• Updated 2023-07-12: Hello, Guest! Welcome back, and be sure to check out this follow-up post about our outage a week or so ago.

Urgent help request: how to quickly / visually ID a real Apple II (not II+ or IIe)?

Huxley

Well-known member
Hi all!

I have an opportunity in a couple hours to buy a (supposed) Apple II - not an Apple II+ or IIe, but an original Apple II. Other than the badge on the case lid, what are some of the visual clues I should look for to help verify that it's a real non-upgraded original II? The circumstances here mean that I likely won't be able to plug it in to a display and power it up, so any identification I can do will need to be unpowered and visual.

From a quick skim of Google I gather that there were a lot of original II's that were upgraded with II+ motherboards, which I'd like to avoid (or just be aware of) here if possible. I do have one moderate-resolution pic of the motherboard from the seller - any clues here?

Thanks for any assistance you can offer!

Huxley
 

volvo242gt

Well-known member
Board is a late version, and has ][+ ROM chips in it. So, it's been updated. Basically is an A2S1048 ][+.

Also, an original ][ will usually have the power light that looks like a key, not a flat lens that says "POWER" on it.
 

Huxley

Well-known member
Soooo… here’s an update: the machine is mine now, it’s very interesting (more than meets the eye!) and we stopped by the original Apple HQ on Bandley Drive + the new Apple Park Visitor Center on our way home. All-in-all a successful RetroComputing adventure!BADA7598-A63E-4FC4-B818-D8138D961E7F.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • 479DD6DB-1049-484C-9877-D6B29CA25CDD.jpeg
    479DD6DB-1049-484C-9877-D6B29CA25CDD.jpeg
    1.2 MB · Views: 16
  • 42F186F1-6A87-4300-B4C8-9C204EF404A3.jpeg
    42F186F1-6A87-4300-B4C8-9C204EF404A3.jpeg
    2 MB · Views: 21
  • BDAA0678-749A-45BD-BEDB-AA6B8CB08165.jpeg
    BDAA0678-749A-45BD-BEDB-AA6B8CB08165.jpeg
    5.1 MB · Views: 19

volvo242gt

Well-known member
Cool.

It's a bit earlier than the last one I had, which I believe was in the 776xx serial range. I'm guessing it has normal keyswitches, instead of the rare version that feels like you're typing on sponges?
 
Top