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Received /// enormous boxes, delighted by the contents

Huxley

Well-known member
Early this year, a colleague reached out to let me know that his father was finally getting ready to retire (at age 91!), and was looking for a new home for his old gear. The retiree had owned a successful architecture studio in Canada for many years, and until the late 1990's, he ran the entire business from an Apple /// setup. Apparently he understood that the Apple /// had long since become obsolete, but it worked and he was comfortable with the software so he stuck with it until deep into the Windows 95/98 era (which he eventually switched to).

Anyway, my colleague asked if I'd be interested in whatever old Apple stuff that turned up while he helped his dad clean out his studio, and naturally I said YES. In late April I received three enormous / heavy boxes, and yesterday my wife and I finally blocked out the afternoon to open it all up and see what was in there, all while filming an 'unboxing' video (link will be shared soon).

Suffice to say that I am blown away by what we received:
  • Two Apple /// system units
  • Two Monitor /// displays
  • An Apple Silentype printer
  • A ton of software
  • A ton of manuals, product boxes, cables and other associated ephemera
  • 5 sealed rolls of Apple-branded thermal paper for the Silentype printer
Both Apple /// units appear to be intact / in good shape, although one of them has a single key with a snapped-off stem. If anyone has any suggestions on how to safely remove the sheared-off portion of the stem from the underside of the key, please let me know!

I’m going to take some time to photograph and catalog everything - given how uncommon the Apple /// is these days, it seems at least possible that some of these disks and manuals aren’t available online anywhere.

So with all that said, I have a few questions:
  • I’m super eager to try powering them up, but I’m assuming it’s likely that both power supplies have died of old age. Would you guys suggest just giving them a shot, or should I assume they’re both bad / dangerous and proactively re-cap them both before attempting a power-on?
  • Same question on the Monitor /// - do the internal PSU’s on those tend to go bad and need recapping before it’s advisable to test the display, or should I just go for it?
  • I’ve seen mentions of the Apple /// (or perhaps the /// Plus) having an onboard battery for date/time backup. Is that correct? If yes, I’m assuming those are long since dead (in fact, one of these machines had a handwritten note specifically stating that it has a bad battery). What’s the best bet on this topic? Will the systems work well without a battery (minus date/time storage of course), or should I assume that they need to be replaced before the systems will function?
  • Both machines and monitors are very yellowed, but the Apple /// features a painted aluminum case vs. the typical injection-molded plastics usually used on other vintage Apple products. I don't typically "retr0brite" my vintage gear but since we have two of these, I'm open to attempting a color-correction process if such a thing exists for these machines...
  • One of them has at least one broken key (the stem is snapped inside the keycap itself). Any tips on getting the broken stem-piece out without damaging the keycap itself?
  • What else should I be thinking about, if I want to get both of these machines humming along and looking great again?
Thanks for letting me share! I’m super excited to have these weird machines in our Retro Roadshow collection - once we get at least one of them working again, it’ll definitely be a featured attraction at our future hands-on events :) IMG_6117.jpeg
 
Last edited:

LaPorta

Well-known member
First off: ho-lee crap! I cannot believe it, that is the absolute score of the century (finding my free IIfx doesn't come close to that).

Second: I can't wait to see all the photos.

Third: Perhaps you can assist in the effort going on here, and can test things along.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
What a score! I don't think the Apple III PSUs are known to blow up the system, although they might have RIFA filter caps. I don't see any harm in a power on if they aren't too dirty. Early-mid 80s caps were a lot more solid than later 80s/90s caps were, but you should probably recap them anyway just as a precaution.
 

bibilit

Well-known member
Concerning the broken stem, my best advise is to use a small screw in the broken piece, once tight enough pull the broken item free.
 

Huxley

Well-known member
First off: ho-lee crap! I cannot believe it, that is the absolute score of the century (finding my free IIfx doesn't come close to that).

Second: I can't wait to see all the photos.

