Apple Users' Group (Sydney) Apple II Disks 1 thru 52 (1980's) & MORE...

APPLE USERS' GROUP (SYDNEY)

*** DISKS 1 - 52 ***


This collection comprises the first 52 Apple II disks produced by the Apple Users' Group of Sydney in the 1980s, with a wide assortment of Apple II programs.

They originally came supplied on 5.25" floppies in mostly DOS 3.3 format.

    Apple II Users Club Sydney founding September 1978    
       

   
     

I used ShrinkIt to create disk archives of the complete set, backing them up to 3.5" 800K ProDOS disks (seven in total).

The downloadable ZIP archive contains all seven of these 800K disks in .2MG format

The ShrinkIt archives are denoted by S1 for side 1 of a 140K disk and S2 for side 2.

All are in DOS 3.3 format (except where noted) and will need 8-bit ShrinkIt to unpack.

 
 
 
 
 

An alternative under Windows is to use CiderPress to pull out the archives from the .2MG, then use the "Convert Disk Image" facility to convert them to 140K .DO (DOS 3.3), or more rarely .PO (ProDOS) image files - bootable under most Apple II emulators.  If the image crashes on boot, the original disk may have used a Disk Volume Number other than 254 (the DOS 3.3 default).  Try moving the files to a plain vanilla DOS image.  Or convert to 140K .2MG format and set the correct volume number using 2MG Properties Editor in CiderPress.  As ShrinkIt does store the volume number, unpacking to real 5.25" floppies on an Apple II machine should always work.

"Gus - The Apple IIGS emulator" for PowerPC Macs is capable of booting ShrinkIt disk images directly

 

DOWNLOAD LINKS:-

Apple Users Group Sydney Apple II Disks 1 thru 52.zip
 

Detailed index of all the programs in the collection

   Also not to be missed →   Applecations magazine (Apple Users' Group Sydney) - selected news, reviews, tips, tutorials —  Aug 1986 - July 1990 [134MB PDF file] | Nov 1990 - May 1992 [125MB PDF file]

Apple IIGS Collection CD-ROM (downloads from AUG Sydney BBS as archived by A.Beckett) —  CD image @ archive.org | Facebook discussion

Disclaimer: I'm making these 52 disks available for historical archival/preservation purposes, but must emphasize that all remain the property of the Apple Users' Group of Sydney (still very much alive today as AMUG Sydney).  I am not affiliated with that organization.  In general, should any materials on this site wind up in other places I can't take responsibility for how they are used or presented.  For the original context please refer back to this page.

^ 2015-10-26 (last revised 2023-10-22)


 

Steve Wozniak "The Woz" hits Perth during his August 2016 tour of New Zealand & Australia

   

 


APPLE II DISK IMAGES

In this section I intend to make available some Apple II software transferred from old floppy disks (5.25" or 3.5" physical media in my actual possession).

The transfers are generally accomplished using ADTPro on an Apple IIGS and Windows PC linked by serial cable.  A Super Serial Card installed in the IIGS has its jumper block configured for "Terminal" (null modem mode), and a standard serial cable runs from this to the COM port of the PC.  My other approach is to create the disk images on the IIGS using Asimov, then to drag and drop the files to a Windows PC running A2SERVER (Appleshare server), with a Mac PowerBook 3400c sitting in the middle as an Ethernet/Localtalk bridge. (NB: an ImageWriter II mini-DIN printer cable hung straight between the built-in serial ports of an Apple IIGS & Mac is all you need to network them together over Localtalk {Classic Mac OS Personal File Sharing}.  For anything more elaborate see The AppleTalk Network System poster.)  TP-LINK AV500 powerline adapters are used to link the PowerBook to the PC's router, which are in different rooms.

The detailed PHOTO SLIDESHOW at the bottom of this page illustrates both approaches....

 

    8-bit Apple II Disk Images   

 

Taito Bubble Bobble - patched for infinite lives DISK 1   DISK 2

     

 

Game compilation  32 Apple II games on a 3.5" disk  - compiled 1990-91 by cvxmelody DISK (800K)  (video sampler of this disk is HERE)

32 classic Apple II games on 3.5" disk by cvxmelody

Frogger original Apple II instruction card now available HERE

 

Soft documentation collection  ~120 softdocs for Apple II games  - compiled 1991 by cvxmelody DISKS (800K) (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

CP/M collection  37 Apple II CP/M disks  & more (ProDOS assortment etc.) - compiled 1991-92 by cvxmelody DISKS (800K) (8 disks - ZIP archive)

      

Microsoft Quick Reference Guide For CP/M-80 (version 2.2) for Apple II SoftCard now available HERE

Microsoft Z80 SoftCard review from Your Computer magazine (August 1981) is HERE

 

Epyx Impossible Mission II - The Apple Odessa crack DISK 1   DISK 2

 The Apple Odessa was a prolific Apple II cracking group based in Melbourne. They ran a BBS known as "The Black Board"

 

Click to read private BBS message from The Apple Odessa

 

Click to read a private BBS message I received from Negative Energy of The Apple Odessa on December 25, 1990 concerning their latest activities

  APPLE ][ WAREZ LISTINGS   The Black Board BBS (Melbourne) ca. late 1990  &  Townsville Apple BBS (Queensland, Australia) ca. 1991  [PDF scans of printouts recently rediscovered]

 

Absolute Entertainment Crossbow (1988) - The Apple Odessa crack - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Music & game programs (Applesoft & Integer BASIC) (1981 compilation by J.Wenman) - Music Writer | Apple Organ | Solo Race (Indy 500) | Apple II Trek | Labyrinth | The Racing Game (by Bill Budge) | Piero | Add-Libs (by Apple Computer) | Rocket Pilot (by Robert J. Bishop) - first ever Apple II game!  [Read interview with Bob Bishop in Juiced.GS] DISK

 

Game compilation - Seafox (1982 Broderbund) | Pro Golf I (by Jim Wells, 1979 Softape) | Dynasty (by Weyman Fong, 1978 Apple Core) - improved version of Hammurabi | Blitzkrieg (by Mark Cross, 1979 Programma) | Apple '21' Blackjack (by Bill DePew, 1978 Softape) - Run 'INTEGER' first for Integer BASIC games (unless using the original Apple ][) DISK

 

Game compilation - Pool 1.5 (1981 IDSI) | Apple Panic (by Ben Serki, 1981 Broderbund) | Apple Invader (by S.E.C., Tukumo Original Software) | Apple Bowl (1979 Apple Computer) | Raster Blaster  - retains original title page (1981 BudgeCo) DISK

●◦ Pool 1.5 screenshots  ◦●

 

   Composite colour 

Commodore 1084S PAL monitor & Samsung LCD TV (PAL Apple IIe) | Toshiba LCD TV (NTSC Apple IIe) | Commodore 1084S PAL (Apple IIc PAL Modulator/Adapter)

Toshiba LCD TV (NTSC Laser 128EX) | AppleColor Composite 50Hz NTSC 3.56 (Apple IIe International NTSC) | Samsung LCD TV PAL Color Encoder Card (Pravetz 8M) |

Samsung LCD TV (NTSC Unitron U-2000) | AppleColor Composite NTSC (Apple IIGS) | AppleColor Composite 50Hz NTSC 3.56 (220/240V Apple IIc)

AppleColor Composite 50Hz NTSC 3.56 (Pravetz 8M) | AppleColor Composite 50Hz NTSC 3.56 (Apple II Plus - 230V Eurapple model)

 

NTSC Apple II — Master crystal 14.318 MHz  divide by 4

     3.58 MHz NTSC colour burst (@ 60Hz)
PAL-region Apple II — Master crystal 14.250 MHz  divide by 4

     3.56 MHz NTSC colour burst (@ 50Hz)
PAL Apple IIe colour circuit (active when motherboard colour switch enabled) 4.43 MHz PAL colour burst (@ 50Hz)

  Remarks:  In mixed graphics/text modes, the colour fringing of text is less pronounced with PAL //e and Apple PAL Color Encoder Card (Euro II/II+).  For full screen graphics or text modes they all behave much the same (text is output in monochrome - but in the case of NTSC Apple II/II Plus and equivalent clones, this isn't necessarily guaranteed - e.g. see HERE).  The PAL //e also has a colour switch on the motherboard (lacking on NTSC models), allowing the PAL colour signal to be turned off completely for maximum clarity of display.   Apple IIe PAL colour switch

 

   RGB colour 

AppleColor Monitor 100 & Extended 80-Column Text/AppleColor card (Apple IIe) | Kaga/Taxan monitor & Digicard Extended 80-Column RGB card (Apple IIe)

AppleColor RGB (Apple IIGS) | Toshiba LCD TV (Laser 128EX digital RGB via Microbee CGA to HDMI Converter) | NEC MultiSync CRT monitor (a2heaven Apple IIc VGA Adapter)

ViewSonic CRT VGA monitor (Mac LC Apple IIe Card) | RCA/Thomson Blackpearl CRT TV (Apple IIc Le Chat Mauve RGB SCART adapter A2M4020F)

 

  Remarks:  None of these RGB configurations exhibits colour fringing of text in the Apple mixed graphics/text modes  

 

Game compilation - Star Cruiser (by Nasir, 1980 Sirius Software) | Repton (1982 Sirius Software) | Twerps (by Dan Thompson, 1982 Sirius Software) | Moon Patrol (1984 Atarisoft) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

Repton original Apple II sleeve, instructions & disk scans available HERE  &  Moon Patrol scanned original box & contents now HERE

 

Moon Landing 50th Anniversary stamps (2019 Australia)

 

Game compilation - Firebird (by Nasir, 1981 Gebelli Software) | Eliminator (1981 John Anderson) | Choplifter (1982 Broderbund) - cracked by Jay of A.P.P.L.E. DISK

Personal Software magazine (September 1984)  Apple II spotlight 

 

 Reviews of Choplifter, FlashCalc, Back to Basics Accounting, Investor's Workshop, Dow Jones Home Budget, Cell Defense, Charlie Brown's ABC's, Flak, How About A Nice Game of Chess!, Objective: Kursk, etc.

   

 

Game compilation - Star Thief (by Jim Nitchals, 1981 Cavalier Computer) | Galaxy Travel (1980 Tukumo Original Software) | BurgerTime (1982 Mattel/Data East USA) - broken by The Freeze and the Bum | Lady Tut (1983 Progame) - Mockingboard version with cheat by Micmac & The Softman DISK

Galaxy Travel - 1980 Japanese game for Apple II

 

Word Games - Puzzle Generator (by Creative Computing) | Crackaword (by B.A. McAndrew) | Boggle Run (by B.A. McAndrew) DISK

 

Elizabeth Computer Centre Elementary Mathematics (1980-82) - Kangaroos | Star Flight | Hunt the Monsters | Dock the Boat DISK

 

Computer Solutions Zardax 5.2 (1981-82) - Word Processor & Utilities v1.14 - preconfigured for Apple //e 80 column card DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

  Zardax Word Processor original package     

Zardax manual  revised scan with all chapters plus original binder & 5.25" disk  now available HERE & quick reference card is HERE

 

Video showing Zardax running on Apple ][+ with Videx Videoterm 80 Column Card is HERE

 

 Zardax II review by Your Computer (October 1985) is HERE

 

 Interface Software Catalogue 1989 — Apple II (Zardax II etc) - IBM PC - Microbee  now available HERE  [11MB PDF file]

 

Computer Solutions Zardax Utilities v1.20B (1984) - drivers for Apple //c, printers, RAM disks etc. DISK

 

Elizabeth Computer Centre & Gemini Software First Fleet Database: Convicts & Computers (1982) DISK

 

Blue Sky Industries/AID Systems (Sydney) Typequick III Keyboard Trainer (1982) - includes unlicensed "master" copy DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Synergistic Software Microbe: The Anatomical Adventure (1982) -  Tutorial disk only  DISK  (game disk available HERE)

 

Encyclopaedia Britannica Underwater Odyssey: The Sentence (1983) - cracked with Passport by 4am DISK

 

C.Millsum Crossing the Blue Mountains (1983) DISK

 

A.C.T. Apple User's Group Introductory Free Disk DISK

A.C.T. Apple Newsletter (Canberra) - compilation of Apple II articles  Aug 1988 - Dec 1992 [140MB PDF file]

Your Computer magazine (Australia) 1982-83 - Apple II ads, news, reviews, tips —  Jan 1982 - Sep 1982 [7 issues] | Oct 1982 - May 1983 [7 issues]

 

C.H.S. Computer Centre Sport Result Program DISK

 

Database Publications Apple User Games Disk #1 (1985) DISK

Apple User (UK) magazine - selected news, reviews, tutorials, ads  Feb 1987 - Aug 1987 [212MB PDF file] | Jan 1988 - May 1988 [297MB PDF file]

 

Database Publications Apple User Graphics Library (1985) - complete software routines from Apple User (UK) Graphics Library series (Feb 1984-Nov 1985) DISK

 

Jacaranda Wiley Gold-Dust Island (1984) DISK

Jacaranda Wiley Quick-Cartage Company (1984) DISK

Jacaranda Wiley Scavenger Hunt (1984) DISK

Jacaranda Wiley Sheep-Dog Trial (1984) DISK

Jacaranda Wiley Cunning Running (1984) DISK

Jacaranda Wiley Raft-Away River (1984) DISK

Jacaranda Wiley Dinosaur Discovery (1985) DISK 1   DISK 2

Jacaranda Wiley & 4Mation Bush Rescue (1987) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

4Mation Zoopak (1987) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

Jacaranda Software Kraken - a deep-sea quest (1989) DISK

Jacaranda Software Terra Australis - Voyages of trade and discovery (1989) DISK 1   DISK 2

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

The Australian Apple Educational Software Directory 1987 (187 pages)

(1986-87 Apple Computer Australia)

 Download PDF (88MB high quality scan)

 

See also   The Apple IIgs Software Directory (1987 Apple Computer Australia) 

  The Apple Australia Special Education Resource Directory 1988 (complete scan) [29MB PDF] 

 

  Dark Star Systems Snapshot Two Copykit v4.8 (1983) - two distinct copies enclosed DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

Snapshot Two hardware photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

 

  Dark Star Systems Snapshot //e Copykit v8.7 (1985)  (see also v10.0) DISK  (manual available HERE)

Snapshot IIe Copykit v10.0 menu   Snapshot Copykit ad - Apple Orchard Nov 1983 (scanned by "Sketch the Cow")  Snapshot IIe Card 4-Pack ad - Apple User August 1987

  Dark Star Systems Snapshot //e Diagnostic Disk (1985) DISK

Sample backups made using Snapshot //e system (bootable, no Snapshot card required):-

Karateka (gameplay commences at start) DISK

Karateka (gameplay commences at level 2) DISK

         
   

Snapshot IIe card HQ photo

         Snapshot software updates 1987

      Broderbund Karateka (1984) - Backed up with Wildcard - menu-selectable: starts at middle (downstairs) or final fight scene DISK

Wildcard advertisement (Jan 30, 1984 InfoWorld)

 

Apple Computer Intercept (1978) DISK

 

Apple Computer Apple Writer 1.1 (1979) DISK

Apple announces Apple Writer (Oct 1979 Intelligent Machines Journal)

 

Apple Computer & Paul Lutus Apple Writer ][ (1981) - with Videx 80-column support DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)  (manual available HERE)

   

Video of Videx Videoterm 80 Column Card official demonstration program is HERE

 READ a review of Apple Writer II Version 2.0 (ProDOS based) from The Sydney Morning Herald (August 1985) 

 

Call-A.P.P.L.E. ApMail v1.2 (1979) - name and address filing system - type 'RUN APMAIL' to start DISK

 

  Call-A.P.P.L.E. 1984 Winter Product Catalog complete scan (54MB PDF)

 

Muse U-Draw II Graphics Editor (1979) - hi-res programmable graphics editor - backed up with Snapshot system from original disk DISK

 

Software Arts VisiCalc v1.37 (1979) - Beautiful Boot version DISK  (VisiCalc original package photos HERE)

 

 

 VisiCalc Home And Office Companion (181 pages)

 

(1982 OSBORNE/McGraw-Hill)

Presents fifty VisiCalc models for Apple II

 Download complete scan (38MB PDF)

 

Apple II Plus (Europlus) brochures - 1981 UK

Apple ][ Plus brochures — 1981 Apple Computer UK
 

 Apple in Business 

Apple II Plus brochure with VisiCalc etc.

(1981 Apple Computer UK)

 Download high-resolution scan (18MB PDF)

 

Micro Finance Systems VisiTrend v1.00 (1981) - Backed up with Wildcard - works on Apple ][+, //e, //c DISK

 

Programma International Apple PIE (1980) - word processor system DISK

 

Hayden Data-Graph (1980) - DOS 3.3 DISK

 

 

Hayden Book Company Data Manager (1980) - data base management system and mailing list by Paul Lutus DISK

 

R.Mossip Epson MX-80 Graftrax Screen Dump (1980) DISK

→  See also Epson Apple II parallel interface user manuals:  #8133 "APL C" New Intelligent Parallel (1985)  &  #8132 "APL B" Epson MX Interface Type 2 (1981)

Comparison of Epson #8131, #8132, #8133 interfaces — from Epson LX-800 & FX-85/FX-105 manuals

 

Apple Computer Apple II Pascal 1.1 disk #1 (1980) - patched for Prometheus VERSAcard clock/calendar DISK  (VERSAcard brochure available HERE)

Apple PASCAL, FORTRAN, PILOT & DOS 3.3 originals

 

Apple Computer Apple Presents Apple (1981) - "How to use the Apple keyboard in One Easy Lesson" DISK

 

  

The Apple IIe Keyboard poster

A3 size double-sided (ca 1985-86 Apple Computer Australia)

 Download PDF (high-resolution scan)

 

Automated Simulations Dunjonquest: Hellfire Warrior v2 (1979-80) DISK

 

Game compilation - Fender Bender (1980 California Pacific Computer) | Snack Attack (1981 Datamost) | Shuffleboard (1981 IDSI) | Outpost (1981 Sirius Software) DISK

 

Game compilation - Ribbit (1982 Piccadilly Software) - broken by The Jerk | Frogger (1981 Sega/Sierra On-Line) | Bug Attack (by James Nitchals, 1981 Cavalier Computer) DISK

 

Game compilation - Gorgon (1981 Sirius Software) | Super Galaxy Wars (Star Craft) | Golf Course (Instant Software) | Lemonade Stand (1979 Apple Computer) | Mastermind (1977 Apple Computer) | SAB's Night Crawler (Softape) | Night Driver (by Bill Budge) | Simon (1982) - Kamel Komputa Kumpanee crack DISK

 

Game compilation - Mario Bros (1983 Atarisoft) - Kilroy Wuzhere crack | Dunjonquest Morloc's Tower (1980 Automated Simulations) | Star Warrior (1981 Automated Simulations) DISK

My video showing Mario Bros, Donkey Kong & Apple Invader on Laser 128EX with Epyx 500XJ joystick is HERE

 

Game compilation - Fly Wars (1982 Sirius Software) | The Snapper (1982 Silicon Valley Systems) | The Fishman Go Fishing (by Joseph Kwok, 1983) | Maze | Othello (by Gary J. Shannon, 1978 Softape) DISK

 

Game compilations - Beer Run (1981 Sirius Software) | Ceiling Zero (1981 RAM Software) | Horizon V (1982 Gebelli Software) | Jawbreaker (1981 On Line Systems) | Thief (by Bob Flanagan, 1981 Datamost) | Crossfire | Pulsar II - The Razor crack (1981) | Space Raiders (1981 Paul Lutus) | Star Blazer (1981 Star Craft) | Sabotage (by Mark Allen) DISKS (3 disks - ZIP archive)

 

The Evolution of Apple ][ Paddles - my video showing Beer Run, Ceiling Zero, Alien Typhoon, Autobahn, Little Brick Out, etc.

