PDS Apple IIe card worth anything?

[Hrududu]

I work at a computer store that takes recycles. Not long ago someone brought in what was an extremely un-interesting LC II to be trashed. I've got too many of these pizza box Macs that i personally already have to get rid of, so I had no interest in taking it home, but opened it up anyhow just to see how things looked inside. Aside from a lot of dirt, I noticed it had a card in the PDS slot so I pulled it and saw it was an LSI Apple IIe card. I don't have any Apple II stuff at all, so I don't know that I would have any use for it, so I thought about seeing if I could sell it. I checked a well-know auction site and the only one listed was a Buy It Now for $60. So were these things anything special or were they common as dirt (like the LC II it came in).

 

[LCGuy]

They were pretty popular with schools - unfortunately by now a lot of them would have been recycled. Personally I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one some day to have a play with.

 

[PowerPup]

I happen to be given one of these, sadly it wasn't stored very well, and has some rust here and there. Have no idea if it works or not. I plan to eventually clean it up and see if it works.

Here's some useful links:

http://www.vectronicsappleworld.com/appleii/appleiiecard.html

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Apple_II/For_Macintosh/Apple_IIe_Card_2.2.1.sea.bin

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Apple_II/For_Macintosh/Apple_IIe_Card_2.2.1_Info.txt

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Apple_II/For_Macintosh/IIe_Startup_2.2.2d1.sea.bin

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Apple_II/For_Macintosh/IIe_Startup_2.2.2d1_Info.txt

 

[Byrd]

It's not worth much without the special cable that plugs into the back - this lets you plug in a 5.25" drive and something else I think. It's still a nice piece of kit to have.

 

[noidentity]

Ahhh, that's the cable I saw a couple of days ago at Goodwill Computer Works (in Austin). I thought it was for connecting two monitors or something.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

They have surprisingly good compatibility. The only downside is that screen painting is done through QuickDraw, which ironically in this instance isn't very quick and some games will suffer on slower LC machines.

 

[Hrududu]

Actually, I've got a bunch of the cables from several years ago. I received a bunch of old Macintosh stuff from my old high school and included in the lot were a bunch of those cables. So if the card works, and I include a cable, maybe worth $20 or so?

 

[highlandcattle]

I would be interested!

 

[Dennis Nedry]

If you're passing on many old Macs, you should save the VRAM and any auto-inject floppy drives. There are people around that would be interested. Maybe it wouldn't be a huge moneymaker, but you'd make someone pretty happy. I have trouble finding VRAM, heck, my Quadra 700 took 6 of them before I was happy.

 

[olePigeon]

The prices seem to go up an down on eBay. A few years ago I picked up two shrinkwrapped Apple II cards for just $20. I use one in my Quadra 605. They're really fun. I'm using it to back up my vintage game collection. There's just something satisfying about doing it myself instead of downloading from the Asimov archive.

 

[Scott Baret]

The Apple II card is definitely worth it. You do need the cable for the back and are limited as to what you can actually plug into the machine (you'll need an Apple 5.25" Drive in a platinum case), but if space is a concern you can consolidate your Apple II and Mac LC/Color Classic into one machine with this card. I use one in a CC and am very pleased with the performance, compatibility, and graphics (using Apple II software on a Trinitron is definitely worth it). Compatibility issues are also lessened with this card, since everything is software-based instead of hardware-based when dealing with your Apple II, making it easier to troubleshoot. (You are limited a bit in terms of options, as there was a lot available for the Apple II in terms of cards, but for most mainstream programs it works fine).

 

[Unknown_K]

I think the cable lets you plug in a floppy drive and a joystick (if the cable I have is the correct one), never bothered to get a card to test it yet.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Yes. You can use it without it, of course, it's just more useful with it.

 

[Scott Baret]

It's infinitely more useful with the 5.25" floppy drive, as the majority of Apple II software shipped on the medium. However, if you can't find one, I suggest looking for software from the late 1980s marketed at IIc+ users (the IIc+, of course, had a 3.5" drive built in). I know Broderbund made a version of Print Shop aimed at this crowd and I recall other software companies doing the same.

 

[CJ_Miller]

What is it worth to whom? There are too many of them out there to be really collectible. They certainly can be useful, if one likes old Apples. It can extend the usefulness of an LC, or be a handy inroads towards playing with Apple ][.

In my case, I have an old synth which was designed to be edited on an Apple ][, so I have made a point to obtain one somehow. Meanwhile, I have the software as images on my Mac, so how do I write it to floppies for use? This is why I bought my ][e card. At first I was disappointed that it works with only select PDS slot Macs. Eventually what I will do is build a LC475 rack with a full 040 and MIDI interface to have around the studio for old school sequencing antics, and also provide a way to read and write Apple ][ disk images. Perhaps I will also score other ][ era music kit if it turns up for cheap-ish.