Third: Perhaps you can assist in the effort going on here, and can test things along.
Thanks for the kind words and that link! What a wild story - I'm only about halfway through the thread and it's riveting
@Huxley I almost never see the Apple /// with the keypad overlay. It's always missing.
Yeah I wondered about that. I've never owned (or even used / been in the company of) an Apple ///, but I couldn't remember seeing many recent pics of them with the keypad overlay. Definitely had a hunch that they might be rare or unusual...
Concerning the broken stem, my best advise is to use a small screw in the broken piece, once tight enough pull the broken item free.
Oh that's an interesting idea - thanks! I've seen a couple other suggestions like "drill a small hole and fill it with superglue and then inert something thin / sturdy to try to pull the stem out." Not sure which technique (glue vs. screw) is more likely to succeed - gonna keep researching on this...
Might be worth shoving it in a scanner so someone else can make some copies of it?
Great suggestion! Once I get some time to start cleaning these machines up and everything, I'll see if I can gently remove one and scan it at reasonably high resolution for sharing here and at archive.org. Thanks!
 

pball52998

Well-known member
Third: Perhaps you can assist in the effort going on here, and can test things along.
Still waiting for my new oscilloscope then back to tracking down possible timing issues!

Eager to get it in the mail.. I feel bad.. it's sitting in parts on my table!

What a wild story - I'm only about halfway through the thread and it's riveting
Quite the journey.. many hours of work so far..

I saw your post on reddit and the facebook group. I acctually commented on the Reddit thread about my apple iii being in pieces

If you have an osciliscope (and a /// that's working) I'd love to see what you get on some parts of the board we're testing in that thread though.

It'd really help see what it's supposed to look like :)
 

Huxley

Well-known member
Still waiting for my new oscilloscope then back to tracking down possible timing issues!

Eager to get it in the mail.. I feel bad.. it's sitting in parts on my table!


Quite the journey.. many hours of work so far..

I saw your post on reddit and the facebook group. I acctually commented on the Reddit thread about my apple iii being in pieces

If you have an osciliscope (and a /// that's working) I'd love to see what you get on some parts of the board we're testing in that thread though.

It'd really help see what it's supposed to look like :)
Hey, thanks for commenting!

I'm super slammed over the next few weeks (work travel, incoming family visit, holiday stuff), but I'm hoping to actually get to test my twin /// units early next year (or maybe in the pre-New Year's downtime if I'm lucky). As of now the only oscilloscope I own is one which I found on the sidewalk a few months ago - a vintage Tektronix 2432A that does power up but apparently needs a major re-cap / overhaul to be usable. That said, I'll definitely be posting here again once I confirm whether or not either of my Apple /// systems actually work, so we'll see where we're at by that point!

Huxley

IMG_1786.jpeg
 

CC_333

Well-known member
...the only oscilloscope I own is one which I found on the sidewalk a few months ago - a vintage Tektronix 2432A...
What street are you on or near? It's not often I hear of people casually putting such high end diagnostic equipment out on sidewalks like that! Actually, I think this is the first time I've heard of it!

c
 

aeberbach

Well-known member
This is the thing about living around the bay, people just casually toss oscilloscopes, computers, CNC machines, reflow ovens, mass spectrometers etc... you should try living in Melbourne, the best thing I have picked up recently is a 2010 iMac (that needed a new power supply and my parents are still using).
 

pball52998

Well-known member
I'm super slammed over the next few weeks (work travel, incoming family visit, holiday stuff), but I'm hoping to actually get to test my twin /// units early next year (or maybe in the pre-New Year's downtime if I'm lucky). As of now the only oscilloscope I own is one which I found on the sidewalk a few months ago - a vintage Tektronix 2432A that does power up but apparently needs a major re-cap / overhaul to be usable. That said, I'll definitely be posting here again once I confirm whether or not either of my Apple /// systems actually work, so we'll see where we're at by that point!
Hope yours are in better shape than mine ;)

Mine is just a love project at this point to save a rare old machine. I'm too far in (too much money in!) to not fix mine.

Here's to hoping you get the twins working and no big hiccups, like no video!
 

macuserman

Well-known member
Early this year, a colleague reached out to let me know that his father was finally getting ready to retire (at age 91!), and was looking for a new home for his old gear. The retiree had owned a successful architecture studio in Canada for many years, and until the late 1990's, he ran the entire business from an Apple /// setup. Apparently he understood that the Apple /// had long since become obsolete, but it worked and he was comfortable with the software so he stuck with it until deep into the Windows 95/98 era (which he eventually switched to).