 

Game compilation - Cyber Strike (1980 Sirius Software) | Foosball (1981 Sirius Software) | Choplifter (1982 Broderbund) | Pigpen (1982 TMQ Software/Datamost) - selectable difficulty level DISK

[Choplifter & David's Midnight Magic "Double Pack Classics" original box available HERE  &  Choplifter Australian advertisement HERE]

 

Game compilation - Space Quarks (1981 Broderbund) | Roadrace | Creepy Corridors (1982 Sierra) | The Bilestoad (1983 Datamost) DISK

 

Game compilation - Labyrinth (1982 Broderbund) - retains original title page | Shuttle Intercept (1982 Hayden Software) DISK

 

Game compilation - Space Quarks (1981 Broderbund) | Outworld (1982 Tensor Technology) | Formula I Racer (1983 Gentry Software) - The Disk Jockey crack | Crazy Climber - "courtesy of Mr. Pirate!" DISK

 

Game compilation - Outpost (1981 Sirius Software) | Eliminator (1981 John Anderson) | Crazy Climber - Alan Lee crack | Apple Panic (1981 Broderbund) DISK

 

Game compilation - Tunnel Terror (1982 Magna Soft) - uncorrupted title page | BezOff (1982 Bez) | Bellhop (1982 Hayden Book Company) - clean crack | Zargs (1983 MicroData International) DISK

 

Game compilation - Tron (by Ivan) | Pooyan (1984 Datasoft) - The Syndicate & Black Bart crack | Dogfight (1980 Bill Basham / Micro Lab) | Crazy Mazey (by Ron Meadows, 1982 Datamost) DISK

 

Game compilation - City of Sumer (1980 Crystalware) | H.E.R.O. (1984 Activision) - The Syndicate crack | Pitstop II (1984 Epyx) - The Cloak / Black Bag crack DISK

 

Compilation - One-on-One (1983 Electronic Arts) - The Australian Pirates Union crack | Robotron: 2084 (1983 Atari) | The Visible Computer: 6502 (1983 Software Masters) | Essential Data Duplicator III (1984 Utilico Microware) - Nutcracker crack DISK

 Essential Data Duplicator III manual  now available HERE  [26MB PDF file]

 

SoftWare House Apple Barrel II (1981) - "The Money Barrel from CDS" - assortment of around 20 programs - financial, mathematical, etc. DISK

 

● Science Education Collection (ca. early 1980's) -  Rare set of 45 original disks  - as published by CONDUIT, Cross Educational Software, EduTech, Entelek, J&S Software, Longman Micro Software, Microphys Programs, Pitman Software, Zenith Education Systems  -  DISKS (45 disks - 24MB ZIP archive)

 

J&S Software Science Education Collection (ca. 1981) -  Rare set of 10 original disks spanning the following topics  - momentum, work and energy, circular motion, Newton's Laws, acceleration, uniform motion, chemical equations, equilibrium, bonding, locomotion, digestion, endocrine, biochemistry, excretion, nervous, animal reproduction, respiration, genetics, transport, classification DISKS (10 disks - ZIP archive)

 

 Apple II educational titles published by J&S Software of Port Washington, N.Y.

 

SRA Computer Drill and Instruction: Mathematics (1981) -  Demonstration  DISK

 

Versa Computing Anatomy I (1982) DISK

 

 

Hayden Software Shapes in Color (1982) DISK  (manual available HERE)

 

Computer Cognition BASIC Tutorial (1982) - "BASIC for Beginners" DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)  (manual available HERE & review HERE)

 

→  See also Applesoft BASIC: A Teach-Yourself Introduction by B.M. Peake (1983) - complete scan [38MB PDF]

 

Logo Computer Systems A.C.T. Kids Logo (1982) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Mrs Kennedy Educational Disk No 1 Maths (1982) DISK

 

Golden Delicious Software CIA (Confidential Information Advisors) (1982) - version with original graphical menu DISK

Apple II on secondment with US Department of Defense

Apple II from US Department of Defense with wooden enclosure & protective suitcase

 

Cedric Green Scribe (1982) - spatial modelling and design evaluation system

 Program  > DISK      Demonstration DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Southwestern Data Systems Munch-A-Bug v2.6 (1983) - machine language debugger DISK

→  Southwestern Data Systems Catalog (February 1983) available HERE

 

James Donald Pty Ltd Sandy's Text Editor Word Processor (ca. 1983) - version 1.7.7 IIe DISK

 READ a review of Sandy's Word Processor from Your Computer (November 1982) 

 

Turning Point Software Time is Money personal (1983) -  Demonstration disk  DISK

 

Batteries Included & Irata Press B/GRAPH v1.0 (1983) - graphing and statistical analysis package DISK

  

 B/GRAPH manual for Apple II  now available HERE  [22MB PDF file]

 

Spectral Graphics Masterchart (1983) - create bar, pie, line, area charts - distributed by Stanislaus Apple Group DISK  (Australian advertisement HERE)

 

Island Graphics Corp KoalaPainter (1983) - painting program for KoalaPad DISK

 

Data Transforms Fontrix 1.0 & Fontpak Volume One (1983) - extended screen font typesetter & graphics software - for Apple ][+, //e, /// DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

  

 

Sensible Software & Henry A. Roberts Jr Back It Up III v3.6 (1983) - Backed up with Snapshot system - retains original title page DISK

 

The Stack - Corrupt Computing Disk Muncher versions 1.0 thru 10.0 (1983-85) - cracked by Roger DISK

 

Sirius Software Bandits (1982) - loads with tagline "They said it couldn't be done, but here it is!" DISK

Sirius Software Apple II ad (Aug 1982 Creative Computing)

 

Broderbund Serpentine (1982) - file version crack DISK  (scan of an original disk is HERE)

 

Sydney Development Corporation Evolution (1982) - The Software Pirates crack DISK  (original instructions HERE)

 

Muse Software The Caverns of Freitag (1982) - Joel the Great crack  -  DISK

 

Collins Computing Alien Arcade (1982) - Backed up with Snapshot system from original disk DISK

Alien Arcade original Apple II disk

 

The Bank Street College of Education / Broderbund Software The Bank Street Writer Tutorial (1982) DISK

 

Penguin Software Transylvania (1982) & Continental Software The Home Accountant (1982) -  Demonstration versions  DISK

 READ a review of The Home Accountant from Your Computer (November 1982) 

 

Timeworks Evelyn Wood Dynamic Reader / Sylvia Porter's Financial Planner / Swiftax (1983-84) -  Demo disk  DISK

 

mini'app'les Disk of the Month (1981-83 & 1986) - 17 monthly disks of the Minnesota Apple Computer Users' Group DISKS (17 disks - ZIP archive)

   Apple II in Minnesota advertisement (1979)

 

Video showing how to get DOS 3.2 Plus System Master (1979) transferred and up and running on Apple II is HERE

 

Micro Fun Dino Eggs (1983) - The Burglar / Midwest Pirates Guild crack - "master" copy with a first time boot message DISK  (original manual available HERE)

[see HERE for photos of Jason Scott with the Midwest Pirates' Guild and Greg Schaefer (GBBS, ProTERM author) in Minneapolis, 2004]

1987 listing of GBBS Pro (Apple II) bulletin boards in the USA is HERE

 

 

ProTERM notes by Greg Schaefer — "not for circulation"

 

Micro Fun The Heist (1983) - The Deadhead crack DISK

 

Synapse Software Shamus (1983) - clean crack DISK

 

Atarisoft Mario Bros (1983) - Cheung Lee Electronic Co. version DISK

 

Sir-Tech Software Police Artist (1983) - original title page version DISK

Police Artist ad for Apple II (1983 Sir-Tech Software)

 

Bally Midway Spy Hunter (1983) - file version crack DISK  (original manual & SEGA-Bally Midway catalog available HERE)

 

Stephen Harrison Trivial Challenge - based on the board game "Trivial Pursuit" DISK

 

Hayden Software Sargon III (1983) - Backed up with Snapshot system - retains original title page - works on Apple ][+, //e, //c DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)  (scan of original disks HERE)

 

Datamost Super Bunny (1983) - Dr Micro and The Freeze crack DISK

 

Datamost Ardy the Aardvark (1983) - Dr DOS crack DISK

 

Datamost Mabel's Mansion (1983-84) - clean title page version DISK

 

Sierra On-Line Sammy Lightfoot (1983) - two versions: clean crack & Alan Lee crack DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Epyx Jumpman (1983) - Darth Vader crack DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

 

Silicon Valley Systems Lancaster (1983) - Backed up with Wildcard from original disk - Mockingboard version DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Sirius Software Wavy Navy (1983) - Backed up with Snapshot system - works on Apple ][+, //e, //c DISK

 

  Atari Dig Dug (1983) - Backed up with Wildcard from original disk - works on Apple ][+, unenhanced //e DISK

 

 

 

   High-resolution scan of Dig Dug original box & contents now available HERE

 

Broderbund Lode Runner (1983) - distributed by Pirated Software, Inc. DISK

 

Broderbund Championship Lode Runner (1983-84) - Backed up with Wildcard DISK

 

Broderbund Championship Lode Runner (1983-84) - Conan crack DISK

 

● Chrono Warrior (~1983-84) - Frizbizz & Billy Bummer crack  -  DISK

 

Random House Peanuts Maze Marathon (1984) - cracked as per Computist issue 89 DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

  

 

Random House Peanuts Picture Puzzler (1984) DISK

 

Actioncraft Speedway Classic (1984) - Keith Wong crack DISK

 

Mindscape Tonk in the Land of Buddy-Bots (1984) - cracked as per Computist issue 33 DISK  (original disk label is HERE)

 

 

Using Computers in the Primary School (1987 Apple Computer Australia)

 

 
 

Using Computers in the Primary School (110 pages)

by Rosemary Guttormsen — covers Apple II & Macintosh

(1987 Apple Computer Australia)

 Download PDF (39MB complete scan)

 

 

Boomerang Software E.T. Comes Back (1984) DISK

E.T. Comes Back for Apple II

 

Penguin Software Arcade Boot Camp (1984) - two cracks by Cactus Inc & Penguin/Intern DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

Arcade Boot Camp for Apple II

 

Paul Mak Zytro War - Steve Ho version DISK

 

Albert Lesiak & The Software Bandito King Tut's Revenge - cleaner title page version DISK

 

James Chan Wing Chung Cartoon Show - animated hi-res graphics slideshow  -  DISK

 

Activision Ghostbusters (1984) - DOS 3.3 voice & music demo only - type 'RUN SOUND DEMO#1' to start  (works on Apple ][+, IIGS, unenhanced //e) DISK

 
 

                     Ghostbusters scanned original Apple II box & disk now available HERE and instructions HERE

  Activision Pitfall II (1984) - Backed up with Snapshot system - works on Apple ][+, //e, //c DISK

 

Epyx Impossible Mission (1984) - The Beta Pirate & Two Knives Tan crack  (distinct from other circulating versions - this one is distributed by 'The Wildcard') DISK

  High-resolution scan of  Impossible Mission original manual & disk for Apple II  now available HERE [48MB PDF]

  High-resolution scan of  Impossible Mission original Apple II box {USA edition}  now available HERE [7MB PDF]

see also    Impossible Mission Australian edition with locally manufactured plastic clamshell case

 

 Epyx Consumer Software Catalog Winter 1984 

 Download PDF (high-resolution scan)

 

Earthware Computer Services Black Belt (1984) - The Tiger crack  - works on Apple ][+, //e, //c DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Muse Software Beyond Castle Wolfenstein (1984) - cracked by Flying Dutchman, Jimmy & Dr Bit  -  DISK

 

Muse Software Beyond Castle Wolfenstein (1984) - The Alliance crack  -  DISK

 

Electronic Arts Archon II: Adept (1984-85) - Ronald Wilson crack  -  DISK

 

Activision Sampler Disk (1985) - previews of Ghostbusters, Mindshadow, Space Shuttle, The Designer's Pencil  -  DISK

 

Greg Hale & Ted Cohn Floppy (~1985) - The Dukes of Datastone crack (with instructions for level editor)  -  DISK

 

Epyx Temple of Apshai Trilogy (1985) - clean crack  -  DISK

 

Epyx Winter Games (1985) - DEFCON 4 crack  -  DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Mindscape Forbidden Castle (1985) - clean crack  -  DISK

 

Accolade HardBall! (1985) - Star-Fire crack  -  DISK

 

Accolade The Dam Busters (1985) - Star-Fire & Hagar The Horrible crack  -  DISK  (original manual & reference card available HERE)

 

Thirdware Computer Products FingerPrint Plus VDAP (1985) - testing and slide-show program (FingerPrint manual available HERE) DISK

Demo video Skyfox screen dump to Apple Dot Matrix Printer using FingerPrint Plus is HERE

 

MicroSPARC & Mark Jeske Chart Manager (1985) - basic statistics and graphing program  -  DISK

 

Al Rogers, Greg Butler & Paul Lutus FrEdWriter v3.1 (1985) - Australian edition of 'Free Education Writer' DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

CUE SoftSwap Spring 1990 Catalog (featuring FrEdWriter v4.4, FrEdBase v2.1 etc.) now available HERE

 

SuccessAbility Software Counting - teaches simple number skills (Australian software)  -  DISK

 

AUSOM Apple ][+ ROM for //e (1984) - patches Apple ][+ ROM into top 16K RAM of //e or //c for improved ][+ compatibility  -  DISK

 

Apple Computer Applesoft Sampler (1982-84) - two versions: DOS 3.3 680-0179-A (1982)  &  ProDOS 680-3011-A (1984) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Apple Computer Apple Presents Apple Logo II (1984) - for the 128K //e and //c DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Apple Computer Apple Presents Instant Pascal (1985) - mouse version DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Apple Computer Apple II System Utilities for UniDisk 3.5 (1985) - multilingual version (English, French, German, Italian) DISK (800K)  (review of UniDisk 3.5 HERE)

UniDisk 3.5" demo video is HERE

   Apple IIc Add-On Kit (UniDisk 3.5 ROM upgrade)    French Apple IIc UniDisk 3.5 ROM model ($FBBF=$00)

Australian pricelist UniDisk 3.5, ColorMonitor IIc etc. (Nov 1985 Applecations)  &  French Apple //c (ca. 1984/85) upgraded with UniDisk 3.5 ROM

See also Australian Apple Product List (1988-89)

 

Apple IIc ROM versions compared

Apple IIc ROM versions compared — March 1988 AUSOM News

Original Apple IIc could be upgraded to UniDisk 3.5 ROM via the dealer-installed Apple IIc Add-On Kit see Packing List, Instructions & Original Box (A2M4046Z) @ TheRetroChannel

 

  

Apple //c (A2S4100X model for Australia) with 1MB Memory Expansion Card & UniDisk 3.5 drive

Overview of the "Memory Expandable" Apple IIc see Apple IIc New Features Update (1986 Apple Computer)

The motherboard of earlier Apple IIc models could be dealer upgraded to use Apple's IIc Memory Expansion Card   see Apple IIc Memory Expansion Card Fact Sheet @ 1000bit.it

See also   Apple IIc colour system advertisement Australia - 1987 Grace Bros (New South Wales) @oldshopsoz 

  TAKE-APART PHOTOS — Apple IIc (A2S4100X) with 384K RAM & PAL Modulator

(NB: PAL Modulator not needed for 240V ColorMonitor or AppleColor Composite Monitor which pair with native 50Hz NTSC 3.56Mhz signal)

 

240V ColorMonitor IIc (A2M4043X)  &  matching monitor stand (A2M4027)

 

Sensible Software Sensible Grammar (1985) - ProDOS version 1.0A DISK (800K)

 

 

PBI Software Jeeves (1985) - memory-resident ProDOS desk accessories - version 1.00 for enhanced Apple IIe (with mouse card) and IIc DISK

 

Sayre Super Software Crossworks (1985) - PFS to AppleWorks converter DISK

 

Ahware MousePrint (1984) - extends print capabilities of MousePaint - version for Apple DMP & Grappler+ (MouseFont demo on Side B) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Ahware MouseFont (1985) - 12 new typefaces plus font and icon editor for MousePaint DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

 

Dark Star Systems MousePrintz (1985) - adds new screen-editing features to MousePaint and makes it compatible with any printer DISK

 

Unison World PrintMaster Art Gallery I (1985) - 140 graphics for use with PrintMaster or The Print Shop DISK  (manual available HERE)

 

Scarborough Systems MasterType's Writer (1985) - word processor with windows, colour highlighting, multiple typefaces, and on-disk tutorial - cracked as per Computist issue 84 DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

   

 Complete scan of MasterType's Writer Reference Manual now available HERE  &  hi-res scan of original box & disk HERE

Apple press releases from Scarborough Systems etc. — September 1985

 

The Apple II Review (selections) (Fall 1985)  high-resolution scan  [98MB PDF]

 

 Reviews of MasterType's Writer, PFS: Write, Fontrix, The Print Shop, The Newsroom, Printographer, Triple-Dump,

Dazzle Draw, Blazing Paddles, Catalyst, Mouse Calc, MouseWrite, Apple Access II, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Z-RAM...

& Apple's New Peripherals:  UniDisk 3.5, ImageWriter II, Apple II Memory Expansion Card, Apple Personal Modem, ColorMonitor IIe/IIc

 

Human Edge Mind Over Minors (1985) - Parent's Version - "a tool to give you an increased understanding of your child" - cracked with Passport by 4am DISKS (4 disks - ZIP archive)  (read a review HERE)

 “If this page were Christmas wrapping, which computer would you hope to find when you opened it up?” 

