Apple IIe Card: An Apple IIe INSIDE my Macintosh LC475!

[dr.zeissler]

Sorry last one:

 

[GerrySch]

I find this post interesting and would like to comment. I'm one of those old Television Broadcast Engineers that sill works in the industry (I was recently hired by a local TV station as an engineer at 70 years of age so it's nice to still be wanted professionally)) and was raised professionally to know the technical ins and outs of NTSC video. My first computer was an Apple IIe. I had recently gotten out of the Air Force in 1981 after 8+ years and had gotten an engineering job at KCBS-TV in LA. I couldn't afford a computer on my military pay. I was trying to figure out which computer system to spend my money on as I thought I would stick with that system for years. Also, I wanted the maximum selection of retail software so I would have a lot of options as I learned more.

When I took my Apple IIe home and set it up, I was disappointed with the video display in my color monitor. The color artifacts were distracting and offended me as I knew, and was spoiled by, the crisp, clean NTSC video I looked at every day at work (on professional Conrac monitors). As I learned about why the artifacts occurred, and why Woz did it this way, I was impressed by his technical prowess and imagination in figuring this out. So, I accepted this issue and moved on but I've always wondered how much more the IIe would have cost if he had built in a full NTSC encoder.

When the IIgs came out, as soon as I could afford it, I bought an 01 machine with the RGB monitor and have never looked back. I now have a IIc+ and a Platinum IIe but, honestly, I never use them. My two IIgs(es), an 01 and 03, still impress me and the nostalgia makes me happy. My most fun has been tricking them out to the max and watching the community still produce newer and faster peripherals that bridge them to the modern world (CFFA3000, AppleSqueezer GS, Uthernet, etc.). And sibce I also have Macintoshes (SE/30, and three LC475s, M1 MBP, Early 2008 Mac Pro), I see the same thing going on in the Classic Mac world.

So, what's my point of this story you ask? I was never a child when personal computers became available to the public. I learned programming, using Apple IIs, Macintoshes and PCs as an adult on my own and these machines continue to stimulate my awe and wonder of how computers work, how they can be used in so many different ways and how they've become so ubiquitous (I don't like . I try to play computer games with them but, since I didn't grow up with games, I can't maintain my interest. To me, they are a wonder of technology (far beyond automobiles) with no moving parts (Hard Drives are going away). I don't know if anyone else has thought about this, but there were a lot of moving parts in a computer, HDs, floppies with sneakernet being the only way to move files around. Now with WiFi, SSDs and Thumb drives solid-state electronics is rapidly moving in with fans going away. I find that amazing and with computer miniaturization how long will it be before my desktop PC will be on my wrist?

So a little different perspective from an old man no one listens to. How will the present generation survive without iPhones, laptops and microwaves? God, please help us all.

Gerry

 

[Tchucu]

I'm one of those old Television Broadcast Engineers that sill works in the industry (I was recently hired by a local TV station as an engineer at 70 years of age so it's nice to still be wanted professionally))

Thats pretty amazing, considering the differences in technology between when you started in the industry and now.

My first computer was an Apple IIe.

My own was a Dragon 32, a LOT cheaper than an Apple II, but of course 5 years beyond the initial micro computer explosion. BEING in at that level must have been fun, getting a SCFI artifact in your own home...

When I took my Apple IIe home and set it up, I was disappointed with the video display in my color monitor. The color artifacts were distracting and offended me as I knew, and was spoiled by, the crisp, clean NTSC video I looked at every day at work (on professional Conrac monitors).

From a modern perspective, I think a lot of people feel the same now. But its important to remember that many also felt the same way back in the day. The video approach Woz engineered was a compromise. It did suffer from artifacting, but at the same time his "simple trick" got everyone (that could afford it) a colour micro. Which was a big rarity back then eh?

As I learned about why the artifacts occurred, and why Woz did it this way, I was impressed by his technical prowess and imagination in figuring this out. So, I accepted this issue and moved on but I've always wondered how much more the IIe would have cost if he had built in a full NTSC encoder.

