(In English) Identification help: Early Apple Lisa found in storage (Assembled in Ireland)

[stefano.t]

(sorry for the previous message wrote in Italian!! I'm not able to delete it!)

Hi everyone,

I just pulled an old Apple Lisa out of storage—I actually found this unit more than 35 years ago and it’s been tucked away ever since. I’m trying to verify exactly what I have here.

Here are the specs from the labels:

• Model: A6SB100P
• Memory: A6SB108 (I think—the photo I took is a bit blurry)
• Serial Number: B08B831950217
• Applenet: 00102850
• Manufactured: 83195
• Assembled in: Ireland
• Firmware: 341-0290-B / Apple 84
• Power: 220V PSU

My deductions so far:Based on the manufacturing date (day 195 of 1983, which is July 14th), I believe this started life as a Lisa 1. However, I noticed some conflicting info online suggesting that Irish production/sales didn't officially ramp up until October '83.

It seems this unit was later upgraded (likely in 1984) because it now features a 3.5" floppy drive instead of the original Twiggies. I also have the keyboard and a Mac-style mouse, but no external HDD.

A couple of questions for the experts here:

1. Is my assessment of the manufacturing date and "Lisa 1" origin correct?
2. Does the "Assembled in Ireland" tag in July '83 align with what you know about European production?

I'd love to hear your thoughts before I decide on the next steps for restoration!
(first one will be to remove the batteries)

 

[bibilit]

Hard to say, many early (most) Apple Lisas were first built as Lisa 1 and converted later on.

 

[finkmac]

i think you have a lisa 2

 

[stefano.t]

i think you have a lisa 2

I thought the Lisa 2 was released on January 24th, 1984... mine appears to be a 1983 build that was later updated with the 3.5" floppy drive and the new Boot ROM, or am I wrong?

 

[finkmac]

it has a 3.5" floppy drive and a lisa2 faceplate... that's a lisa 2

 

[stefano.t]

it has a 3.5" floppy drive and a lisa2 faceplate... that's a lisa 2

perhaps my English is not perfectly understandable...
Mine seems that is borned as Lisa 1, than has been upgraded to a Lisa 2 with the kit
Some parts are remained from the original Lisa 1 and some was replaced with the new parts in the kit.

from Wikipedia:
Owners of the original Lisa (1983) computer with Twiggy drives and software were offered free upgrades to the Lisa 2. The upgrade replaced the pair of Twiggy drives with a single 3.5-inch drive and updating the boot ROM and I/O ROM and modification to the I/O board. The upgrade included the new Lisa 2's new front faceplate to accommodate the newer microdisk (400K) drive which incorporated the new inlaid Apple logo.

 

[stepleton]

Try not to read too much into @finkmac 's posts, you were perfectly understandable the first time. Based on past activity, I think that user likes to make fun of non-native English speakers or of people who are new to this community. The fact that you said in your original post that your computer "started life as a Lisa 1" would lead most readers to infer that you understood quite well that your machine isn't a Lisa 1 today.

I'm actually not certain about the questions you've asked, but @bibilit is correct to point out that a lot of Lisa 2s today are converted Lisa 1s, and it would not be unusual if your Lisa 2 had that heritage. Some people, upon learning that their Lisa 2 was once a Lisa 1, may think that this confers more value on the computer somehow. In practice this does not appear to be the case. But a lot of people are interested to know the story of their collection pieces regardless --- it's reasonable to ask.

One thing I will say: do not wait, just clip the batteries out immediately. They do no good remaining in your machine and will only cause further harm. I would get up and do it right now: it will only take you a few seconds.

 

[luRaichu]

Based on past activity, I think that user likes to make fun of non-native English users or of people who are new to this community

Rude

 

[stepleton]

I'm not the only person to point this out.

 

[luRaichu]

That doesn't make it right!

 

[zigzagjoe]

Rude

Pot, kettle, black...?

 

[finkmac]

Try not to read too much into @finkmac 's posts, you were perfectly understandable the first time. Based on past activity, I think that user likes to make fun of non-native English speakers or of people who are new to this community. The fact that you said in your original post that your computer "started life as a Lisa 1" would lead most readers to infer that you understood quite well that your machine isn't a Lisa 1 today.

i think that's a reach. i'll have you know i treat native english speakers a lot worse.

it's a lisa 2. what else is there to say? it's nothing particularly special, as far as lisas are concerned. bibilit even said as much.

it's a lisa 2

 

[discatte]

From the sound of it, you may have a rare prototype must be worth a fortune.

 

[stepleton]

Pot, kettle, black...?

Indeed. Anyway, what I said wasn't rude. Rude would be something like, "You can probably ignore @luRaichu as well, who seems to want to post like @finkmac but doesn't really have the same talent for it." @stefano.t , whatever you are trying to accomplish here, neither of these users will help you.

I'm glad to see another Lisa person on here, and I hope you stick around. Even if you came in hopes of a big payday (you won't get one), it sounds like you are thinking about restoration, and a Lisa is a rewarding, challenging, and sometimes frustrating restoration project. Have you seen this Adrian's Digital Basement video series? It will show you around lots of the internals of a Lisa, and also how bad a Lisa can get and still be possible to bring back to life.

Hopefully yours is in slightly better shape than Adrian's... although if you want to prevent it from getting worse, again, just go ahead and clip the batteries out right now. Share photos of the condition of the area around the batteries and we can advise further.