 

Apple IIc / IIe Christmas promotional blitz — outsized newspaper liftout

1985 Apple Computer Australia

 

(each page of liftout approx. A3 size)

 
 

  Scan of Apple IIc/IIe Christmas liftout (1985 Australia)

 

 

 

See also   "Apple Packages" Christmas 1984 brochure & Apple IIc official spec sheets 

 Apple IIc & Commodore 64 — 1984 Christmas promotion (Grace Bros department store) 

Dark Star Systems Snapshot Shuttle v9.0D (1985) - multitasking system for Apple II+ & IIe with "Snapshot IIe" card  (see also v11.0) DISK  (manual available HERE & review HERE)

Snapshot Shuttle - InfoWorld excerpt March 3, 1986    Snapshot Shuttle v11.0 menu

 

     

 

Alan Tam Featured Songs - Mockingboard Music Disk #5 - Alan Tam pop songs from Hong Kong with slideshow DISK

Video sampler of this disk is HERE

 

A Serious Mission on M.T.R. - Apple II game from Hong Kong (1985)

A Serious Mission on M.T.R. (1985)

Apple II game set in Hong Kong's subway system — by Lee Tak Wah & Ho Wai Fung

Regrettably my 5.25" disk copy is damaged and unplayable but at least the intro still works — DISK

 

Applied Engineering DOS Utilities - version 1.0 for RamFactor card DISK

 

Applied Engineering Timemaster ][ H.O. Program Disk (1984) - original DOS 3.3 & Pascal disks -  DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 Timemaster II H.O. User Manual REV 1.1 (1984)  now available HERE

 

MicroSPARC UniDOS 3.3 Plus (1986) - DOS 3.3 modified to work with Apple UniDisk 3.5" and Apple 3.5" drives DISK (800K)

 

 

Central Point Software Copy ][ Plus 6.0 (1986) - DOS 3.3 version (possibly a customized Copy II+ 5.0 with updated parameters - all other circulating images of v6.0 I've seen are ProDOS) DISK

Central Point Software selling Copy II Plus 5.0 in Australia

September 1985 — Your Computer

 

Utilico Microware Essential Data Duplicator III (1984)  Disassembled  - 'Sourcerer' disassembly of EDD III to DOS 3.3 disk DISK

Essential Data Duplicator - ad & review  

 

Utilico Microware Essential Data Duplicator 4 v4.1 (1986) & EDD 4 Plus v4.8 (1987) DISK  (video showing EDD 4+ Card in action is HERE)

Essential Data Duplicator 4.9 PLUS advertisement (March 1991) 

EDD disk scans original Impossible Mission disk vs backup

 EDD disk scans — original Impossible Mission disk versus functioning EDD 4 Plus backup

 

See also EDD disk scans of Airheart, Prince of Persia, Choplifter and Skyfox

 

 Essential Data Duplicator Program Information List 4-7  now available HERE

 

Caresoft Cherry Maths II (1986) DISK

 

Unicorn Software Aesop's Fables (1986) - 8-bit version - cracked with Passport by 4am DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive) 

Original box scan for the Apple IIGS version of Aesop's Fables is HERE and complete manual is HERE

 

Channelmark Corporation Grid Designer (1986) - cracked as per Computist issue 52 DISK 1   DISK 2

 

 

Apple Mouse Desk 2.0 (1986) - version Z1-1.0 (English) DISK (800K)  (screenshots and info available HERE & HERE)

  Mouse Desk 2.0 Apple II original manual (German edition)      MouseDesk 2.0 manual rear cover (English edition)     

 

  Mouse Desk 2.0 User's Manual (English) - complete scan

 

 

High-resolution scan of MouseDesk 2.0 original 800K disk (front & back) now available HERE

 

Apple IIGS menagerie!

[photos courtesy eBay AU & PicClick UK]

MouseDesk 2.0 — Apple IIGS System Disk v3.1 — Apple IIGS BASIC v1.0 beta 4  etc...

 some are the actual versions supplied by AAPDA - The Australasian Apple Programmers and Developers Association  (AAPDA ad is HERE)

 

NB: MouseDesk 2.0 as bundled with Apple IIGS boots to ProDOS 16 (e.g. see English IIGS MouseDesk 2.0 disk @ JB Retro Collect repository {Apple II Software > Apple_800K} or French System 1.1 disk HERE)

 

 

→  See also  Apple IIGS Packing List (United Kingdom)

  JB Retro Collect™ jbretro.wordpress.com

 

On Three The Graphics Manager (1986) - for Apple IIe and above DISK

The Graphics Manager in On Three catalog

 

John Wrenholt & Big Red Computer Club Print Shop Lovers' Utility Set v2.1 (1986) - ten Print Shop related utilities DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

P.L.U.S. manual now available HERE

 

Tom Phelps Print Shop Graphics Viewer (1986) - viewing utility plus bonus animal clip-art DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Graphics for The Print Shop - Apple themed (IIc, Mac Plus), Soviet flags, maritime ships, animals etc. DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Springboard Certificate Maker (1986) - Gelignite Jack crack DISKS (8 disks - ZIP archive)  (manual available HERE)

 

Springboard Clip Art Collection Volume 3 (1986) - sports and recreation clip art for The Newsroom - original manual & disk scans enclosed DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Baudville Award Maker Plus (1987) - softdocs included on disk DISK (800K)

 

Baudville 816/Paint (1987) - The Apple Odessa crack DISK

      

Airheart & Mario Bros COLOUR screen dumps from 816/Paint to Apple Scribe Printer — watch my demo video HERE

 

Ashton Scholastic Graphics Bank (1987) - library with over 200 pictures of Australian history and wildlife for 64K Apple II+ and above - now includes program disk with original title page  DISKS (9 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Roger Wagner Publishing MouseWrite (1987) - version 2.6.8b for Apple IIc, IIGS, enhanced IIe DISK (800K)

 

Kyocera Unison PrintMaster Plus (1987) - Gelignite Jack crack DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Dark Star Systems Snapshot Printerrupt v11.0 (1987) - printer screen dump utility for the "Snapshot IIe" card DISK  (manual available HERE)

  Snapshot Printerrupt v11.0 menu

 

  Pinpoint Publishing Pinpoint Document Checker v1.0 (1986) - standalone spell checker for AppleWorks, Apple Writer and text files DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

  

 

Pinpoint Publishing Pinpoint Spelling Checker v2.0.1 (1986) - these are regular DSK images (ProDOS) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

  

 

Pinpoint Publishing Pinpoint Desktop Accessories (1987) - version 2.0.2 for Apple IIc, enhanced IIe and revised for IIGS - these are regular DSK images, not the nibble images found elsewhere DISK 1   DISK 2

 

 

● Diversi-Copy 3.2 (1986 DSR) | Diversi-Cache 1.0 (1987 DSR) | Diversi demo | Assorted BASIC programs (in German) DISK (800K)

 

Rainbird Starglider (1986) - KCAT crack DISK

 

Epyx Street Sports Baseball (1987) - clean crack - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISK

 

Epyx California Games (1987) - kracked by Trev - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

California Games original Apple II box & disk scans now available HERE

 

Broderbund Wings of Fury (1987) - 3.5" disk version - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISK (800K)

 

Datasoft Black Magic (1987) - MindReader crack  (distinct from other circulating versions - this one is distributed by 'STRATA-CRACKERS') DISK  (Black Magic @8MHz video demo HERE)

 

Scrabble - "from Maynard & Julyn Computer Library"  -  DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Learningways / Collamore Dinosaur Construction Kit - Tyrannosaurus rex (1987) - 'Explore-A-Science' series - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Learningways / Collamore The Quasar Kids (1987) - 'Explore-a-Story' series - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Learningways / Collamore The Bald-Headed Chicken (1987) - 'Explore-a-Story' series - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Learningways / Collamore Just Around The Block (1987) - 'Explore-a-Story' series - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Learningways / Collamore Not Too Messy, Not Too Neat (1988) - 'Explore-a-Story' series - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Learningways / Collamore The Best Bubble-Blower (1988) - 'Explore-a-Story' series - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

United Software Industries ASCII Express "The Professional" (1984-87) - v4.20 (DOS 3.3)  &  v4.31P (ProDOS) pristine original disks - for Apple ][, ][+, //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (4 disks - ZIP archive)

 

ProTech Software / Checkmate Technology ProTERM v2.1 (1987-88) - original disk - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISK

ProTERM 3.1 advertisement (II Alive - Nov/Dec 1993)

See also ProTERM 3.0 original box HERE

 

Applied Engineering DataLink Communications Software v2.3 (1988-89) - original disks - for 64K Apple ][+ & 128K //e, IIGS with DataLink 1200/2400 modem DISKS (3 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Interplay Productions Neuromancer (1988) - The Apple Odessa crack DISK (800K)

 

Data East RoboCop (1988) - The Apple Odessa crack - for 128K Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

 

Logix Innovations Disk Disintegrater Deluxe v4.2 (1988) - imported by The Apple Odessa DISK

Disk Disintegrator Deluxe review (March 1990 Applecations)

  

Capstone Trump Castle (1988) - cracked by Hans - for enhanced Apple //e and above DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

● ZBasic v4.2 (64K & 128K ProDOS) & v3.2 (128K DOS 3.3) (1985-88 Zedcor) | The Beagle Compiler v1.0 (1986 Beagle Bros) - compiled 1990-91 by cvxmelody DISK (800K)

  

Timeworks Design Ideas (1988) DISK (800K)

 

 Design Ideas manual  now available HERE

 

Berkeley Softworks geoPublish v2.1 (1988) DISKS (800K) (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 'LEARNING GEOPUBLISH' chapter from geoPublish manual  now available HERE  [28MB PDF file]

 geoPublish Utilities manual  is HERE  [39MB PDF file]

 geoPublish Clip Art Reference  is HERE  [7MB PDF file]

 

Berkeley Softworks GEOS (1988) - Graphic Environment Operating System with geoPaint & geoWrite -  Dealer Demo disk  DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

StyleWare MultiScribe 2.0 (1987) - word processor similar to MacWrite - complete with Fontpaks 1-5 - for 128K Apple IIe/IIc DISK (800K)

 MultiScribe Picture Manager User's Manual (1987)  now available HERE  &  Picture Manager original disk scan is HERE

 

Bank Street College of Education Wordbench - official 3.5" disk version (1988) DISK 1   DISK 2 (800K)

 

Techware Tutor-Tech v2.3 (1988) - Teacher, Grader, Student systems | Merlin-Pro v2.34 (by Glen Bredon) DISK (800K)

Video demonstration of Tutor-Tech hypermedia system with TouchWindow touchscreen is HERE

 Tutor-Tech brochure (1990)  for Apple IIe, IIc & IIGS now available HERE

  see also Tutor-Tech v2.4 original box & contents 

 

Big Red Computer Club Labels, Labels, Labels (1988) - version 1.6 DISK

 

My Software Company MyLabelMaker (1988) - version 1.1 DISK

  

Scholastic Slide Shop (1988) - version 1.2 for 128K Apple - cracked as per Computist issue 77 DISK (800K)

     

 

Prometheus Products ProCom-A (1988) - communications and word processing for Apple ][+, //e, //c, IIGS DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Claris AppleWorks 2.0 (1988) - version sold by Claris from 1988 (as distinct from the original 1986 Apple release) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)  [cosmetic name change or more? - see Apple-Bug (August 1988)]

 

Techware Tutor-Tech v2.6 (1989) -  Demonstration disk  DISK  (brochure available HERE)

 

Beagle Bros BeagleWrite v3.2 (1989) - word processor similar to MacWrite - originally known as MultiScribe - for 128K Apple IIe/IIc DISK (800K)

 

Applied Engineering AW 2 Expander v3.2 (1989) - AE RAM card diagnostics & patcher for AppleWorks 2.x (also enables AW 1.2—2.1 to run on ][+) -  DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Teachers' Idea & Information Exchange StoryWorks v1.0 (1989) - use AppleWorks to create stacks with menus, hypertext and sound effects DISK

 StoryWorks manual  now available HERE

 

Copiers compilation Wizard Duplicator (cracked 1989 by Chuckles) - E.D.D. III | Nibbles Away II-C3 | Copy II+ 6.0 Bitcopy | Super Bitcopy | Quick Disk Copy | E.D.D. 2.1 | Back-It-Up III & II | Echo 1.0 | Disk Muncher 5.0 | Crazy Copy -  DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 Essential Data Duplicator III manual  now available HERE  [26MB PDF file]

 Back It Up III manual  is HERE  [30MB PDF file]

 The Original Locksmith Users Manual Version 5.0  is HERE  [20MB PDF file]

 Locksmith Newsletter Vol 1 No 1 Spring 1984  is HERE  [34MB PDF file]

 Nibble News Volume 2 Issue 6 July 1983 (Nibbles Away ][)  is HERE  [12MB PDF file]

 Nibble News Volume 3 Issue 6 1984 (Nibbles Away ][)  is HERE  [10MB PDF file]

 

● Copy II Plus 9.0 & 9.1 (1989-90 Central Point Software) | GS Font Editor v1.2 (1989 Beagle Bros) - bootable compilation DISK (800K)

Copy II Plus 9.0 original box & disks — high-resolution scan now available HERE

 

Copy II Plus Version 8 manual for Apple II (1988)

 

Stone Edge Technologies DB Master Version Five (1990) - shareware version of powerful data base management program DISKS (4 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Beagle Bros Outliner v1.1 for AppleWorks 3.0 (1990) - boots to AW 3.0 Patcher v1.5, quit to BASIC.SYSTEM for Outliner installer DISK (800K)

 

Q-Labs SuperPatch 6.1 (1990) - customizing utility for AppleWorks 2.x and 3.0 DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Q Labs RepairWorks v3.2A (1990) DISKS (2 disks - ZIP archive)  (manual now available HERE)

 

 

Scholastic HyperScreen 1.0 & 2.0 (1990) - "Hypermedia power" for Apple IIe (128K), IIc, IIc Plus, IIGS DISKS (800K) (2 disks - ZIP archive)

HyperScreen manual with version 2.0 addendum now available HERE  [99MB PDF file]

The Scholastic Guide to Classroom Multimedia (Apple II — 1989) is HERE  [17MB PDF file]

 

Schoolware The Riddle of the Trumpalar (1990) - by NSW Department of School Education DISKS (4 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Nite Owl WRAITH 'The Devil's Demise' (1990)  - for Apple //e, //c, IIGS DISK (800K)

 

Broderbund The New Print Shop (1990) - features automated hard disk installer DISKS (7 disks - ZIP archive)

  1987 Broderbund letter to cvxmelody re: The Print Shop
 

The New Print Shop Reference Manual & original box scans now available HERE

 

The Official New Print Shop Handbook — 300 page complete scan — is available HERE

 

Hi Tech Expressions Beetlejuice Print Kit (1990) DISK 1   DISK 2

 

Hi Tech Expressions Jetsons and Flintstones Print Kit (1990) DISK 1   DISK 2  (reference card available HERE)

 

Timeworks Publish It! 3 (1990) DISKS (800K) (2 disks - ZIP archive)

  My video showing Publish It! 3 & The New Print Shop with Epson LQ-500 on Laser 128EX is HERE

 

Timeworks Publish It! 4 (1991) DISK (800K)

     

 

Wings for learning Field Trip to the Rainforest (1991) DISKS (3 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Q Labs Talk is Cheap 3.31 (1991) - powerful telecommunications software - for enhanced //e and above DISK (800K)  (original manual available HERE)

 

Applied Engineering PC Transporter System Disk v2.0.5 (1991) - BIOS, Drivers, MSDOSVOL & Utilities - original disk transfer DISK (800K)

 PC Transporter Software 2.0.5 — advertised in final issue of inCider/A+ (July 1993)

 READ a review of PC Transporter by Your Computer (November 1988) 

  PC Transporter Installation Video — high quality original VHS transfer now available HERE

  PC Transporter on Apple IIGS video demonstration — Alley Cat, SimCity, MS Word 5.0, PC Paint 3.1 — watch it HERE

  PC Transporter on Apple IIGS video demonstration — success with Microsoft Windows 3.0 — watch it HERE

{PC Transporter MSDOSVOL with preinstalled Windows 3.0 is HERE}

→  See also:  PC Transporter benchmarks — Landmark CPU Speed Test etc

 

Applied Engineering AW 3 Expander v1.3.1 (1991) - AE RAM card diagnostics & patcher for AppleWorks 3.0 - original disk transfer DISK (800K)

 

Satchel Software Gallipoli (1991) - AppleWorks database of Australian service personnel at Gallipoli (World War I) DISKS (3 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Chan Wilson A2FX v0.8 Beta (1991) - "Apple II File Exchange" - transfers files from Mac HFS disks to ProDOS - for enhanced //e and above DISK

 

Douglas E. Mitton UniDisk 3.5" driver (1991) - ProDOS driver to permit use of UniDisk 3.5" on the original Apple IIc (without UniDisk ROM) - from May 1991 A2-Central On Disk DISK

 

   
 

In-depth video demonstration of Apple IIc (original ROM version) booting off external Laser 5.25" disk drive is HERE

 

 

The DOStalk Scrapbook (1985 TAB Books)  complete scan 

 

By Tom Weishaar & Bert Kersey

 (founders of Open-Apple/A2-Central & Beagle Bros)

A2-Central & Resource Central Catalogs (June 1991 thru April 1993) [191MB PDF]

Resource Central Catalog (Summer 1991) [149MB PDF]

Resource Central Catalog (Spring 1994)

 

  Nibble Magazine Mouse Clock (1991) - ProDOS clock driver that keeps accurate time using mouse interrupts - for Apple //c, IIGS or mouse equipped IIe DISK
             
  1988 invoice from Nibble
 

MousePaint for Apple IIe & IIc original floppy disk — high-resolution scan — now available HERE

AppleMouse IIe Packing List plus Australian & Global Warranties — high-resolution scan — now available HERE

 

Claris AppleWorks 3.0 startup disk (1989/1991) - patched with Mouse Clock (ProDOS clock driver) DISK

 

 

Personal Software magazine (August 1984)  complete scan 

 

 Reviews of AppleMouse II & MousePaint, PFS Family, Multiplan, Music Construction Set, Bank Street Writer, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein...