Anyway, my colleague asked if I'd be interested in whatever old Apple stuff that turned up while he helped his dad clean out his studio, and naturally I said YES. In late April I received three enormous / heavy boxes, and yesterday my wife and I finally blocked out the afternoon to open it all up and see what was in there, all while filming an 'unboxing' video (link will be shared soon).

Suffice to say that I am blown away by what we received:
  • Two Apple /// system units
  • Two Monitor /// displays
  • An Apple Silentype printer
  • A ton of software
  • A ton of manuals, product boxes, cables and other associated ephemera
  • 5 sealed rolls of Apple-branded thermal paper for the Silentype printer
Both Apple /// units appear to be intact / in good shape, although one of them has a single key with a snapped-off stem. If anyone has any suggestions on how to safely remove the sheared-off portion of the stem from the underside of the key, please let me know!

I’m going to take some time to photograph and catalog everything - given how uncommon the Apple /// is these days, it seems at least possible that some of these disks and manuals aren’t available online anywhere.

So with all that said, I have a few questions:
  • I’m super eager to try powering them up, but I’m assuming it’s likely that both power supplies have died of old age. Would you guys suggest just giving them a shot, or should I assume they’re both bad / dangerous and proactively re-cap them both before attempting a power-on?
  • Same question on the Monitor /// - do the internal PSU’s on those tend to go bad and need recapping before it’s advisable to test the display, or should I just go for it?
  • I’ve seen mentions of the Apple /// (or perhaps the /// Plus) having an onboard battery for date/time backup. Is that correct? If yes, I’m assuming those are long since dead (in fact, one of these machines had a handwritten note specifically stating that it has a bad battery). What’s the best bet on this topic? Will the systems work well without a battery (minus date/time storage of course), or should I assume that they need to be replaced before the systems will function?
  • Both machines and monitors are very yellowed, but the Apple /// features a painted aluminum case vs. the typical injection-molded plastics usually used on other vintage Apple products. I don't typically "retr0brite" my vintage gear but since we have two of these, I'm open to attempting a color-correction process if such a thing exists for these machines...
  • One of them has at least one broken key (the stem is snapped inside the keycap itself). Any tips on getting the broken stem-piece out without damaging the keycap itself?
  • What else should I be thinking about, if I want to get both of these machines humming along and looking great again?
Thanks for letting me share! I’m super excited to have these weird machines in our Retro Roadshow collection - once we get at least one of them working again, it’ll definitely be a featured attraction at our future hands-on events :) View attachment 49499
This picture has me wondering if you have some SDA background.... If you don't know what I mean by that my apologies and you can ignore my comment. :) Lovely machines you have there either way. :)
 

Huxley

Well-known member
Thought I'd revive this thread to share a quick update: I finally made some time this past weekend to try out one of the two Apple /// systems I received in this haul, and it works beautifully. As of now there are a few issues with this machine which I'll need to address:
  1. The little light bulb under the keyboard is burned out, which apparently causes the /// to fail its POST, so it always defaults to a RAM diagnostic on power-up. Hitting the RESET button gets it to boot from a floppy so it's not a huge problem, but I'll replace the bulb either way
  2. The "O" key on the keyboard is funky - sometimes it won't register a press at all, and other times it registers half a dozen presses in an instant. Given how frequently the letter O is used, this is not ideal, so I'm looking into options for fixing it up - ideally without taking the whole system apart. Of course, I do need to change the light bulb as noted above, so maybe it's going to just make sense to do a two-repairs-with-one-teardown approach, but suggestions are welcome here!
  3. As with all stock Apple /// systems, this one has no internal cooling fan, and instead replies on the heavy aluminum case to serve as a sort of massive heatsink. Given that this never worked particularly well, I'm really interested in the possibility of installing a cooling fan into the interior and some heatsinks on the highest-temp chips - as usual, ideas and suggestions are welcome
Anyway, I'll attach a couple pics - I'm just delighted by how well it's running even with the above-noted quirks accounted for. I've got a couple dozen floppies with software and stuff too, and so far they all seem to work as well, which is always a delight to see. The Apple /// has a well-earned reputation for being a bit of a turkey, but at least this particular example was well-built enough to be running smoothly ~43 years later!

Huxley

AIII Business Graphics - full system.jpg

AIII with BBS.jpg
 
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