Any thoughts on this

[Shuman01010]

I just found this for sale on a local site. I know what an Apple Lisa looks like. This is kind of similar, but easy to 'throw together' i guess. What do you guys think, is this a hoax. I cant see anything similar between this and a real Lisa. These are the only pictures the guy has on the add. I have no other info. 

 

[ArmorAlley]

Prototype?

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Nope, no shielding for the CRT, wrong styling/color. If the Apple logo's not a red herring, I'm guessing it was an Apple II AIO hack in some sort of terminal box.

I'd snap that sucker up in a heartbeat! :approve:

 

[ScutBoy]

That's kind of a puzzler... looks sort of like an SE flavor analog board at the top left, and maybe some kind of mac logic board at the bottom right with some kind of mem expansion riser board, but there's also some kind of board sticking up between the drives and the CRT.

But, the Disk ][ wouldn't fit with a Mac based kitbash, nor would the HD fit with an Apple ][ hack.

I would also pick that up cheap to to try and figure out what the heck was going on

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

LC slot MoBo of some type with the emulator board would work with that combo. Doesn't look quite right for that combo, but it'd be a magnificent re-hack.

If that's Lisa sized, the 12" RGB 'zaTopper fits the bezel like a glove. That's what's behind the (only Lisa part that I own) Lisa II front bezel of my BenchMac/6500 hack.

 

[Shuman01010]

I have been trying to find an image of a machine that looks like this. I found this Image.

Its is a machine from east europe. It is called  an Iskra Delta Partner.

The bottom of the front panel is the same as the pics in the add. It seems to be a match. What you think?

Looks like someone stuck in an Apple floppy drive. The guy has agreed to sell it for 40 euro and it is a 2 hour drive away.

Is it worth the drive?. The curiosity alone is driving me mad. Think ill get on the road.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Road trip definitely necessary in this case. Love that recess for the nameplate. That's got tray loader written all over it. :approve:

 

[Shuman01010]

Just found this video on Youtube.

Im pretty sure this is the original machine. Trash80toHP_mini what do you mean by 'trayloader written all over it'

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

It's just Trash. If the machine's already been hacked as it appears to have been, I'd cut that section of the front bezel out and install a tray loader CD along with the rest of the LC Slot Mac MoBo/Emulator Card equipment as outlined above.

 

[Gorgonops]

It definitely does look like a homebuilt hack using the same case/chassis as that Iskra Delta, although the other possibility is it might have been originally manufactured as an Apple II clone using the same case as that machine, and at some point someone replaced the original floppy drive with an Apple unit. There were *many* companies churning out knockoff Apple IIs back in the day, and not all of them used cases particularly reminiscent of the original. Whatever it is, it's definitely *not* any sort of official Apple prototype. (It could be a prototype of an unsold Iskra Delta Apple clone, I guess.)

If it were in better shape and/or right in front of me I'd consider dropping forty bucks on it just to see if there's anything interesting in it (like an Apple II compatible hard disk controller, maybe?) and because I'm fond of hacked-up oddball computers, but that thing looks like it's been sitting open in that garage for 20 years. Getting it to run again would almost certainly be a very tall order.

 

[unity]

Wonder why its painted brown, a color Apple seemed to love at that time. While the original looks black. Or is the original brown too, just hard to tell?

 

[Gorgonops]

The brown color is why I'm wondering if it might be a clone manufactured with the same case molds. The other possibility I suppose is it is really badly faded, but the drive faceplates are still nice and black.

 

[Concorde1993]

but that thing looks like it's been sitting open in that garage for 20 years. Getting it to run again would almost certainly be a very tall order.

If he does buy it, he should give it to Shango066. That guy is the expert in rejuvenating weathered electronics.

 

[slomacuser]

Where are you located? Iskra Delta Partner was made in Slovenia (part of ex Yugoslavia) from 83-86. It ran CP/M os. The case for partner I think was molded in UK. It looks maybe like a prototype (See picture of Mac prototype) but as Gorgonops said it is possiblly Apple II clone.

 

[Gorgonops]

I positively guarantee it's not an official *Apple Computer, Inc.* prototype. (Why would they use an off-the-shelf terminal case like that? It's clearly something injection-molded.) The question to me whether it's a genuine, if very obscure, Pottsylvanian Apple clone that came from the factory like that or a true one-off built by a local maniac with his own three hands. I've seen some pretty strange computers slapped together by people for reasons that are probably too complex to explain to anyone not suffering from the same particular individual flavor of insanity.

Another outside possibility, I suppose, is that it's an Apple machine someone stuck in a case like that to comply with some technical mandate. Maybe the outer case that's missing in the pictures was shielded to be something like TEMPEST-compliant?

 

[unity]

Nah, not tempest. Those are shielded far, far more than this is.

 

[Gorgonops]

Yeah, I don't literally think Tempest but... I dunno, maybe slapped together into an integrated case to act as a kiosk, or sit on a factory floor?

I'm still thinking it's a clone, but... yes, at this point the OP needs to buy it and document what's inside.

 

[Bunsen]

I'm not convinced there is a motherboard of any kind in there.  To me this looks like a space saving display + drives in a box to sit on top of an Apple-II series.

 

[IlikeTech]

Well, we know now.