 

Claris et al. AppleWorks 3.0 & 3.2  DEUTSCH  (1989-92) - AW 3.0 & TimeOut UltraMacros adapted to German by Dr H. Balster, D. Lurot, R. Rφtering DISKS (800K) (3 disks - ZIP archive)  [for more on German AppleWorks see AppleWorks Forum (October 1990)]

 

Quality Computers AppleWorks 4 (1993) - version 4.01 pristine original disks DISKS (800K) (2 disks - ZIP archive)

AppleWorks 4.0 — scan of original box & disks is HERE

    

 

Martin Erlebacher / Kitchen Sink Software OmniPrint v1.1 (1993) - ImageWriter II supercharger for AppleWorks 3.0 & 4.x - original disk transfers DISKS (4 disks - ZIP archive)

 

● The Phasor music software v1.1.0 (1986 Applied Engineering) | Visualizer //e v1.2 (1987 PBI Software) | RepairWorks v3.3 (1991 Q Labs) - compiled 1991 by cvxmelody DISK (800K)

Applied Engineering Phasor photos    AE Phasor ad 300dpi scan (Feb 1987 inCider)    Phasor v1.0 from ReActiveMicro

 

  Phasor demonstration — Test Lab II: 12 channels Chip Tunes (2016 French Touch)  /  Ultima V  /  AE Phasor software

 

   

French Touch Test Lab#2 for Phasor or Dual Mockingboard

   
       

My Apple //e jukebox with Phasor v1.0 from ReActiveMicro

 

 

Kitchen Sink Software AccuDraw v1.1 (1992) - powerful Computer Aided Design (CAD) package -  Demo disk  DISK (800K)

 

Robocom Robographic CAD system for Apple II ad (Your Computer March 1984)   

 Robocom Robographic CAD system for Apple II

Your Computer (AU) — March 1984  & October 1983

 

 Apple IIGS Disk Images 

 

VIP Technologies VIP Professional GS (1986) - version 1A International DISK (800K)

 

Version Soft GS/Paint (1986) - version 1.0 English DISK (800K)

    GS Paint in The Apple IIgs Software Directory     

Hi-res scan of  Questor Product Catalogue for Apple IIGS, IIc & IIe (1987)  with GS/Paint, SuperSonic Stereo Card etc now available HERE  [35MB PDF]

→  See also:  GS/Paint — ITALIAN version original box & disk

 

Electronic Arts Music Construction Set GS (1986) -  Dealer demo disk  (works fine on real GS but music may be garbled in emulators) DISK (800K)

 

Music Construction Set GS demo — stereo recording of first two songs only 

 

 ROM 01 Apple IIGS with AE Sonic Blaster recorded directly to line-in of Edirol R-09HR 

FLAC audio download  [19MB ZIP archive]  best quality version 

See also  VIDEO: BOSE powered stereo speakers on Apple IIgs - Music Construction Set GS demo etc 

 

Electronic Arts Deluxe Paint II v2.0 (1987) - with Startpic DISK (800K)

 

Apple Computer Apple Access II v1.2 (1986) - original disk for Apple IIGS DISK (800K)  (scan of box & contents HERE)

Official Apple II Software List from Apple Computer (Feb 1987)

Official Apple II Software List from Apple Computer (Feb 1987)

 

 

See also hi-res scans  "The most powerful Apple II" - Apple IIGS 6-page brochure (May 1988 Apple Computer Australia) 

 Comprehensive Price List for Apple IIe & IIGS computer systems, peripherals, software & books - Central Logic Systems, Melbourne (November 1988) 

 Introducing the Apple IIGS - 12 page launch brochure (1986 Apple Computer UK) & Apple UK Retail Price List Autumn 1986 

 

Apple Computer ProDOS 16 Exerciser v1.0 (1987) & GS/OS Exerciser v6.0d8 (1991) DISK (800K)

 

COMPUTE!'s Apple IIGS Machine Language for Beginners (1987) - disk included with the book (programs run from Finder) DISK (800K)

→  See also:  COMPUTE!'s Guide to Sound & Graphics on the Apple IIGS by William B. Sanders (1987) - complete scan [86MB PDF]

The Elementary Apple IIGS by William B. Sanders (1986 COMPUTE! Books) - complete scan [58MB PDF]

Apple IIGS X-Basic Handbuch (1987) - complete scan {GERMAN manual} [31MB PDF]

 

Activision Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers (1986-87) - First Class crack DISK (800K)

 

Activision Shanghai (1987) - "Stephen W" crack DISK (800K)

Shanghai for Apple IIGS original box & disk scans now available HERE

 

Artworx Strip Poker II (1987) - French United Crackers Klan crack DISK (800K)

 

MicroProse Silent Service (1987) - DikRik crack | Airship Software Tonight's Sky GS V3.0 (1989) DISK (800K)

 

Activision GBA Championship Basketball: Two-on-Two (1987) - Surfer Bill crack DISK (800K)

 

Mindscape Superstar Ice Hockey (1987) - Moonglum crack DISK (800K)

 

Apple Computer The Apple IIGS Demonstration Sampler v1.2 (1987) DISKS (800K) (4 disks - ZIP archive)

   

Apple-Bug (May 1988) - the newsletter of Apple-Q Brisbane - describes the programs featured in this set — see J. Scott's scan HERE

 

Apple Computer Apple IIgs Diagnostic v2.1 (1988) DISK (140K)

 

Sonus Personal Musician (1987) - MIDI recording system (requires Sonus or Passport Designs MIDI card in slot 2) DISK (800K)  (manual available HERE)

 

A+ Magazine (June 1988) did a full roundup of Apple II MIDI hardware & software products — a complete scan by J. Barr-Hyde is HERE  {jbretro.wordpress.com}

 

Apple MIDI Interface Owner's Guide is HERE

 

Diversified Software Research Diversi-Tune (1988) - version 1.0 (to hear audio through internal GS speaker press 'ESC' then disable 'Stereo Card' in Configuration Menu) DISK (800K)

  

Diversi-Tune 1990 Catalog - Songs Disks etc for Apple IIgs — scan available HERE

 

Diversi-Tune — “Turkey in the Straw” (stereo) 

 

 ROM 01 Apple IIGS with AE Sonic Blaster recorded directly to line-in of Edirol R-09HR 

 

 

 

 

Pyware Music Writer (1988) - version 1.4.2 Special Edition (6 staves) DISK (800K)

 \

John Wrenholt Print Shop Lovers' Utility Set IIGS v1.02 (1988)  (see also v3.00) - also on the disk:  As The Link Turns I: Operation Bug | As The Link Turns II: Return of Woz | GSDaleks | Applesoft BASIC CDA v1.1 | Cut Paste CDA | Marvin the Paranoid CDA | Password CDA | Print Text Screen CDA v2.0 | Quickport CDA  DISK (800K)

  

Print Shop Lovers' Utility Set IIGS manual now available HERE

 

Version Soft Movie Studio v1.0 Beta 1 FRENCH (1988) - by Luc Serard DISK (800K)

 

Mister Z Synchro Cyclo Demo (1988) - also on the disk:  GS Alliance's Border Scroll routine (by Mr Z) | Bouncing Ball Paintworks animation | Piratin' Software 1.0 Finder Extension (by Bryan Pietrzak, 1992) | 'Garage 4' X-rated animation (by Rocco X) | Formulate v1.0 (1991 Seven Hills Software - SHK disk archive) | The Manager v1.0 (1992 Seven Hills Software - SHK disk archive) -  most downloaded from Talisman BBS   DISK (800K)

 

Roger Wagner Publishing SoftSwitch (1988) - version 8.8 DISK (800K)  (scan of an original disk is HERE)

 New improved scan of Roger Wagner 1989 Product Catalog now available HERE

 

So What Software Iconix GS (1988) -  Demo disk  DISK (800K)  (program disk already available HERE)

   

 

Arcadia AAARGH! (1988) - Club 96 crack with uncorrupted title DISK (800K)

 

 

Taito Arkanoid (1988) - Club 96 crack DISK (800K)

 

Accolade Bubble Ghost (1988) - Piratefest '88 crack DISK (800K)

 

California Dreams Vegas Gambler (1988) - F-x crack DISK (800K)

 

California Dreams Vegas Craps (1988) - USAlliance / Hitch Hiker & Appolusionist crack DISK (800K)

 

Britannica Software Jigsaw! - The Ultimate Electronic Puzzle (1988) - version 1.0 - 'brought to you by Crisis' DISKS (800K) (2 disks - ZIP archive)

   Jigsaw! for Apple IIGS T-Shirt offer  

  High-resolution scan of  Britannica Software 1988 Catalog for Apple II, IBM & C64  now available HERE

 

Strategic Studies Group Reach for the Stars - The Conquest of the Galaxy (1988) - First Class crack DISK (800K)

 

Spectrum HoloByte Tetris (1988) - genuine Apple IIGS / IIc+ dual version DISK (800K)  (manual available HERE)

 

Broderbund Prince of Persia (1989) - French United Crackers Klan crack (Apple IIGS super hi-res crack screen but this is an 8-bit game) DISK (800K)

Prince of Persia original Apple II box scan now available HERE

 

Taito Arkanoid II (1989) - Bullwinkle Moose crack DISK (800K)

 

The Software Toolworks Life & Death (1989) - The Necromancer crack (presented by Factus) DISK (800K)

Life & Death original Apple IIGS box & disks scan now available HERE

 

Pangea Software Quadronome (1989) - as distributed by AUSOM & Computer Concepts DISK (800K)

 

AUSOM News back issues dating back to 1980 are available to AUSOM members — see HERE

 

Interplay Dragon Wars (1989-90) - Club 96 crack (runs from Finder) DISK (800K)

Bill Heineman on Dragon Wars GS

 

LYNX Computer Products Supergraphix 256 (1989) - adds 36 new Super Hi-res graphics and 6 music commands to Applesoft DISK (800K)

 

Gerhard Kress FontEdit 2.0.1 GERMAN (1988) DISK (800K)

 

Wilfried Ricken / [DirectPage] FontEdit GS v1.3 GERMAN (1989) DISK (800K)

 

Free Tools Association Nucleus (1989) - music of this legendary demo as played back on (i) Apple IIGS with Sonic Blaster and (ii) ActiveGS emulator - now includes complete soundtrack  FLAC audio [64MB ZIP archive]

 

 

Mac PowerBook 3400c emulating Apple IIGS - Rastan, California Demo, Nucleus Demo, Diversi-Tune

 

Rastan for Apple IIGS review (GS+ Nov/Dec 1990)

 GS+ Magazine review of Rastan

 

Pad & 'El Mathos Noise Blaster v2.13 (1989) - music software used in Nucleus and Photonix (translated from French to English by Factus) DISK (800K)

Toolbox ad for Photonix II, Bouncing Bluster II & Space Shark

 GS+ Magazine advertisement for Photonix II, Bouncing Bluster II, Space Shark

 

Free Tools Association Modulae (1990) - soundtrack of this demo recorded directly to line-in of Edirol R-09HR

FTA Modulae demo (1990) - Apple IIGS screenshots

FTA Modulae soundtrack from ROM 01 Apple IIGS headphone jack (mono) 

 

FTA Modulae soundtrack from ROM 01 Apple IIGS with AE Sonic Blaster (stereo) 

 

FLAC audio download  [83MB ZIP archive]  best quality versions 

 

Beagle Bros Platinum Paint (1990) - version 1.0.1 (runs from Finder) DISK (800K)

Platinum Paint 2.0 ad (II Alive - Nov/Dec 1993)

II Alive advertisement for Platinum Paint 2.0

 

Seven Hills Software GraphicWriter III (1990) - version 1.0 (includes Fonts Disk) (see also v2.0 & v2.1) DISKS (800K) (4 disks - ZIP archive)

 

Vitesse Salvation: Guardian v1.03 (1990) - disk backup & restore system DISK (800K)

 

Vitesse Quickie Program Disk v2.02 (1990) - for hand held scanner DISK (800K)

 

French United Crackers Klan Pictures 3200 Vol. 1 (1990) - 3200 colour graphics slideshow (converted from Amiga & IBM) DISK (800K)

 

● Coast Show (1991) - animated roller coaster ride | Apple IIGS benchmark utility (1990) - estimates your CPU speed DISK (800K)

 

Big Red Computer Club & The Public Domain Exchange Desk Accessories & 3200 Colour Pictures (1989-1991) DISKS (800K) (7 disks - ZIP archive)

   DreamGrafix 3200 color paint program Apple IIGS screenshot  Ad for DreamGrafix 3200 color paint program Apple IIGS

Big Red Computer Club Apple IIGS Catalog (1990) now available HERE

 

Game compilations - Antetris (1990 Peter Jensen) | Baracade (1990 N.J.M.) | Bartender (1989 James Winter) | Blackjack Tutor v2.0 (1991 Dave Tribby) | Dr Mario 2.0.3 (1991 Blue Adept/USAlliance) | Euchre v2.3 (1990 Bill Hamshire) | Fourplay (1990 P.Brinkley) | Fun Columns v1.1 (1991 FTA / O.Goguel & O.Bailly Maitre) | GSDaleks (1989 Ian House) | MatheMusic (1990 P.Brinkley) | NumBlox/GS v1.0 (1990 Johnson Earls) | Puzzle Bucket v1.31 (1991 Oz Data / Richard Bennett) | Qburt (1990) | Rogue (1990 wombat@claris.com) | Tetrotrix 1.1 (1990 Pierre Abel) | The Great Cave Adventure Game (1989 Doni G. Grande) | Wheel of Fortune (1990 Mark Jenison) DISKS (800K) (2 disks - ZIP archive)

Assorted CDAs (Classic Desk Accessories) by Australian Apple IIGS developer Richard Bennett

 

● Senseless Violence 1: Survival of the Fetus (1989 Pangea Software / Brian Greenstone & Dave Triplett) | Minefield IIgs v1.5 (1991 Aaron Taurog) DISK (800K)

 

David Hallwas Galactic Conquest (1991) DISK (800K)

 

● One-Arm Battle v1.0 (by Ken Franklin, 1990) | Solitaire v2.0 (by Bill Tudor, 1992) | Puzzler v1.5 (by Phil Doto / Softdisk Inc., 1989) DISK (800K)

 

● Desktop Utilities 3.0 (by Robert Mueller & Tony Morton, 1991) (version 4.0 beta available HERE) | Cribbage GS (by Jim Sepanik, ca. 1991) | Dr Mario (by Blue Adept/USAlliance, 1991) - programs run or install from Finder DISK (800K)

 

● LabelMaker v0.5 (1991 Tom Tooly Software Berlin / Theo Schneider) | Graphic Disk Labeler v2.0b (1990 Triad Venture / Mike Nuzzi & Marty Steinberg) DISK (800K)

 

CIRTECH plusRAM GS v2.0.7 (1987-90) - original disk DISK (800K)

 

Sequential Systems RAM GS Diagnostic Test Diskette rev 1.4 (1991) DISK (800K)

 

Digital Youth Alliance Exhibit A (1991) - 3200 colour graphics slideshow demo DISK (800K)

 

David Chrislip & Kenrick Mock George Bush Demo (1991) - parody of President George Bush (runs from Finder) DISK (800K)

 

 

Joe Kohn & Shareware Solutions Way Cool GS (1991) - companion to January 1992 inCider/A+ article on how to customize the Apple IIGS (includes Solitaire, PacMan, Beyond, ErrorCodes, Quit-To, InitMaster, Icon Ed, Start Logo, Custom GSOS, Showpic etc.) DISK (800K)

 

Office aids etc. - 1991 compilation - Address Manager v2.0e | Cassette Labeler | Graph Paper Maker | GSXEdit v1.0 | Mouse Label v1.1 | Nexus | NoteBook I | OnTime | Scheduler | Speed Read | Texter v1.1 | The Tape Insert Filer/Printer DISK (800K) 

 

WestCode Software Pointless 2.0.1 (1992) DISK (800K)

    AppleWorks GS printout at 360 DPI   WestCode Software ad - Pointless, HardPressed, InWords

Scan of Pointless Apple IIGS box & disk now available HERE  &  TypeWest User Manual (40 fonts for Pointless) is HERE

AppleWorks GS printing at 360 DPI with Pointless TrueType fonts and Harmonie Epson LQ driver

 

       

 

     

 

Harmonie v2.11b - DISK (1997 Shareware Solutions II)  final release of high performance GS/OS printer drivers 

 

Adds 600x300 DPI support for HP DeskJet/DeskWriter plus new drivers for Apple StyleWriter (M8000), DeskJet/DeskWriter 520 & 560C etc. (see details HERE)

 

      Apple StyleWriter (M8000) printer  StyleWriter & ImageWriter II retail prices (Winter 1992 Australia)

Bevy of print options available with Harmonie's StyleWriter driver

 Landscape mode - lacking in stock System 6 driver - and more...

Harmonie v2.11b Installation and User's Guide now available HERE

See also  FAQ for Harmonie & Independence printer drivers, HP DeskJet, DeskWriter etc  (GEnie A2 RoundTable 1990-97) 

 

MOD files collection - compiled 1992-93 by cvxmelody and others DISKS (800K) (5 disks - ZIP archive)

 

 

MOD music players etc. - NoiseTracker v1.0 (1991-92 FTA) | soniqTracker v0.6.3 (by Tim Meekins, 1993) | SoundSmith v1.01 (by Huibert Aalbers, 1990) | MODZap v0.81 (by Ian Schmidt, 1992) | ShellPlay v0.5 (by Brian C. Bening, ca. 1993) - disk boots to NoiseTracker DISK (800K)

 

 

One World Software Wizards Noise Tracker GS v1.30 (1993) DISK (800K)

NoiseTracker on Apple IIGS performs Amiga MOD Bomb of Luck!

 

And for comparison — Amiga 2000 with DeliTracker V1.30 plays Bomb of Luck! (direct stereo recording to Edirol R-09HR) 

 

Amiga 2000 FLAC audio download  [29MB]

 

Freeware & shareware - compiled 1992-93 by cvxmelody - AniShow | Antetris | ColorTerm v3.5 | Cosmocade v1.1 | Cyber War! | GenericTerm v3.1 | GIF 3200 v0.20 | GIFview | GS-ShrinkIt v1.1 | MegaTERM v1.1 | MultiView v1.0 | PMPUnzip v1.02 | QWK-GS v1.06 | ResLin d0.33 (see also v0.48) | TransProg Start v1.01 DISKS (800K) (4 disks - ZIP archive)

Brian Greenstone on Cosmocade and Xenocide

 

● DuelTris v1.00 (1992-93 DreamWorld Software) | Catacombs GS (1991 Softdisk Inc. / by John Carmack & Jason B.) DISK (800K)

 

Kenrick Mock / Sound Barrier Systems Pente (1993) - a board game of strategy and skill DISK (800K)

 

Shane Richards Spy Hunter GS (1993) - version with music DISK (800K)

 

→  Check out CHEAT MODE for Spy Hunter GS

 

● The Lower Planes Demo (by Prince Slime, 1993) | Instant Access v1.0 (by Ian Brumby, 1993) - disk boots to demo (looks best on real GS), Instant Access runs from Finder (see also v3.0) DISK (800K)

 

 Log in to The Lower Planes BBS in Melbourne, Australia  (resurrected on Telnet as of Sep 2018!)

