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Any Apple IIc Users, Old and New?

dcr

Well-known member
I hope this is okay to ask this here . . .

I have a newsletter that I put out at least once a year.  (My current subscribers get a PDF edition for free when the newsletter is released and I offer printed copies and back issues for sale.)  It's not about computers but more eclectic in nature.  Anyway, since this year (well, April) was the 35th anniversary of the Apple IIc and because I also (finally) obtained an Apple IIc this year, I was hoping/planning to do a little write-up about the Apple IIc and include it in this year's issue, which I hope to release on December 31st if not sooner.

If, *if*, I manage to finish the article in time, I'd like to include some accounts from other people who used the Apple IIc back when it first came out (I didn't) or those who still use one today, especially if you have something interesting you're doing with it these days.  You'll get proper attribution (i.e., "John Smith of Cityname, Wherever says . . .") and that's about it.  I'll send you a PDF copy of the issue if you want.  I have 250-300 subscribers on my list and most never even download the issue, so you're not going to become Internet-famous or anything.

So, if anyone's game, please let me know.  Thanks!

 

jongleur

Well-known member
I still have my original //c.  I'll see if I can put together a couple of hundred words on what i did on it, how it influenced my career, and what I do with it today.

Retro Compute! 

 

MarNo84

Well-known member
Oh nice Idea :D

Well I do in fact have both Apple IIc models around - the //c (5 25" floppy) and the IIc Plus (3.5" floppy). I mainly use the //c as a backup, copy & transfer station for my old disks or as a service to other people (who for example wants to get their old files or exams or just former work stuff transfered from their 30 years old 5.25" disks to a modern media) and rarely also sometimes just for a little BASIC fun ;)

The IIc Plus on the other side is just actually a small "gaming station" :p

I'm not sure if these things are suitable for the Newsletter thing, but just my 2 cents :D

Marcus

(from Germany, actually on VAC in China)

 
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Solvalou

Well-known member
I'm fairly new to the Apple II club, with a //c. Pretty uncommon in this part of the world.

I haven't done too much with it yet but if you want a few words from me I'm happy to lend a paragraph or two.

 

dcr

Well-known member
Thanks to everyone so far.  And, yes, a paragraph or two would be fine.  And the more the merrier--I think (hope) people will be interested to see that there are still people running these machines today and how they are being used or even why people find them interesting.

You can PM me responses too.  And include an eMail address where I can send you the PDF of the final issue if you want to see it.  And if you'd like to see a preview of the article beforehand, I can eMail that as well.

 

Solvalou

Well-known member
Thanks to everyone so far.  And, yes, a paragraph or two would be fine.


Well that being the case.

I have wanted an Apple II for some years and one day the time finally came.

I found my //c about 4 years ago or so on eBay. Wasn't the most well presented listing and was sold as non-working (because the seller didn't test it or power it up prior to listing). After a message from me, he did let me know he tried powering the unit and monitor up and got "Apple ][" on the screen and key presses were responding but he never mentioned or revised the listing. In the end after some bidding, I won it for under £60 GBP. A great deal even for the time since it wasn't just the machine I got. It had the monitor, literature and a few other random bits.

It arrived pretty clean and complete. It turned out to be a relatively early model too. Not ideal in some respects as I can't really upgrade the RAM but beggars can't be choosers!

I bought a NOS copy of ChessMaster 2000 as well to test out the disk drive and after a quick clean with IPA and a disk cleaner, it boots straight away. I even messaged the seller with pictures, as he was interested. 

So after that I had a hankering for more Apple II software. At the time the FloppyEmu was out of my reach financially, but I did have a PC which happened to have a parallel port. This meant that ADT Pro was a viable option.

I got someone to make me up a cable and very kindly charged me for materials and postage only. Plugged it in and with little hassle, the //c was communicating with the PC and writing on some blank disks I had laying around. Quite amazing to think given how much of an age gap there is between these two machines (6502 Vs i5)!