Indeed, as a Dragon 32 and C64 user (8-bit) It feels odd to have a machine that did not have true colour output. But as I said above, the Apple II was from 5 years earlier, and it appears it was the only viable way Woz could get colour at that time, within the computere tech/$ budget. It was what it was...

When the IIgs came out, as soon as I could afford it, I bought an 01 machine with the RGB monitor and have never looked back. I now have a IIc+ and a Platinum IIe but, honestly, I never use them. My two IIgs(es), an 01 and 03, still impress me and the nostalgia makes me happy. My most fun has been tricking them out to the max and watching the community still produce newer and faster peripherals that bridge them to the modern world (CFFA3000, AppleSqueezer GS, Uthernet, etc.).

I have a IIgs and I have a few devices stacking up here that I need to get into it. I will do a short series soon where I get these installed in it, and also in my IIe. You see some devices for the IIgs have kind of obsoleted devices I bought previously for it. But as the IIgs is kind of a II, those devices also work in the IIe, phew. Spent quite a lot of money on those doodads.

And sibce I also have Macintoshes (SE/30, and three LC475s, M1 MBP, Early 2008 Mac Pro), I see the same thing going on in the Classic Mac world.

I like my retro Macs as well, though I have less nostaglia for them, its more about design. I was 11 in 1982, so you can imagine I am of the gaming generation. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, all that. So I tend to see older machines through a gaming lense, though I also do love the tech side too.

I think some Macs are just design classics, and some Mac artifacts are collectable I think because of the design quality. They certainly stood out against PCs of the era, lets put it that way!

So, what's my point of this story you ask? I was never a child when personal computers became available to the public. I learned programming, using Apple IIs, Macintoshes and PCs

Me too, well, I learnt basic on the Dragon 32 and C64, hated how slow it was and this spurred me on to learn assembly on the C64. But I put that all away (sort of) when I decided to follow an art based career.

I don't know if anyone else has thought about this, but there were a lot of moving parts in a computer, HDs, floppies with sneakernet being the only way to move files around.

Well, memory was always a MAJOR anchor on micro tech. VERY expensive, limited size. But these days we have cheap and. massive ram and more important, massive non-volatile memory chips used in USB Keys and then SSDs. Moving parts have slowly become unecassary, but fans are still needed, indeed, fans are massively needed

Now with WiFi, SSDs and Thumb drives solid-state electronics is rapidly moving in with fans going away. I find that amazing and with computer miniaturization how long will it be before my desktop PC will be on my wrist?

I think thats already passed? The Apple watch? Its total SCIFI, a mobile phone on your wrist, which has more computational power than 1990s micros, its kind of surreal.

So a little different perspective from an old man no one listens to. How will the present generation survive without iPhones, laptops and microwaves? God, please help us all.

Gerry

very much welcom. Its funny I look at the demographic for my videos, and its pretty much bang between 45-55. Pretty soon, Im going to be too old for my own videos

 

[Retronaut]

What do you think about this:

BTW, the above is a post about how dr.zeissler Apple IIe card will not work with external drives.

So... there is a 2nd video in this series.

And a couple of days after completing this video, I started to get the same issues with my card. The symptoms were the same really, but I experienced them in a different way (at first). I was trying to copy data from the FloppyEmu to my 5.25" disk. This was using a slighly unorthodox method (see video) and well, I thought maybe my trick for this was the issue.
.
So I went back to ONLY having the FloppyEmu installed and now IT wont boot any disks at all. So I then tried the 5.25" disk drive on its own, and... same issue, it now will not boot. To be clear, both drives are SEEN and can be interacted with, for example with Copy II+, but, actually reading data off them or too them is caput.
.
First plan of attack. I have bought 35v 22uF tantalum caps, to replace the caps on the board. Im really hoping this is the fix. If that fails, then I guess it COULD be the IWM chip which is failing, which would be a disaster for this card. I guess you CAN get these, but they would be salvaged from battery damaged macs of the era right?
.
How ironic though, I make a video about a IIe card and disk use, and then the disks (external only) die. Gah!