 

Ewen Wannop & Seven Hills Software Spectrum 1.0 (1993) - telecommunications program (runs from Finder)  (see also v2.5.4) DISK (800K)

Spectrum 2.0 Update v1.0 (1995) DISK (800K)

 

ECON Technologies Universe Master v1.02 (1993) - "The Premier File Management System for the Apple IIGS" DISK (800K)

 

Quality Computers Six Pack IIGS & Bonus Pack #2 (1993) - set of System 6.0 enhancements DISKS (800K) (4 disks - ZIP archive)

→  See also NEW EDITION Six Pack manual from Call-A.P.P.L.E. (2019)

 

 Apple IIGS — A Mac Of Another Color? 

 

Featured cover story

MacUser (December 1986)

 

  High-resolution scan of Apple IIGS cover story - MacUser (Dec 1986)

 

 

^ 2024-06-27 (last revised)


 

 


 Apple Computer 10th Anniversary Timeline 

 

Apple Special Delivery Software Fall 1980 Catalog (Apple II)

 

  High quality scan of "Apple Special Delivery Software - Fall 1980"

 

 

 

Apple Computer ad (Dec 1980 BYTE)

See also my scan of book  Shake Hands With The Apple II Plus  (1982 Pitman Publishing Australia) - 120-page PDF 

 

Apple Computer Confidential Price Lists for Dealer/Educator/Government

Apple IIe / IIc / IIc Plus / IIGS (1984-89 Apple Computer)

  Apple //e and //c Products Confidential Dealer Price List - November 15, 1984 - high-resolution scan

 

 

  Apple Education & Government Confidential Price List - March 2, 1987 - high-resolution scan

 

 
 

  Apple Educator Advantage Confidential Price List - October 15, 1989

 

 

 

"Ask the Experts" 8 page Apple IIc / IIe / IIGS brochure (1986 USA)

 

  High quality scans of "Ask the Experts" Apple II brochure

 

 

 

"The Apple IIGS - The Inside Story" in-store promotional poster (1986)

  

 Depicted is a 1986 prototype Apple IIGS - similar units were bestowed on developers and journalists prior to the commercial launch e.g. see "Golden No 29" magazine HERE

 

  

 

Genuine Apple IIGS promotional watch (1986)

More photos HERE

 

 Apple IIGS promotional watch - 1200 dpi ultra high-resolution scans (front & back)  now available HERE  [7MB ZIP archive of JPG files]

 

  

 

The Apple Collection Catalogue Australia (1987)

 

Apple II, IIGS & Macintosh — official merchandise, gifts and apparel

  

 

  High quality scan of "The Apple Collection Catalogue Australia (1987)"

 

 

 

 

  Hi-res scan of Apple IIGS music logo from official souvenir T-Shirt (1989)

 

See HERE & HERE for details of the 1989 Apple II Developers Conference (Sydney)

 

Apple Card Application Brochure (1986 Apple Computer Australia / ANZ Bank)

 

Featuring Apple IIe, IIc, IIGS & Macintosh Plus

  

 

  High quality scan of Apple Credit Card Brochure (1986)

 

 

 

«L'Apple II. Un beau passι. Un bel avenir. Un beau prιsent.» 12 page Apple IIc / IIe brochure (1985 Apple Canada)

 

  Scan of "L'Apple II" brochure 

 
 

         Source: Bibliothθque et Archives nationales du Quιbec

 

 

   

 

 Apple IIGS System Software 5.0 (1989) — French version

 

   

Apple IIGS System Software 5.0 — scan of original box, disks & packing list is HERE

AppleTalk Network User's Guide for the Apple IIGS (System 5.0 bundled manual) — high quality scan is HERE

LocalTalk Cable System Owner's Guide (1987 Apple Computer) — complete scan is HERE

 

 Installationshandbuch Apple IIGS 

 (1986 Apple Computer GmbH)

 

German edition of "Setting Up Your Apple IIGS"

 

  High-resolution scan of "Installationshandbuch Apple IIGS" 

 

 

See also hi-res scans  Apple Live - Sonderheft zum neuen Apple IIGS  (September 1986 Apple Computer GmbH) - 27-page German brochure 

 

 WATCH MY VIDEO — Apple IIGS fluent in 8 languages 

 

 (demo showing all inbuilt character sets of the GS)

 

 

Apple CEO John Sculley on the Apple II  —  The New Apple IIc Plus  —  The New GS/OS & Paintworks Gold

"The Computer Chronicles - Apple II Forever" (1988)

 (YouTube video by Computer Chronicles)

 

     

AppleFest 1989 Boston with Steve Wozniak Keynote

 

 The Elementary Apple IIGS 

 by William B. Sanders

 

262 pages — 1986 COMPUTE! Books

 

  Complete scan of The Elementary Apple IIGS  [58MB PDF]

 

 

→  See also COMPUTE!'s Guide to Sound & Graphics on the Apple IIGS by William B. Sanders (1987) - complete scan [86MB PDF]

 

 

 DVD compilation 26 television commercials from 1977-88 (mostly Apple II) 

Sourced from YouTube

(credits to the original uploaders)

 
 

 

Download Apple II TV commercials DVD compilation [865MB zipped ISO]

 

 

   Watch now on Youtube — 1986 Australian TV commercial — Apple //c special at Myer department store

 


 Broderbund Airheart (1986) 

A milestone in the annals of Apple II gaming

 Apple II original manual, box, and disk scans in COLOUR 

   

A perilous sea is the setting for this arcade-style rescue game featuring double hi-res, 3-D color graphics more dazzling than any you've seen before.

Designed by Dan Gorlin, creator of the best-selling Choplifter!, AIRHEART offers you the challenge of rescuing a sleeping prince from a watery world and restoring him to his rightful place of honor.

FEATURES:

Full 16-color double hi-res graphics

Fast, realistic 3-D animation

Challenging play.  This is one game you won't master too easily.

     
 

  High quality colour scans of my original Airheart manual, box, and diskette

 

 

This supersedes my earlier greyscale scan of the manual which is still available HERE and includes an extra review of the game from Apple User magazine

→  See also Airheart Product Fact Sheet for Apple II  HERE

^ 2016-03-21 (last revised 2019-05-08)


 Epyx Street Sports Soccer (1988) 

 Apple IIGS original manual, box, and disk scans 

   

In Street Sports Soccer, you're captain of your own rowdy bunch.  Choose the best on the block and show 'em what you've got.  Shove. Pass. Dribble. Trip.  Real life, fast-action fun.

 

  High quality colour scans of my original Street Sports Soccer manual, box, and diskette

 

 

^ 2016-03-23


 Apple Computer Apple Presents Spotlight (1982) 

 Apple II original manual and disk scans (rarity!) 

 

A compilation of 4 children's games: Reflect, Spotlight, Hot Stuff, Boxed In

 

  High quality colour scans of my original Apple Presents Spotlight manual and diskette

 

 
 
 

  Download "Spotlight" disk image (backed up with Wildcard system)

 

 

 

 

Wildcard installed in slot 7 of my Pravetz 8M (Apple II Europlus clone)

 

 

Creating a 64K auto-booting backup of "Spotlight" (one of four games from the original "Apple Presents Spotlight" disk)

   

^ 2016-03-28 (last revised 2016-05-13)


 Apple II original software box collection 

 30 software boxes & contents scanned for your pure indulgence !! 

     

You'll find all of the following:

4th & Inches GS
Apple Writer II version 2.0
Car Builder
Death Sword
Destroyer GS
Dream Zone GS
GEOS
Grand Prix Circuit GS
Impossible Mission II
Jack Nicklaus' Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf (GS)
King's Quest III GS
Mancala GS
Music Construction Set GS
Paintworks Gold GS
Qix
Rampage
Shogun
Silicon Dreams
Skate or Die GS
Solitaire Royale GS
The Bard's Tale GS
The Games Winter Edition
The Music Studio 2.0 GS
The Print Shop GS
Vegas Craps GS
Warlock GS
Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego? (GS)
Winter Games GS
Xenocide GS

Disks only - ProTERM 3, The Graphic Exchange, TransProg III, Tetris, HardBall

 

 

  Apple II original software box collection by cvxmelody  [121MB ZIP archive of PDF files]

 

 

The Graphic Exchange manual cover & Roger Wagner 1989 Product Catalog (new improved scan) now available HERE

ProTERM 3 original box is HERE

Silicon Dreams complete manual now available HERE

 

^ 2016-05-25 (last revised 2018-09-27)


Will Harvey's Zany Golf (1988) & The Immortal (1990)

From the stable of Electronic Arts came two of the most iconic games for the Apple IIGS

 Original boxes & contents 

 

 

 

  Colour scans of original boxed Zany Golf & The Immortal  [11MB ZIP archive of PDF files]

 

 

 

Zany Golf — music from intro & first two levels 

 

 ROM 01 Apple IIGS with AE Sonic Blaster recorded directly to line-in of Edirol R-09HR

(superimposed gameplay sounds are occasionally heard)

 

See also   Will Harvey on his Music Construction Set  (K-POWER Magazine March 1984) {archive.org} 

 YOU'LL FIND MANY MORE SCANS UNDER VINTAGE DOCUMENTS 

^ 2016-07-25 (last revised 2021-03-20)


Assorted Tidbits

 

 

Warranty stub for Applied Engineering TransWarp II accelerator card purchased on 21 March 1990 for my Apple //e from Nemo Computer Systems of Western Australia

It had a serial number of S089.  I sold it off a few years later (along with the //e), and this warranty card is all that remains. The distinguishing feature of the TransWarp II was its built-in non-volatile control panel allowing easy customization of accelerator settings.  The card was clocked at 7MHz (versus 1MHz stock speed of the //e).  Joystick compatibility was improved over the earlier TransWarp with a configurable joystick delay.

Though not documented in the user's manual, the speed could also be controlled through software by writing a 0 or 1 to memory location $C074, same as in the original TransWarp, i.e. POKE 49268,1 (for 1MHz) & POKE 49268,0 (for fast speed)

 

TransWarp II ad - I scanned this from the January 1990 issue of inCider/A+

UPDATE: I found a photo of a TransWarp II with marking "5089" on the back - see HERE - so "S089" might not have been an actual serial number, but some batch/revision number.  I must have checked the original box and manual for anything vaguely resembling a S/N, before settling on "S089" as the only (apparently) unique identifier.  "5089" could plausibly refer to a manufacturing date of the 50th week of 1989.

 

Some sales materials Applied Engineering sent me 1987-88 - product catalogs & "Inside AE" bulletins (TransWarp GS, Sonic Blaster, PC Transporter etc.)

  'Inside AE' - October 1988  'Inside AE' - November 1988

 Download PDF version

 

Applied Engineering PC Transporter photo album

PC Transporter photo album

 (courtesy eBay)

 

IBM game Shamus running on my PC Transporter (Apple IIGS)

 

Above: Invoice for Zip Chip purchased from Nemo Computer Systems on 16 Feb 1990 for my sister's Apple //c

Below: "Zip Chip - Update" from Nemo Computer Systems (November 1989 AUSOM News)

see also Nemo Computer Systems pricelist (December 1989)

 

  My very first encounter with the Zip Chip was back in 1989 during a monthly meeting of the WAppleII users' group held at Murdoch University in Perth's southern suburbs.  Graeme Platt of Nemo Computer Systems took to the floor with a compelling demonstration of the 4 MHz accelerator and I believe he must have sold a fair number of Zips to eager members!  (An 8 MHz model became available in late 1989)  Graeme was also an Applied Engineering dealer and he and wife Gloria were pioneers of the BBS scene in Perth.  The WAppleII club, founded by Peter Hinchliffe in 1988, was an oasis devoted exclusively to Apple II, and thrived for a good 8 years before finally disbanding at the end of 1995 (coinciding with Apple Computer Australia's termination of support for the Apple II line).   

WAppleII - supporting the Apple II in Western Australia (1988-1995)

WAppleII Disk #1 (September 1989)

   

 4MHz Zip Chip 4000 installed in Apple IIc        

 

"1990 Multiline BBS"

successor to the Apple II-based Nemo & Treasure Island boards (GBBS Pro) & pro-nemo BBS (ProLine)

"... at 182 gigabytes and 175 online CDs... one of the largest file libraries available in any country"

 

Zip Chip passed diagnostic test with flying colours in September 2015

 

 ☹ R.I.P.☹ 

Apple //c monochrome monitor depicted shortly after giving up the ghost

 

Apple IIc 220-240V power supply A2M4016  

Apple //c 220/240V power supply (model A2M4016) — still working

 

 

Back in 1992, I ordered a new Zip GSX accelerator card for my Apple IIGS.  Its top speed was 9MHz, yet it came with a 10MHz-rated 65C816 CPU.  Not wishing to squander the potential, I asked a technician friend to perform a simple modification, replacing the stock crystal oscillator with a faster one, which boosted the speed of the card to 10.50MHz.  The system proved to be absolutely stable and I was more than satisfied.  The IIGS was subsequently retired in 1996 but in August 2015 I attempted to resurrect it for old time's sake.  The Zip GSX was found to be still in perfect working order after all those years.

  

   

 

WOW check out those phosphor trails —  Championship Lode Runner @ 10.50Mhz !! 

 

Software routines to disable Zip GSX by Paul Creager (inCider/A+)

 

 Software routine to disable Zip GSX

(substitute 91 for 90 as the next-to-last number in line 1020 to turn Zip GSX back on)

 

           

 

 Auto-load ZipGS Control Classic Desk Accessory from any ProDOS startup disk with the aid of ProDOS 8 CDA Loader (P8CDA)

(no need for ProDOS 16 or GS/OS)

NB: The official ZipGS CDA from Zip Technologies works fine when installed this way, but Zip CDA by FTA might crash

See also   Comparing Zip GSX software vs "SuperZip" CDA (FTA)  &  Zip Chip availability - 1992-96 GEnie Apple II RoundTable 

 

ZipGS & Zip Chip advertisement (February 1992, inCider/A+)

 

(the ad refers to a re-engineered "new design" 8Mz Zip Chip (for 8-bit Apples), so early and late versions of this model exist -

the 8MHz Zip Chip was originally announced at the May 1989 Boston AppleFest and began shipping towards the end of that year.  The popular 4MHz model remained available for sometime.)

^ 2015-11-09 (last revised 2023-09-27)


 A+ Magazine (April 1989) 

 Reviews of TransWarp GS, "Classic" TransWarp, Zip Chip, RocketChip 

 

SPEED UP!  New Products Meet the Need for Speed

Scans of cover story devoted to the following Apple II accelerator products:

TransWarp GS by Applied Engineering

"Classic" TransWarp by Applied Engineering

Zip Chip by Zip Technologies

RocketChip by Bits & Pieces Technologies

With comparative benchmark test results

 

  High quality colour scans of Apple II accelerators cover story from A+ April 1989

 

 

 

TransWarp GS photo album

 (courtesy eBay & Apple Rescue Denver)

^ 2016-05-01 (last revised 2018-04-08)


 Call-A.P.P.L.E. (October 1985) 

 Cover story on "Mach 3.5" accelerator (M-c-T SpeedDemon) 

     

Flying the Apple II at Mach 3.5

Mach 3.5 accelerator benchmarks by Dr David A. Lingwood

 

"SpeedDemon" or "SpeeDemon" ?  Both are correct - see HERE & HERE & HERE

^ 2016-10-11 (last revised 2017-04-26)


 My own benchmarks of TransWarp (I & II), Zip Chip, Zip GSX & Laser 128EX etc. 

All testing done with Speed Tester v1.0 (available HERE)

Manually timed with stopwatch, rounded down to nearest second

Benchmarks generated by Speed Tester are relative to a 1MHz Apple //e

 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Apple //c — Zip Chip 4000 @ 1MHz (ESC key pressed at startup)
 
Apple //c — Zip Chip 4000 @ 4MHz
 
Apple IIGS ROM01 — Zip GSX 32K cache @ 10.50MHz
 
Enhanced Apple //e clone — TransWarp @ 3.6MHz
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
61 SECONDS
.983 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
17 SECONDS
3.52 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
8 SECONDS
7.5 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
18 SECONDS
3.33 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
41 SECONDS
1.01 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
22 SECONDS
1.88 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
7 SECONDS
5.92 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
21 SECONDS
1.97 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
58 SECONDS
.965 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
16 SECONDS
3.5 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
7 SECONDS
8 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
18 SECONDS
3.11 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
133 SECONDS
1.00 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
33 SECONDS
4.06 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
20 SECONDS
6.7 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
40 SECONDS
3.35 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
27 SECONDS
1 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
7 SECONDS
3.85 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
3 SECONDS
9 TIMES FASTER
 

HGR-FILL ASL TEST
10 SECONDS
2.7 TIMES FASTER

 

These results are consistent with a 4MHz Zip Chip (model 4000).  This Zip Chip was purchased new in February 1990 and it was actually the 8MHz model we ordered and paid for (see invoice & background).  It came supplied in the same box and with the same disk as the 4MHz model but with an added "8MHz" sticker on the front (all the early units were like that).  So there was apparently a mix-up of some kind!  (Benchmarks for an actual 8MHz Zip Chip appear below)

 

 

Apple //c — Zip Chip 4000 @ 0.68MHz (i.e. 17% of max. speed set via Zip Chip Utilities - the lowest configurable speed short of disabling acceleration completely)
 
Apple IIGS ROM01 @ 2.8MHz — Zip GSX disabled
 
Laser 128EX ROM v4.2 @ 2.3MHz ('2' key pressed at startup)
 
Laser 128EX ROM v4.2 @ 3.6MHz ('3' key pressed at startup)
 

 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
40 SECONDS
1.5 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
22 SECONDS
2.72 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
27 SECONDS
2.22 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
24 SECONDS
2.5 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
36 SECONDS
1.15 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
18 SECONDS
2.30 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
18 SECONDS
2.30 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
Incompatible with Laser 128EX (ROM v4.2) @ 3.6MHz
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
43 SECONDS
1.30 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
22 SECONDS
2.54 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
25 SECONDS
2.24 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
22 SECONDS
2.54 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
34 SECONDS
3.94 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
52 SECONDS
2.57 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
57 SECONDS
2.35 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
38 SECONDS
3.52 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
12 SECONDS
2.25 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
13 SECONDS
2.07 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
12 SECONDS
2.25 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
8 SECONDS
3.37 TIMES FASTER
 
     

 

Enhanced Apple //e clone — TransWarp II @ 7MHz
 
Enhanced Apple //e clone — TransWarp II @ 3.5MHz
 
Apple //c — Zip Chip 4000 @ 2MHz

 