After playing some games I 'made', I was a little curious how this would look on a colour monitor. This wouldn't be so easy. Finding a colour Apple monitor in the UK is alot like trying to find a needle in a haystack, with no needle in it. 

Doing some looking around, a colour monitor was (as I suspected) out of the question, even before factoring in US postage.

The composite adapter was also expensive and not that sharp. The only alternative was a //c to VGA solution which thanks to A2heaven, was a possibility. This was not cheap but still cheaper than the composite adapter and A-LOT cheaper than a colour monitor. It's a wonderful box of tricks too with the ability to cycle through various forms of video modes on the fly!

After that, I could have sold off my original //c monitor since it is technically redudent, however it suits it perfectly. Well it would, if it had its original stand. Thus my final wishlist for the machine was established. But like.the colour monitor, the chances of finding one on it's own is rare enough, leave alone one in the UK. After a good 3 years of searching and missing out on a few, I finally got one a few months back. It was missing one locking cap, all it's rubber feet and still cost me a good £40 factoring in customs charges but I was till mostly happy.

Since it was missing some bits, it wouldn't lock into a position but when the monitor is sat on the stand, it was already at a good angle. So a strip of strong velcro on the monitor and stand and some rubber feet later, my setup is now finally complete!

The machine is pretty clean, original and fully working and even when you factor in the costs involved in getting it to this stage, it still worked out far cheaper than a working one on it's own today. 

Thanks for the strong community, I was able to get the Apple II machine I always wanted without breaking the bank (too much).  :)

I've since acquired a FloppyEmu too, though I haven't got round to trying to switch compatibility to the Apple II mode.

But yeah that's my story. Not terrifically exciting, and I haven't done much with the machine lately but it's definitely a keeper!

 

dcr

Well-known member
Do IIc+ users count, or not for this?
I think that will be okay so long as people indicate they are referring to the Apple IIc+.  I can include a sidenote mentioning the differences between the original and later model.  Might also allow me to work in a raisin reference which will tie into another article.

 

dcr

Well-known member
I'm not going to get this done before the end of the year.  I mean, I probably could, but I'd rather spend more time on it and do it right rather than rushed.  Technically, I've already missed the 35th anniversary already, so I guess doing the article next year won't be a big deal.

Anyway, that means if anyone else wants to participate, there's more time available.  Don't have a definite date for a deadline but I'll post advance notice when I have a better idea.

 

RC14

Well-known member
I don’t have a IIc, but I’d love to subscribe to your newsletter!  Where could I find that?

 

gobabushka

Well-known member
I still use an Apple IIc, and had one when I was a kid back in the 90's and would love to write something for your newsletter. Also, would love to subscribe!

 

dcr

Well-known member
Don't have a definite date for a deadline but I'll post advance notice when I have a better idea.
Just following up on this which I have neglected for far too long.  No definite date yet, but I am hoping to have the newsletter ready for release in late summer.  So if anyone wants to participate, there's still time.

@RC14 @gobabushka If still interested, PM me.

 

Elfen

Well-known member
You should do a small Youtube Channel, though it would on competitions with others, The good thing is I see more Commodore, Atari, Mac and 16Bit systems out there than I see of Apple II systems. I think Chris Torrence is the only one that is exclusively Apple II Hardware Youtuber, while everyone else throws the Apple II into their other 8Bit System Collections. You can start posting once a month and work up to once a week like many Youtubers do.

I have two Apple IIc (first Gens) but one of them has a RocketChip (the 5MHz version) in it and that damn little thing kicks ass! But I cannot find documentation on it, it seems to be stuck on "Fast Mode." There is supposed to be a Key Combination that supposed to bring it down to 1MHz but I can't seem to find it.

 

Byte Knight

Well-known member
I've got a IIc+ that I use mainly to play with the recently updated versions of A2Desktop, which is the ultimate machine for this OS.  This was the fastest Apple II that Apple ever produced.  I've got a Floppy Emu emulating a smart port HD, rom 5X upgrade, and a VGA adapter.  It's cool that there are so many modern upgrades for this old computer.

 
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