the animated title screen. LBO goes into the instructions screen and color/option select, whereas I think Brick Out asks you--in very plain text--if you'd like to go with the standard colors (if "N" then instructions screen, etc.). The standard colors for LBO and Brick Out are the same except the paddle is yellow in LBO instead of off-white or pink or whatever it is in Brick Out. Break Out is a bit less sophisticated. The title screen is much more sparse (befitting a computer game ca. 1977), and choosing to change the colors presents you with a screen full of color options that you lock in for each different component; you don't actually see what your creation looks like until you start a game. Also the default colors are different (background is red instead of blue, for example). They all seem to play pretty much the same, though. There might be more/different post-game ratings in Little/Brick Out as well but I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 The Language Card is just 16K and has a socket for AutoStart ROM. AutoStart ROM eliminates you having to type 6<ctrl-P> to boot the disk. The ROM card can do that too. ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.com/pub/apple_II/documentation/hardware/storage/memory/APPLE_Language_Card_Installation_Operation_Manual.pdf ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.com/pub/apple_II/documentation/hardware/storage/disks/Microsoft%20RAMCard%20-%20Manual.pdf I'm sure there's a ROMCARD manual someplace.. Know where it is? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIO2 Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) I used my IIe today and PFS Write to compose and print a snail mail letter to my folks. Then I typed up some instructions to myself on how to use my IIe in hopes of reducing the relearning curve next year. Then I played Choplifter and rescued 47. I have done better but I am a little rusty and so is my joystick. Edited July 26, 2016 by SIO2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurritoBeans Posted July 26, 2016 Share Posted July 26, 2016 My Apple IIs just kinda sit around nowadays. I moved my II+ off of my desk to a place in my room where I haven't touched it for a while, my Laser 128s are in a box, and my //c isn't really connected to anything. I was using my II+ a good bit, but an issue I've come up with is that the 16K Microtek BAM-16 card in the thing has a bad RAM IC, so I don't get a full 64K and anything like ProDOS just won't work. I've been meaning to buy a new 4116 IC if not an entire new language card, but I have other stuff that I want to get a bit more so I never get around to the Apple. The collection of Nibble magazines I do read now and then though, they're fun to look through for the heck of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Cade Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Right now I'm trying to sort of recreate the early experience of the Apple ][ with my ][+ (it's the closest I'll ever get to an original ][, I wager ). I've been playing around with some of the early tape games; even some of the low-res games are surprisingly entertaining. I even got rainbow-colored ribbon cables for my Disk ][s. And right now I'm trying to get a set of the old black Atari Super/Ultra Pong-style paddles. Glutton for punishment, I guess! Does someone sell replacement rainbow cables? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Does someone sell replacement rainbow cables? Bulk Cable can be found here... You just need to locate the Connectors MarkO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIO2 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 (edited) I met this guy today on my Apple IIe. Is it me or has the price of Fire Wands just gone through the roof? Edited July 28, 2016 by SIO2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simbalion Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 That graphic actually looks pretty good for an Apple II there, SIO2. Face almost looks 3-D! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIO2 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 That graphic actually looks pretty good for an Apple II there, SIO2. Face almost looks 3-D! The graphics are pretty good and many have some slight animation. The game is newly released "Ancient Legends". There was a post about it a few days ago by user name BluRry here on Atari Age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 (edited) I had a neighbor when I was a kid living in Brighton CO---Eddie. He had a //e and I had a TI-99/4A. I used to go to his house and play Oregon Trail, he came to my house to play Parsec. I loved the green monitor and I had no idea there were actually colors in that game until our school got a bunch of second hand //e computers for the library with color monitors. I would love to get a //e someday... I have a prominent and lovely spot on my desk awaiting a new vintage computer... I think I have decided on a //e. Edited July 29, 2016 by Opry99er 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIO2 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 I guess I should mention I was playing Ancient Legends on a IIe Platinum. I also have IIe but I don't know if Ancient Legends will run on the IIe. Today however was a day for Night Mission Pinball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Does someone sell replacement rainbow cables? I got mine from a Chinese eBay seller, with the connectors already attached. It takes a few weeks to get them, but they're great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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