Apple IIGS ROM01 — Zip GSX 32K cache @ 8.5MHz
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
11 SECONDS
5.45 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
18 SECONDS
3.33 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
21 SECONDS
2.85 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
8 SECONDS
7.5 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
9 SECONDS
4.61 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
14 SECONDS
2.96 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
24 SECONDS
1.72 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
7 SECONDS
5.92 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
10 SECONDS
5.6 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
18 SECONDS
3.11 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
21 SECONDS
2.66 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
8 SECONDS
7 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
25 SECONDS
5.36 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
35 SECONDS
3.82 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
34 SECONDS
3.94 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
20 SECONDS
6.7 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
4 SECONDS
6.75 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
7 SECONDS
3.85 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
8 SECONDS
3.37 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
3 SECONDS
9 TIMES FASTER
 

 

 

 

NB: Reported speed of 8.14MHz is erroneous as the Zip GSX runs at 10.50MHz not 10 MHz  (81.25% of 10.50MHz = 8.5MHz) - see explanatory note HERE

 

Macintosh LC — Apple IIe Card @ 1MHz

("Normal" speed selected in IIe Option Panel)
 

Macintosh LC — Apple IIe Card @ 1.9MHz

("Fast" speed selected in IIe Option Panel)
 

Apple //e — Zip Chip 8000 @ 8MHz Apple //e — Zip Chip 8000 @ 4MHz
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
61 SECONDS
0.98 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
32 SECONDS
1.87 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
10 SECONDS
6 TIMES FASTER
 
FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
11 SECONDS
5.45 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
57 SECONDS
0.73 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
37 SECONDS
1.12 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
18 SECONDS
2.30 TIMES FASTER
 
TEXT-SCROLL TEST
19 SECONDS
2.18 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
72 SECONDS
0.78 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
42 SECONDS
1.33 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
9 SECONDS
6.22 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
10 SECONDS
5.6 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
132 SECONDS
1.01 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
68 SECONDS
1.97 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
18 SECONDS
7.44 TIMES FASTER
 
ASL COUNTING TEST
18 SECONDS
7.44 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
137 SECONDS
0.20 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
135 SECONDS
0.20 TIMES FASTER
 
HGR-FILL ASL TEST
3 SECONDS
9 TIMES FASTER
 

HGR-FILL ASL TEST
3 SECONDS
9 TIMES FASTER

 

My video HERE shows the Apple IIe Card being benchmarked

 
See video HERE - Zip Chip 8MHz installation & benchmark  

Additional testing with Speed Test v2.2.2 (available HERE)

Manually timed with stopwatch, rounded down to nearest tenth of a second

Benchmarks generated by Speed Test are relative to a 1MHz Apple //e

 
Laser 128EX ROM v6.0 @ 3.6MHz ('3' key pressed at startup)
 
Apple IIGS ROM01 — Zip GSX 32K cache @ 10.50MHz
 
   
       
CPU INDEX   3.42 TIMES FASTER CPU INDEX   8.98 TIMES FASTER    
TEXT INDEX   2.65 TIMES FASTER TEXT INDEX   4.40 TIMES FASTER    
VIDEO INDEX   3.41 TIMES FASTER VIDEO INDEX   7.75 TIMES FASTER    
  TIME (s) RELATIVE   TIME (s) RELATIVE    
MEMORY READ 34.9 3.42 MEMORY READ 11.9 10.01    
MEMORY WRITE 34.8 3.42 MEMORY WRITE 26.0 4.58    
MEMORY READ (ZERO PAGE) 35.1 3.41 MEMORY READ (ZERO PAGE) 11.9 10.05    
MEMORY WRITE (ZERO PAGE) 34.9 3.43 MEMORY WRITE (ZERO PAGE) 15.1 7.92    
INDIRECT REFERENCES 37.2 3.22 INDIRECT REFERENCES 12.8 9.35    
BRANCH CALCULATION 34.9 3.42 BRANCH CALCULATION 11.8 10.11    
REGISTER VARIABLES 24.4 3.41 REGISTER VARIABLES 8.4 9.92    
INSTRUCTION FETCH 33.4 3.59 INSTRUCTION FETCH 11.3 10.61    
CPU INSTRUCTION MIX 33.3 3.49 CPU INSTRUCTION MIX 14.0 8.30    
DIRECT TEXT WRITES 33.9 3.54 DIRECT TEXT WRITES 23.1 5.20    
DIRECT TEXT WRITES #2 34.7 3.47 DIRECT TEXT WRITES #2 23.6 5.10    
BIOS TEXT WRITE 126.6 0.94 BIOS TEXT WRITE 41.2 2.90    
DIRECT LORES WRITES 34.5 3.39 DIRECT LORES WRITES 14.2 8.25    
HIGH-RES MEMORY WRITES 33.4 3.43 HIGH-RES MEMORY WRITES 15.8 7.25    
           
   
     

 

Macintosh LC — Apple IIe Card @ 1.9MHz

("Fast" speed selected in IIe Option Panel)
 

     
       
CPU INDEX   1.93 TIMES FASTER      
TEXT INDEX   0.25 TIMES FASTER      
VIDEO INDEX   0.15 TIMES FASTER      
  TIME (s) RELATIVE          
MEMORY READ 61.9 1.92          
MEMORY WRITE 61.9 1.92          
MEMORY READ (ZERO PAGE) 61.9 1.93          
MEMORY WRITE (ZERO PAGE) 61.8 1.94          
INDIRECT REFERENCES 65.2 1.84          
BRANCH CALCULATION 61.7 1.93          
REGISTER VARIABLES 43.8 1.90          
INSTRUCTION FETCH 58.9 2.04          
CPU INSTRUCTION MIX 59.0 1.97          
DIRECT TEXT WRITES 316.9 0.38          
DIRECT TEXT WRITES #2 2228.6 0.05          
BIOS TEXT WRITE 369.7 0.32          
DIRECT LORES WRITES 924.4 0.13          
HIGH-RES MEMORY WRITES 697.0 0.16          
           
     

ReActiveMicro's Wiki HERE offers further Speed Test v2.2.2 benchmarks

^ 2016-10-10 (last revised 2017-09-17)

 

Others ??  TransWarp GS, RocketChip I & II, UltraWarp (Michael Mengel & ReActiveMicro), FASTChip //e & TransWarp //c (a2heaven), Tecnowarp, SpeedDemon (Mach 3.5), Saturn/Titan Accelerator, Apple IIc Plus, Apple III, etc...

Add your own results below:
 

 
Comment Form is loading comments...
 

 

 TransWarp 3.6MHz vs 1MHz showdown 

 

FAST vs NORMAL speedside by side comparison on Apple IIe

 

 

 

Airheart
Choplifter
Drol
Donkey Kong
FASTDATA Pro — keyword search of 1.5MB TXT file
Nikrom Master Diagnostics //e — 80 column test
Animate Show Disk (3.6MHz only)
TransWarp startup self-diagnostic test
  00:00
01:46
02:30
03:26
04:29
07:48
10:10
11:45
 

 

 

 Testbed: Apple IIe enhanced clone | TransWarp @ 3.6MHz

Only relevant to FASTDATA Pro: Apple II SCSI Card (Rev C ROM) & ITEAD Studio SCSI2SD V5.0a

^ 2016-11-20


 

 TransWarp II unleashed! 

 
 

 

 

Choplifter
Airheart
Prince of Persia (sound delay 0ms)
Prince of Persia (sound delay 1ms)
Prince of Persia (sound delay 5ms)
TransWarp II control panel
Apple //e self-diagnostic test
  00:00
01:29
02:45
03:47
04:49
05:36
06:35
 

 

 

 Hardware: Apple IIe enhanced clone | TransWarp II @ 7MHz

 
  I don't know how the Apple //e "checkerboard" self-diagnostic got triggered - after exiting the TransWarp II control panel, typing PR#6 somehow initiated the self-diagnostic before the drive was booted. Perhaps it is related to having toggled the TWII from OFF to FAST. Please ignore the incorrect caption at ~6:38 - the checkerboard display is the //e self-diagnostic, NOT the TWII startup diagnostic, which is actually just the brief pause before the TWII logo appears. If the TWII startup diagnostic is enabled in the control panel, you normally experience this pause with a blank screen when turning on the computer, followed by the TWII logo (if enabled) and then bootup. The //e checkerboard test isn't part of the process, though can occasionally manifest with cold or warm boot as an atypical, if harmless, quirk of the TWII. If the behaviour is by design, my only (non-expert) explanation is that it helps flush the system into a more pristine state. Also, my experience with the Apple IIGS is that periodically running its self-diagnostic to completion can be a quick fix for any strange glitches you are having.

 

Fine-tuning the speed of TransWarp II

The built-in control panel of the TransWarp II only allows a choice of two accelerated speeds - 7MHz & 3.5MHz.  All is not lost, however, as the TWII is compatible with the RocketChip Utilities (available HERE).  This permits fine-tuning the speed in small increments, anywhere from a fraction of 1MHz right up to full throttle!  (Full credit to Glynne Tolar for making the connection - see HERE)

 

 

It's probably easiest to use the RocketChip Utilities designed for the 10MHz RocketChip II (ProDOS version shown above).  In this example I have it configured for "6.66MHz" which corresponds neatly to 66.6% of top speed.  So on the TransWarp II, 66.6% of 7MHz equates to 4.66MHz

 

 

Exiting the RocketChip configurer dumps you to BASIC.SYSTEM with your speed setting intact.  However, invoking the TransWarp II control panel at anytime (ESC-CTRL-RESET) or rebooting with PR#6 or CTRL-OPEN APPLE-RESET will undo your speed (the TWII reverts to either 1MHz ("Slow"), 3.5MHz ("Medium") or 7MHz ("Fast"), whichever is closest to your custom setting).  To preserve your speed whilst booting up the next disk, a good solution is to use something like BOOT6.SYS shown in the example above (poached from Zip Chip Utilities HERE).  This bypasses the meddling of the TWII firmware...

With this approach, I was able to launch Speed Tester (in DOS 3.3 format) and benchmark the TransWarp II running at a non-standard 4.66MHz:-

 

  Enhanced Apple //e clone — TransWarp II @ 4.66MHz (configured with RocketChip Utilities)

 
Benchmarks generated by Speed Tester are relative to a 1MHz Apple //e

 
  FOR-NEXT LOOP TEST
15 SECONDS
4 TIMES FASTER
 
 
  TEXT-SCROLL TEST
12 SECONDS
3.45 TIMES FASTER
 
 
  HGR-FILL BASIC TEST
14 SECONDS
4 TIMES FASTER
 
 
  ASL COUNTING TEST
29 SECONDS
4.62 TIMES FASTER
 
 
  HGR-FILL ASL TEST
6 SECONDS
4.5 TIMES FASTER
 
 

^ 2017-05-07 (last revised 2017-06-11)


 

 FASTChip //e thrashes speed records @ 16.6MHz! 

 
 

 

 

Introduction
Serpentine demo sequence
Gobbler demo sequence
Thunderchopper demo sequence
FASTChip //e control panel
Drol with joystick @ 16.6MHz
  00:00
00:47
04:51
06:18
08:28
11:11
 

 

 

 Hardware: Apple IIe (PAL model) | FASTChip //e accelerator from a2heaven in slot 7

^ 2018-08-30


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Testing out the Apple //c PAL colour modulator A2M4023

For some months, I had been on the lookout for an Apple //c A2M4023 PAL colour modulator/adapter. This elusive device attaches to the back of any PAL //c (e.g. those sold in Australia and Europe), providing PAL colour composite & RF outputs.  As luck would have it - on 12 Nov 2015 - I spotted an ad on Gumtree (Perth) for a complete Apple //c system, modulator included!  Since I wanted a replacement //c monitor anyway (after my sister's one blew up), and the price was reasonable, I went ahead and purchased the lot.  Photo of the "haul" taken on the day of purchase after it was brought home:-

 

  models # A2S4000* (* = Z, F, B, D, T, N etc) and # A2S4100^ (^ = X, F etc)...  both the original 128K Apple //c and later "memory expansion" model //c sold in PAL countries (e.g. A2S4100X) are inherently capable of colour when paired to 220-240V models of the ColorMonitor IIc/IIe or AppleColor Composite Monitor (e.g. A2M4043X & A2M6020X & A2M6021X) - the inbuilt RCA jack of the 220-240V //c outputs a video signal comparable to the Platinum 'International NTSC' Apple IIe - a unique 50Hz NTSC with 3.562456 MHz color reference frequency - see screenshots HERE & discussion HERE.  At the time the original //c was launched (April 1984) no monitor was compatible with 'International NTSC' and regular NTSC or PAL displays generally interpret this signal in black & white only.  In PAL markets the //c came bundled with the A2M4023 PAL modulator, excepting France which used "Le Chat Mauve" A2M4020F adapter (provides RGB & composite SECAM over SCART).  In Australia, the A2M4023 PAL modulator appears to have been retained with the A2S4100X model //c - see HERE.  Though by this stage you could buy the 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor (IIc or IIe matching models) for direct-connect colour - see HERE & HERE & 1987 Grace Bros advertisement

International Supplement to the Apple IIc Interactive Owner's Guide now available HERE

Monitor IIc User's Manual now available HERE

Apple Mouse IIc User's Manual now available HERE

Apple IIc System Utilities Manual now available HERE

        

 

As you can see, a functioning //c with green screen, comprehensive set of Apple manuals and disks, Apple beige joystick, two platinum mice, and an Apple 5.25 Drive to boot.  (After this photo was taken, I discovered tucked inside other manuals the "Setting Up Your Apple //c" guide, Apple joystick instructions, and even an unused sheet of rainbow-coloured Apple stickers.  The mice turned out to be the same model - Mac Mouse M0100 platinum part # 590-0055A, which aren't //c compatible but should work fine on a ][, ][+ or //e with mouse card.  However, my sister's //c was already equipped with an Apple Mouse //c - model A2M4015Z).

 This is an original ROM version Apple //c ($FBBF = $FF = 255) i.e. supports Disk IIc (5.25" External Drive) but not the UniDisk 3.5 or Apple IIc Memory Expansion Card.  Like most Apple //c's sold in Australia ca. 1984-86, CPU is a UK model (A2S4000B) with dual UK/USA character sets, and emanates from Apple's European factory in Cork, Ireland.  NB: The Memory Expansion model //c for Australia (A2S4100X) — memory location $FBBF = $03 or $04 — was made in Singapore (ca. September 1986+) and features an American keyboard (rectangular Return key and "3" keycap with "#" not "£").  Only the USA character set is implemented - SHIFT+3 always generates "#" on-screen and not "£".  The Keyboard switch acts as toggle between QWERTY and Dvorak layouts, just like the US model.  It's been claimed that the earliest shipping version of the //c in Australia (presumably "A2S4000Z") - sold briefly in 1984 - likewise possessed QWERTY/Dvorak USA keyboard - see discussion HERE  (though I suspect the depicted unit is actually an A2S4100X with top case swapped from UK/AU model A2S4000B.  Platinum-coloured keyboard and floppy drive latch were characteristic of A2S4100, as distinct from the beige of A2S4000.)

UK/USA character sets in 80 & 40 columns on Apple //c (A2S4000B)

UK / USA character sets in 80 & 40 columns on Apple //c (A2S4000B)

Also accompanying this Gumtree //c are original disks for Mind over Minors, Microzine, MasterType's Writer, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and MousePaint - which confirms this system was originally purchased around December 1985 when Apple Computer Australia bundled these programs for free as part of a nationwide Christmas promotion.  The Apple Mouse //c - also a part of that bundle - has gone missing and only the manual remains.

This is not 100% identical to the Unidisk 5.25" but the distinction is only critical for the Macintosh LC Apple IIe card which is compatible solely with the Apple 5.25" Drive

M0100 Macintosh Mouse Adapter for Apple //c is available from Raphnet of Japan.  One version of the M0100 mouse with an elongated DE-9 plug is designed to work with Apple //c - see HERE

Base of the CPU shows a checklist of model numbers with nothing ticked off, however keyboard end of motherboard has marking B612-0128 (B=British).  The equivalent German, French, Italian & Swedish motherboards are stamped with D, F, T or S in place of B.  Spanish (PAL) is designated I HERE is a photo of a German IIc motherboard with ROM 255 / $FF

 

Back of the "new" Apple //c monochrome monitor (240V Hitachi model) and close-ups of the PAL Modulator/Adapter A2M4023

 

I hooked the colour composite output of the PAL Modulator to my old Commodore 1084S monitor (Amiga RGB and PAL-only colour composite display).  Booted up the //c to be greeted by beautiful colour!  Some screenshots:-

   

  

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

The Commodore 1084S monitor also has a "green" switch to take care of any hankering for old-school monochrome:-

 

 

And here's a high quality capture I made of the Apple IIc PAL Modulator's output

Choplifter, David's Midnight Magic, Prince of Persia, Airheart...

(RCA composite video fed directly to PC TV tuner card)

 

 

The image qualities of the //c PAL Modulator/Adapter are similar to what you get with a PAL Apple //e —

Comparison screenshots:  //c PAL Modulator to 1084S monitor | PAL //e to 1084S monitor

In these examples showing mixed lo-res graphics & text, the funky colour fringing of text - very pronounced with the //c Modulator - is more subtle on PAL //e.  The //e with its integrated PAL colour circuitry has the edge in this particular instance, but for full screen graphics or text modes, you won't discern much of a difference.

 

 Side-by-side comparison of the Apple IIe IIc joystick platinum and beige models

 

 
                Apple Computer Australia Retail Price List for 1987 - Apple IIGS etc

Apple Joystick IIe and IIc  (A2M2012 platinum model)

Hi-res scan of original box & instruction leaflet now available HERE

 

Apple Computer Australia Retail Price List for 1987  [8-bit system prices are HERE]

Apple Joystick — A$105   Apple IIe Mouse  — A$295   Apple IIc Mouse  — A$169

ImageWriter II  — A$1195

I clearly remember how Myer department stores used to sell the Apple joystick for A$99.99 - at a time when they also carried the Apple //c - which in fact was quite heavily promoted by Apple e.g. around Christmas 1985, they published a huge multi-page lift-out devoted exclusively to the //c & //e in Australian newspapers.  It was coloured red like a Christmas stocking and had a comprehensive list of every dealer participating in the promotion (Myer and others)  A sampling of this publicity is preserved in full colour on the cover of The Australian Apple Review - December 1985 (Vol 2 No 9) issue and a complete microfilm scan is HERE   (In Western Australia, Myer took over Boans department chain in 1985 but most stores kept the name "Boans" until 1988.  Though Myer itself was already well established in Perth - see HERE.  In the Eastern States, Myer acquired Grace Bros department stores in 1983.  These Myer-owned chains all sold Apple.)  See also   1987 Grace Bros advertisement for Apple IIc colour system 

 

             

  The first blank 5.25" floppies I ever owned were the iconic Imagineering "Le Floppie" brand (sold by Myer).  They were a quality product.  The Imagineering firm, founded in 1980 by Jodee Rich - the American-born Australian whiz-kid - was one of the biggest distributors of computer software and hardware in Australia during the 1980's.

 

Apple IIc 1984 Christmas promotion (Grace Bros department store)

See also   "Apple Packages" Christmas 1984 brochure & Apple IIc official spec sheets 

 Imagineering's Star Attractions software catalogue 1986 - Apple II productivity, games, education 

 
      

 

 Apple Computer Australia  1985 Christmas bundle specials

Mind over Minors - Microzine - MasterType's Writer - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...

   

 

 “If this page were Christmas wrapping, which computer would you hope to find when you opened it up?” 

 

Apple IIc / IIe Christmas promotion — outsized newspaper liftout

1985 Apple Computer Australia

 

(each page of liftout approx. A3 size)

 
 

  Scan of Apple IIc/IIe Christmas liftout (1985 Australia)  [14MB PDF]

 

 

See also   Apple IIe & IIc Systems Authorised Retail Price List Australia (September 1985) 

 

 

 (YouTube video by 'Jarooosa')

 

 
 

  Twelve holiday software suggestions for your Apple Computer (Apple II & Macintosh) - 1985 Christmas brochure (USA)

 

 

 

 

 

See also related article   Apple IIc takes on IBM's PCjr (May 7, 1984 Newsweek) 

$1.5 million launch of Apple //c at San Francisco's Moscone Center with Jobs, Sculley & Wozniak

 

Apple IIc released (June 1984 Electronics Australia)    Apple's Solution to the Christmas Present (Dec 1984 San Bernardino Sun)  

Big Apple IIc promotional booklet (20 pages) & An Apple Christmas brochure (1984) 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11  (courtesy 'tumblekidsvintage' & 'the*hat*guy' on eBay)

Apple IIc LCD screen (March 1984 promo booklet USA/Canada)   Apple IIc intro disks (March 1984 promo booklet USA/Canada)

High-quality PDF scan of 20 page Apple IIc promotional booklet (A2F4001) now available at  The Trailing Edge 

 

 

Working //c Flat Panel Display (LCD) on UK Apple IIc

Working //c Flat Panel Display (LCD) on UK Apple //c

See also   Apple IIc & IIe Range Official Price List (United Kingdom) - January 1985 

 

Apple IIc Flat Panel Display manual (multi-lingual)

 

 

Apple IIc Keyboard Poster

from big Apple IIc promotional booklet (March 1984 USA/Canada)

 Download PDF (high-resolution scan)

 

 

Apple IIc Scribe User's Manual — Guide to Apple IIc

(1984 Apple Computer)

 Download PDF (231MB high-resolution scan)

 

The Apple IIc Reference Manual — twin volumes

(1984 Apple Product #A2L4030)

 

 

 

Apple IIc complete in original box     Apple IIc Disk Holder with Apple Access II disks

Apple IIc wins CES Chicago computer award (1984)

 

 Original paperwork for Apple //c in Australia (ca. 1984-85) 

 ⇩ High-resolution PDF scans  

Apple IIc International Packing List (Australia) - Z030-0846-A

Apple IIc Export Control Regulations (multi-lingual) - 030-1165

Apple Monitor IIc Packing List (1984) - 030-0942-A  {same as USA version}

Apple Monitor IIc Evaluation Report (1984) - 030-0952-A

Apple Computer 90 Day Limited Warranty (1983) - 030-0183-E REV 1183

AppleMouse IIc Packing List (1984) - 030-0962-B

 

Apple IIc 1985 New Year's specials

Rob's Computer Center of Dandenong (Melbourne)

 

German Apple IIc poster "Alles, was Sie brauchen. Der Apple IIc."
 

„Alles, was Sie brauchen. Der Apple IIc.“

(German Apple IIc poster)

See also   German Apple IIc complete with original box & disks - photos by Rόdiger Rost 

 

French L'Apple IIc complete boxed system

French Apple IIc complete original boxed system

 

Canadian Apple IIc original box & paraphernalia

Canadian Apple IIc original box & paraphernalia

 

    

 

 

 

 Apple announces a technological breakthrough of incredible proportions 

 

1984 Apple IIc brochure  (USA/Canada)

 

  High-resolution scan of 1984 Apple IIc brochure [26 MB] 

 

 

^ 2015-11-12 (last revised 2024-04-26)


Vintage Apple //c carry bag

 

 

AppleMouse IIc  (A2M4035 platinum model)

AppleMouse IIc  (A2M4035 platinum model)

^ 2016-10-04 (last revised 2020-02-29)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

VGA Adapter for PAL & NTSC Apple //c  (from a2heaven.com)

Very satisfying first test of Apple IIc VGA adapter - newly arrived 19 January 2016 - on a PAL Apple IIc & ViewSonic LCD monitor (VS12319).  (See further down for samples from an NEC MultiSync CRT monitor)

   

Apple //c VGA Adapter - first impressions

 

Impossible Mission II given the VGA makeover

 

 

 

F-15 Strike Eagle screenshots.  A small push-button at the front of the adapter lets you cycle between the available display modes, to suit any taste.  You have a choice of regular color ; NTSC color ; shade of green ; monochrome white / green / amber, plus optional scanline emulation (resembling a CRT monitor).

 

 

 

     

And for comparison, an Apple IIGS screenshot (AppleColor RGB Monitor)

 
 

   

 

My scan of MicroProse catalog with F-15 Strike Eagle, Silent Service etc. available HERE

 

LCD monitor's on-screen display showing VGA resolution of "640 x 400"  [NB: resolution of the Apple IIc VGA adapter is actually 720 x 480, but not all monitors report this accurately]

 

   This revision of the adapter works equally well on an NTSC Apple //c (although I couldn't test this) as it is auto-sensing and adapts to whichever type of //c you have.  From the official description:-

 

VGA screenshots from The Last Ninja, Randamn and Times of Lore on a PAL Apple //c

 

 

 

 

 Razor sharp text, here shown in colour, green, and amber modes

 

 

 

 

    BELOW: Comparative test of the Apple //c VGA adapter on an NEC MultiSync V721 VGA 17" monitor (CRT).  Overall, I found it superior to the ViewSonic LCD - not surprisingly with the NEC being a "true" VGA monitor, i.e. support for native resolution and refresh rate, so absolutely no pixel scaling issues or flicker.

 

ABOVE: Mr Robot title screen in colour, with & without scanlines

BELOW: Mr Robot in colour & shade of green

   

 

     

ABOVE: Gumball in colour, monochrome green/amber & shade of green on NEC MultiSync V721

BELOW: Gumball on Apple Monitor IIc

 

pfs:Write 80 column text sample (with scanlines)

NEC MultiSync V721

 

Genuine 1986 Apple dealer poster showing Apple IIc with pfs:Write & ImageWriter II

 

1986 Apple IIc dealer poster with pfs:Write & ImageWriter II

 

 "The Apple IIc Typewriter Plus system" 

 

pfs:Write

Original box & manual for Apple IIe (128K), IIc, IIGS (1986 Scholastic Edition)

 Download PDF (high quality scan)  [62MB]

 

Also available   PFS: WRITE scanned box & disks for Apple IIc and IIe (64K)  (1984 Software Publishing Corporation Edition) [7MB PDF] 

 PFS: WRITE manual for Apple IIc and IIe (64K)  (1984 Software Publishing Corporation Edition) [20MB PDF] 

^ 2016-01-19 (last revised 2020-09-16)


Microsoft Olympic Decathlon - Apple II original (box / disk / manual)

Wow look what we have here!  Olympic Decathlon is the first ever program I saw running on an Apple II and its theme song the first ever sound I heard emanating from an Apple speaker.  I had never encountered a computer before and my initial thought was - what the heck is that??

Out of curiosity (mostly), I searched for it on eBay in November 2015 and to my surprise, an original boxed version was just sitting there waiting to be snapped up.  I answered its beckoning call and it was safely delivered to my hands today!  Feeling complete now :-)

 

   

 

 Apple II games reviewed in July 1982 Australian Personal Computer - Firebird, Olympic Decathlon, Epoch, International Grand Prix, Fly Wars, Jellyfish, Star Blazer, ABM 

 Microsoft Software & Hardware Catalog for Apple II & IBM PC (1984) - high-resolution scan 

 

     

"Olympic Decathlon" was eventually renamed "Microsoft Decathlon" the word "Olympic" having been dropped along with the Olympic logo (due to licensing issues?)My original disk of this later edition specifically lists support for Apple II, II+, IIe, IIc and so dates from at least 1984.  If the disk label is to be believed, the game's memory requirement has increased to 64K (from 32K or 48K).

  

NOW AVAILABLE   Complete scan of Microsoft Decathlon original Apple II box, disk, manual & Australian warranty booklet (24MB PDF) 

 

 

^ 2015-12-03 (last revised 2020-02-23)


Colossus Chess 4.0 (1985) & Battle Chess Apple IIGS (1989)

   Colossus Chess IV advertisement & review (1986)   Colossus Chess 4.0 Apple II screenshots

  Battle Chess Apple IIGS screenshots

 

Trinity ~ Zork Zero ~ Beyond Zork

 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

 

Arcticfox & Marble Madness

Arcticfox screenshots AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021)

[High-resolution scans of Arcticfox original folder & disk are HERE & for Marble Madness see HERE]

 

Jeopardy! 25th Anniversary Edition & Empire 'Wargame of The Century'

[Empire Apple II Command Reference Card now available HERE]

 

Wheel of Fortune New 3rd Edition

 

The Ancient Art of War

[The Ancient Art of War original box & manual scans now available HERE & the Quick Reference Card is HERE]

 

Math and Me & Designasaurus Apple IIGS

  

[High-resolution scans of Revolution '76 original box & disks now available HERE]

 

"Logical Connections" AUSOM Christmas flyer (1989)

Logical Connections AUSOM Apple II Christmas flyer  Logical Connections AUSOM Apple II Christmas flyer

 

Fontrix Classic & Sequel

HERE is a review of Fontrix in Popular Mechanics (March 1984)

 

Kangaroo & ShowOff Apple IIGS

[High quality scan of Kangaroo & ShowOff disks is HERE]

 

Out of this World Apple IIGS

 

  High quality colour scans of my original Out of this World box and disks

 

 
 

  I acquired this mint Apple IIGS version of "Out of this World" from eBay (where else? — original listing of December 2016 HERE) - luck certainly played its part as original copies of this game are scarce. OOTW is one of few games I actually played right through to the end (lol), back in 1993.

 

 

The Dark Heart of Uukrul & Pirates! Apple IIGS

  

^ 2016-08-19 (last revised 2020-02-06)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

 Testing a new Mockingboard-K sound card (from Korea) on Apple IIGS 

 

   

 Bring the world of wireless audio to your Apple IIGS with an appropriate Bluetooth transmitter and headphones like the i.Tech MusicBAND 807

^ 2015-11-05 (last revised 2017-11-25)


 Lancaster (1983 Apple II game) with Mockingboard music on Apple IIGS 

I acquired the sealed original Lancaster (Mockingboard support version) from eBay at not inconsiderable expense, and it happily arrived just in time for Christmas!  This 1983 arcade game by Will Harvey boasts fluid animation and entertaining gameplay.  At first, I couldn't get it working on my Apple IIGS equipped with Mockingboard-K - it would hang at the splashscreen.  But I found that by pre-booting ProDOS 8 v.2.0.1, then inserting the game disk and rebooting with CTRL-APPLE-RESET fixed the problem.  Incidentally this technique also prevents side 2 of Willy Byte from stalling on a GS with Mockingboard.

 

   

Lancaster for Apple II original box        

Lancaster Apple II original sealed box, diskette & documentation

 

[Lancaster Mockingboard version disk image (Wildcard backup) now available HERE]

^ 2015-12-23 (last revised 2019-10-02)


 Testing a new Mockingboard v1a (ReActiveMicro) with speech chip on Apple IIe 

 

The Mockingboard v1a from UltimateMicro is a clone of the Sweet Micro Systems "Mockingboard A" - with its two AY-3-8913 chips giving six audio channels and two open sockets for the (hard to source) SSI-263 speech chips.  Since I wanted the full Mockingboard sound/speech experience for my //e, and the speech chip happened to be in stock, I seized the initiative and placed an order in January 2016!

 

 

The Mockingboard v1a, shown before and after installation of a single speech chip (I was provided with a 78A263A which is identical to the SSI-263) - effectively turning it into a "Mockingboard C" (six audio channels + speech).  Audio is output through a stereo jack and there is even a provision for the Apple speaker sounds to be fed externally using the supplied motherboard lead.

 

"Mockingboard" from Sweet Micro Systems (1983) - spot the family resemblance?

 [photo courtesy of eBay]

 

 

The official Sweet Micro Systems Mockingboard sound/speech demo disk

Hear the Mockingboard v1a talk and sing (direct recording to line-in of an Edirol R-09HR)

 

 

Fond recollections of the Hong Kong PCL PRO-Mockingboard...

[Scan courtesy of Johnson Lam — http://optimizr.dyndns.org/apple/mockingboard.html ]

My very first Mockingboard - the "Pro-Mockingboard" depicted in the above brochure - was procured on a jaunt to Hong Kong's Golden Computer Arcade.  The shop - which may have been located on the Arcade's middle floor - had several variants on display in a glass cabinet and I opted for the one with audio and speech capabilities.  It had a mini jack & RCA sockets for stereo output and on-board pots for volume adjustment and came supplied with photocopied instructions.  It provided 15 channels (possibly more than Applied Engineering's Phasor, although some of them may have been reserved for percussive effects), but exploiting that potential would have required special software which I never had.  I assume the music keyboard seen in the brochure was designed to interface with this Mockingboard.  They had one on display to the left of the sales counter and this was offered to me, along with song disks ("gor dip"), but those extras had to be turned down - my budget as a primary school student didn't stretch that far!

Back in Australia, I had a friend named Mazi who owned AE Phasor.  A visit to his home was a surefire treat - he originally hailed from California and boy, seemed to have everything under the sun!  I borrowed his AE Phasor software which proved to be compatible with my Pro-Mockingboard.  It would run without modifications and what you heard was correct though maybe only 6 of the 12 music channels were audible in the songs.  The sound effects samples played fine.  Interestingly, the Phasor software flat out refuses to operate with a regular Mockingboard (see screenshot HERE) So the Pro-Mockingboard (by Peninsula Computerland of Hong Kong) was evidently more Phasor-like in design (Phasor came out in 1984 at a time when many popular Apple II peripherals were being cloned in the Far East).  The Pro-Mockingboard was indeed fully "Mockingboard C" compatible (6 channels + speech) and gave me many hours of pleasure but regrettably, I sold it off in the early 1990s with my //e system of the time... (well I needed funds for other upgrades!)

 

Music Construction Set - 1985 Apple ][ Hong Kong Mockingboard version with music of Leslie Cheung

 (YouTube video by ハヤシトシオ)

 

 

It turns out there was at least one other Mockingboard clone from Hong Kong known as the "Mustalgame Card" (short for MUSic TALk GAME).  Manufactured by Capital Computer Co., it sported two AY-3-891x chips giving 6 music channels as well as integrated Software Automatic Mouth (S.A.M.) for speech.  It also provided stereo amplification of the Apple II speaker sound without the need of an interconnecting cable.  For more details please refer:

eBay listing photo

(courtesy A. Vignau's "French Touch" sale)

 

Mustalgame photos

   

@ Apple II Documentation Project

Mustalgame manual

 

Well so much for the clones.  Hong Kong also made genuine Mockingboards for Sweet Micro Systems:

Mockingboard SSP2000 REV. D (1985) with Bank Street Music Writer

Mockingboard SSP2000 REV. D (1985)

— as bundled in Australia with Bank Street Music Writer —

^ 2016-02-02 (last revised 2020-03-04)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Enhanced Apple //e system with mind-boggling software collection

I am indebted to long-time Apple enthusiast Hans Halupka of Canberra for agreeing to furnish me with his treasured Apple IIe system and an all-encompassing software collection, many magazines, manuals, original boxes, peripheral cards...  on the morning of Christmas Eve (2015), I joyfully took delivery of the entire collection (shipped in 14 large boxes) and eagerly set to work unpacking and configuring the system.

Here are photos of the "finished" setup, taken on the evening of 24 December.  The Apple Dot Matrix Printer, KoalaPad, Kaga RGB vision-II monitor, UniDisk 3.5", 2 x Disk II 5.25" drives, Anko joystick, platinum //e mouse (A2M2070), and system fan were all included as part of the package.  Also a spare mouse (A2M4015Z) not depicted here.  (I added a 4-way 9-pin serial switchbox to permit easy switching of multiple joysticks)

 
 

Anko Joystick - from the makers of Kraft    Kraft Precision Joystick for Apple II

 

 

Apple IIe ad (Feb 1983 BYTE)   Apple IIe review (Feb 1983 BYTE)   Apple IIe released (April 1983 Electronics Australia)   Apple IIe 1982 brochure with system prices

Apple IIe 1984 brochure (cover)

  NB: The 'e' in Apple IIe stands for 'enhanced' (in relation to the Apple II Plus) - don't confuse this with the "Enhanced Apple IIe" introduced in 1985 (with new ROMs & 65C02 CPU akin to the Apple IIc).  The BYTE review (Feb 1983) above-centre refers to the early Revision A Apple IIe, which was replaced just a few months later by Revision B (adding support for double hi-res colour graphics).  Apple offered the A-B upgrade for free, but charged for the enhanced upgrade in the form of the dealer-installed "Apple IIe Enhancement Kit".  All Apple IIe's produced from March 1985 onwards came enhanced as standard, including of course the Platinum IIe sold between 1987-1993.  The IIe which I acquired from Hans is a pre-1985 unit that was subsequently enhanced and has a "65C02" label over the keyboard power light.

 

Apple IIe 1984 brochure (excerpt)

 

As featured in brochure - Drol (1983 Broderbund) original box & disk available HERE & HERE & HERE

 
 

"A peeled Apple IIe" poster

 
 

(1985 Apple Computer Australia)

 
 

I used to have the above poster on my wall!  Compliments of an Apple dealer in Perth (one just had to ask nicely).  It shows the PAL Apple IIe with UK keyboard that was sold in Australia at the time.  Like a lot of things, it got tossed over the years — above photo is sourced from web.

 

HQ image now available HERE

 

 

  

"The Apple IIe Keyboard" poster

A3 size double-sided (ca 1985-86 Apple Computer Australia)

 Download PDF (high-resolution scan)

 

 

"Win one of 10 Apple IIe Personal Computer Systems" competition

(September 1983 Cleo magazine Australia)

 

Photos of Hans Halupka's near-miraculous Apple II 5.25" floppy disk collection (with many originals).  It took 5 x stackable plastic twin drawers (obtained from Officeworks) to house them all.

   

 

Some of the manuals and books included with the collection (near complete set of Apple IIe manuals and much more besides...)

   

Official Apple IIe manuals shown above include:
Apple //e Owner's Manual  (1982/83) — Apple Product #A2L2001 (030-0356-C)
Applesoft Tutorial for //e  (1982) —
Apple Product #A2L2003 (030-0358-A)
ProDOS User's Manual  (1983) —
Apple Product #A2L2014 (030-0361-A)
DOS User's Manual for II, II+, //e  (1983) —
Apple Product #A2L2002 (030-0407-A)
DOS Programmer's Manual for II, II+, //e  (1982) —
Apple Product #A2L2012 (030-0536-A)
Applesoft BASIC Programmer's Reference Manual Volume I for //e  (1982) —
Apple Product #A2L2005 (030-0359-A)
Applesoft BASIC Programmer's Reference Manual Volume II for //e  (1982) —
Apple Product #A2L2005 (030-0507-A)

These are period correct manuals for the Apple //e ca. 1983/84.  The Owner's Manual (along with supplements & addenda) was supplied with the purchase of a new //e CPU.

The full Disk ][ retail package of 1983 (with 16 sector interface card) should have included DOS User's Manual & DOS Programmer's Manual (replacing The DOS Manual of the ][+ era), and from 1984, the ProDOS User's Manual.

Apple began selling the DuoDisk in 1984 and Unidisk 5.25" ca. 1985.  The DuoDisk Apple IIe Accessory Kit originally consisted of a bundle of Controller Card (DB-19), DuoDisk Owner's Manual,

ProDOS User's Manual (030-0361), ProDOS Supplement to the Apple //e Owner's Manual (030-0899), DOS 3.3 System Master disk (680-0210) & ProDOS User's Disk (680-0224).

 

Other manuals, such as the Apple //e Reference Manual (1982) [with Reference Manual Addendum: Monitor ROM listings (1982)] were available from dealers — please refer table on the left:-

   Apple IIe Packing List (USA)   Apple IIe European Packing List

Above right:-  Early Apple IIe Packing Lists for USA & Europe (courtesy of WWW)

Hi-res scan of European Warranty Registration Sheet for Apple II & III now available HERE

See also Apple IIe Guide to the New Features (1982) {A2F2114} available HERE

Below:-  DuoDisk & Disk ][ dealer pricing — November 1984 (USA)

 

ProDOS Technical Reference Manual (030-0360)  &  ProDOS Exerciser disk (680-0262)  (Apple Workbench)  (1983)

  

 

[Apple Dot Matrix Printer User's Manual Part II: Guide to Apple II now available HERE - for Part I: Reference see HERE]

 Timemaster II H.O. User Manual REV 1.1 (1984)  — complete scan now available HERE

Apple II Super Serial Card — high-resolution scans of original box, packing list & hardware now available HERE

 

Comparison of all variants of the original beige Apple //e (USA & international)
 

   

 

Apple IIe Supplement to the Owner's Manual (1982)

English/French/German/Spanish/Portuguese/Italian

 

Complete scan now available HERE [14MB PDF]

 

Photos of RARE Enhanced Apple //e with Western Spanish keyboard (A2S2064E model - 115V NTSC - circa 1985) are HERE

 

Original software boxes and manuals (plus binders with photocopied documentation) - much of what you see here was delivered as part of the collection

     

Lothlorien Software ad for Apple II (March 1984 - Your Computer)   The German Tutor for Apple II by Lothlorien Software

 

       

   

[Microzine handbook - Pirates of the Soft Seas etc now available HERE]

 

 

  

Softdisk for Apple II scanned original covers — issues 98-104

(1989-90 Softdisk Publishing)

 Download PDF (high-resolution scan)

 

 The Apple II Blue Book (2nd edition) & The Apple User's Encyclopedia

 

 

Also featured were this beautiful set of Apple II magazines - A+, inCider, Nibble, COMPUTE!'s Apple Applications, Apple User (UK), various user group publications (Applecations etc), plus photocopied manuals, etc.

Applecations magazine (Apple Users' Group Sydney) - selected news, reviews, tips, tutorials —  Aug 1986 - July 1990 [134MB PDF file] | Nov 1990 - May 1992 [125MB PDF file]

 

UNPACKING PHOTOS WITH CLOSE-UPS

The centrepiece of the collection - Apple //e (PAL model) with 65C02 & enhanced ROM upgrade

 

Rear views of the Apple //e showing ASTEC 230V power supply & underside with model/serial number

   

 

Interior view of Apple //e showing pre-installed cards

Slot 1 - FingerPrint Plus

Slot 2 - TimeMaster II H.O. clock card

Auxiliary slot - Digicard 64K extended 80 column RGB card for Apple //e

Slot 4 - Apple //e mouse card
Slot 5 - Unidisk 3.5" controller card
Slot 6 - Disk II interface card
Slot 7 - Apple II Memory Expansion Card (1MB)

Hi-res scan of Apple II Memory Expansion Card (hardware front & back) now available HERE

 

 

Disk II drives and Apple Dot Matrix Printer [220/240V model A2M0059] (see below for UniDisk 3.5")

   

 

[Apple Dot Matrix Printer User's Manual Part II: Guide to Apple II now available HERE - for Part I: Reference see HERE]

 

Apple Dot Matrix Printer Reference Card

 

[Apple Dot Matrix Printer Reference Card now available HERE - hi-res scan]

 

The Apple Dot Matrix Printer is a rebadged C.Itoh Prowriter 8510 (parallel model)

 
 

NB: The replacement for the DMP - the ImageWriter I - is more or less a C.Itoh 8510 (serial model) with redesigned case (15" wide carriage version also available)

The built-in fonts are the same as those of the Apple DMP, with the addition of a new 13.4 CPI "semicondensed" mode

 

The ImageWriter II, introduced in 1985, has a stylish new look, adds Near Letter Quality & Draft fonts, MouseText support, colour printing, networking, more advanced paper handling and greater speed, yet retains software compatibility with the earlier models and all take the same black ribbon cartridge

 The "Standard" quality (aka Correspondence) ASCII fonts of the ImageWriter II have the same appearance as the regular text output of an Apple DMP or ImageWriter I

 

See also   Font samples from Apple Dot Matrix Printer, ImageWriter I, Scribe Thermal Printer - printouts scanned @ 300 dpi 

 

  

Missing drive labels?  Disk ][ 3D stickers from a2heaven.com are the answer!

 

 

 

Kaga RGB vision-II 12" colour monitor (Taxan) [240V model] - rear connectors

 

 READ a review of Kaga/Taxan RGB Vision-II monitor by Your Computer magazine (June 1985) 

 

Taxan advertisement RGB vision monitor (February 1984, inCider)

 

[Scan courtesy of Asimov FTP server ]

 

Ads for Taxan RGB monitors & Apple II peripherals etc (March 1983 BYTE & March 1986 Electronics Today AU)

  

"Unlimited colors through linear amplifier video circuit..."

 

[Kaga Taxan RGB Vision Color Monitor Manual now available HERE]

 

 

 

 BY-LINE 

Apple IIGS monitor alternative?

It seems some people have successfully used Kaga Taxan as an alternative monitor for the Apple IIGS.  I've personally had experience with a Thomson RGB monitor (model CM 31381 VIR) on the IIGS.  Excellent image with 0.38mm dot pitch and 12" display area, and a handy dial at the front lets you toggle different colour modes plus monochrome green & amber.  As with Kaga, a custom cable to match up the signals is all that's needed.  The Thomson sports DE-9 (TTL / Analogue RGB), SCART & composite video inputs.  Though no longer working here's how it looks:-

   

Thomson RGB monitor with custom-made connector for Apple IIGS

     

 

Thomson color composite monitor ad for Apple IIc & IIe etc.

 

November 1986 COMPUTE!

  courtesy www.commodore.ca

NB: "A Hands-On Look At The New Apple IIGS Computer" is this issue's featured cover story

 

 
   

 

KoalaPad (Apple II 16-pin model)

 

   

 

I hope this KoalaPad doesn't feel lonesome as koalas aren't found in Perth... but there is a tiny marsupial cousin - the adorable "quokka" !! (I took these photos on Rottnest Island in September 2014)

 

 

TG Products Select-A-Port

 

Info on TG Products Select-A-Port - a nifty piece of kit for connecting multiple 16-pin Apple II gaming/joystick devices

 

Gaming paddles

[These were early, official paddles from Apple ("Hand Controllers") — see HERE for original box photo]

 

Taxan 80 column & RGB card for the Apple IIe - original box with contents

   

[Manual available HERE]

 

PerfectData 5.25" disk drive head cleaning kit

 

 

 

Box containing spare peripheral cards - EDD Plus copy card, Auto Mouth Talk Card (S.A.M. / Software Automatic Mouth), Grappler+ printer interface etc.

 

Essential Data Duplicator (EDD) - a copy program for the Apple II - is the brainchild of Donald A. Schnapp.  Published by his company Utilico Software (of Napa, California and Bondi Beach, Sydney), it was continually updated over a long period and vigorously marketed till the end.  The main arm of the business in America was restyled to "Utilico Microware" by 1984.  Australian sales and support were handled by Dr Kremer (the office being co-located within his surgical practice).  Early formative work on the software was done when Don was still attending high school in the United States (this info comes courtesy of fellow student David Orriss Jr).  Eventually he teamed up with Charles J. Rosenberg, teenage inventor of an auxiliary disk drive controller capable of reading raw bitstreams, and the result was the supremely powerful "EDD 4 Plus" (software + card combo).

     

EDD Plus cable for UniDisk 5.25" or DuoDisk (DB-19 connector)

 

 

 DuoDisk/UniDisk 5.25" Cable Upgrade Kit instructions for EDD 4 Plus 

  

Video of EDD 4+ card in action backing up original Microsoft Decathlon is HERE

 

Grappler+ by Orange Micro

 

A widely emulated standard for Apple II parallel printer interfaces

 

 1991 Grappler+ ROM image (v3.2) & high quality card photos  are HERE

[Grappler+ brochure available HERE and manual for The Bufferboard is HERE]

 

The auxiliary slot of the Apple IIe came preconfigured with the Digicard Extended 80 column RGB card (manufactured by Maclagan Wright & Associates of Melbourne).  This is a really great piece of hardware.

Some pages from the Digicard manual describing its key features:

 

 

 "... Note that the switch under the front of the Apple now changes the Apple HI-RES modes between colour and monochrome" 

 

Digicard DIP switch settings - user-selectable colours for normal and inverse text in 40 & 80 columns

 

[Digicard 64K Extended 80 Column RGB Card for Apple IIe Instruction Manual now available HERE]

 

Here is what AppleWorks looks like on the Kaga RGB vision-II monitor with the Digicard configured to display text in dark blue.  As you can see, 80 column text is very crisp and usable:-

 

 

 For certain applications - e.g. those using double hi-res colour - menus and graphical text are barely readable (but this is no different to regular composite displays).  Screenshot of MultiScribe on the Kaga RGB vision-II monitor with Digicard in colour mode:-

But fear not!  Flip the rocker switch underneath the Apple //e keyboard, and the Digicard instantly converts to monochrome (560 x 192 double hi-res in this example) - now all the screen elements in MultiScribe are perfectly legible!

 

Double hi-res screenshots of Neuromancer on the Kaga RGB vision-II monitor with Digicard in colour mode:-

 

 

Battletech

 

Prince of Persia, Spy vs Spy, Paperboy, Maniac Mansion, Gumball & Archon II on the Kaga RGB vision-II monitor

       

      Gumball screenshot Apple IIe Kaga/Taxan RGBvision-II monitor   

 

Close-ups of the Kaga RGB vision-II monitor (front) and the fingerpad of the FingerPrint Plus.  Pressing the fingerpad interrupts the running program, and up pops a menu with useful options (screen dump etc)

   

 

First tryout of Apple Dot Matrix Printer - Airheart screen dump made with FingerPrint Plus

[Manual for FingerPrint Plus available HERE]

 

 Skyfox screen dump FingerPrint Plus to Apple Dot Matrix Printer demo video 

 

 

Plastic transportation disk (for UniDisk 3.5" drive)

 

 

Hans Halupka also collected information and articles on subjects which interested him, all meticulously indexed on his Apple //e

 

   

 

 

   

Hans describes the database system in his own words (from user group newsletter of 1989)

   

  Mr H on his databases

 

 
 

 

 UPDATE 

Complementary items snagged during a Perth "garage sale"

 

KoalaPad in original box

 

 

 

 

Vintage Apple II carry bag

 

 
   
 

   
 

 

Apple co-founder Mike Markkula with his Apple II carry bag, showing correct use of top pocket for storing cassettes

 

230V Apple II Plus (Euromod) or Europlus power supply serial # A2M0030-007536

 

 

 

^ 2015-12-26 (last revised 2024-04-26)


Apple IIe Extended 80-Column Text & Colour Video Card (assembled in Australia)

Apple Computer part number A661-91097

   

Mr GC kindly permitted me to photograph this Apple IIe (pre-platinum PAL model) with an Australian made extended 80-column video card.  I don't think I've ever seen one of these before!  Rather unusually, it plugs into both the auxiliary slot and slot 3 (which line up directly in the PAL IIe).  The slot 3 connector is a mostly blank wafer with just a single "finger" making electrical contact inside the slot.  The card has an RCA composite output which yields a better picture on the 240V ColorMonitor IIe or AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe than the standard video output jack of the motherboard.

Extended 80-Column Colour Card A661-91097 - NTSC/50 for PAL Apple //e

[I found good photos HERE and an intriguing discussion HERE.  Note that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the PAL Apple IIe's standard composite video output - e.g. see my Jumpman screenshot (PAL IIe direct to PAL Commodore 1084S monitor).  Yet surprisingly, the 240V ColorMonitor IIe or IIc cannot decode PAL (4.43MHz) colour burst at all and only produce colour with 50Hz NTSC (3.56MHz).  The PAL Apple IIe motherboard has a colour toggle switch and with PAL colours disabled (i.e. switch in "mono" setting) video output reverts to a 50Hz NTSC-like signal — just not of the exact type which the 240V ColorMonitor IIe expects.  According to AUSOM News (March 1987), the colours appear swapped around i.e. blue is red, green is blue, red is green Donkey Kong screenshot {wrong colours}.  It seems this monitor only displays correct colour when fed a compliant NTSC/50 signal, which is supplied by this special video card (A661-91097) on the PAL IIe.  Whether the equivalent ColorMonitor IIe in Europe needs the same workaround I cannot say.  Those units (if they actually exist) won't be the same as those sold in Australia - besides voltage (likely 220V), and a northern hemisphere-tuned CRT picture tube, the logic board could also differ...  Evidently though the European ColorMonitor IIc (A2M4043Z) shares the same logic board as the Australian ColorMonitor IIe & IIc (A2M2056X & A2M4043X)  Photo: logic board  courtesy of Arcade King @ aussiearcade.com forum  — this actually makes sense as the native video output of any 220/240V Apple IIc is NTSC 3.56Mhz (50Hz) and pairs perfectly with 240V ColorMonitor IIe/IIc or AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe/IIc   see also Photo: Oscilloscope waveform - colour burst of European Apple IIc  courtesy Marco Orlandi ]

 

Illustrative pictorial sourced from Australian eBay...

   

LEFT: ColorMonitor IIe on 240V PAL Apple //e with "extended 80-column colour card"

RIGHT: Enlarged views 240V ColorMonitor IIe (A2M2056X)

 

NB: According to the discussion HERE the 240V "AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe" (A2M6021X platinum model) only supports colour with "International NTSC-50" and not PAL (having now obtained an A2M6021X of my own I can personally confirm this finding) This situation also pertains to the earlier 240V beige "ColorMonitor IIe" (A2M2056X) made between 1985-86 (seen above) - the "better" match (cosmetically) for the original beige PAL //e in Australia/New Zealand (when fitted with A661-91097 video card!).  NB: A2M6021X retains the same logic board of the A2M2056X.

 

 

     

Extended 80 Column Text and Video Card ("Colour Card") — NTSC/50 for the PAL Apple //e

LEFT: Original box with part # A2A0004

 

MIDDLE: Some cards were also being produced in Singapore

RIGHT: Apple Panic colour screenshot  (courtesy T. Stewart)

This replaced the old Extended 80-Column Text Card in Australia and New Zealand ca. 1986 and became standard equipment on every 128K PAL //e sold that year.

It could also be purchased separately by existing PAL //e owners wishing to upgrade to 128K 80-columns and for attaching an Apple ColorMonitor IIe or IIc (240V models).

NB: This card is obsolete where the Platinum 'International NTSC' Apple IIe is concerned

 

Extended 80-Column Text and Video Card Addendum available HERE  (courtesy P. Howard)

"... this card includes a special video output port for use with the Apple COLOUR MONITOR IIe or Apple COLOUR MONITOR IIc in a 220V-240V country"

 

 

David Wilson furnishes some technical details of the card —

 

Apple ColorMonitor Installation Manual (IIe/IIc) (80 pages)

English / French / German / Italian / Spanish

(1985 Apple Computer)

 Download PDF (27MB high quality scan)

 
 

This manual only describes NTSC/50 and NTSC/60 versions of the Apple ColorMonitor (no mention of PAL at all).  If this official info is correct, then the video card A661-91097 (AUS-0004) must output an NTSC/50 colour signal.  Some pertinent info HERE.  The motherboard RCA jack of the beige PAL Apple //e is also capable of a quasi NTSC/50 with the colour toggle switch of the motherboard set to mono.  Refer discussion HERE.  In mono switch setting, the PAL colour circuitry of the //e is disabled whilst some kind of NTSC colour burst is introduced, yet this signal isn't fully compatible with these NTSC/50 monitors - the symptom manifests as colours being swapped around i.e. blue is red, green is blue, red is green see screenshot HERE.  The A661-91097 video card rectifies this problem on the PAL //e.

These same NTSC/50 monitors happen to work just fine on every other 8-bit Apple II model sold in PAL regions (Euro II/II+, IIc and Platinum IIe 'International NTSC') - no workaround necessary for those machines as they already produce a 50Hz NTSC colour signal of the expected format.

 

Apple IIe PAL colour switch

Apple //e PAL colour switch

 

 

Table comparing all international variants of the beige Apple //e

Apple IIe Supplement to the Owner's Manual (1982)

Complete scan available HERE [14MB PDF]

 

Rare Apple IIe with Western Spanish keyboard (A2S2064E 115V NTSC)

 Enhanced Apple //e with Western Spanish keyboard (rarity!) 

 

 A2S2064E model (115V NTSC) - circa 1985 

Apple II Europlus

 

Mr GC also had this gorgeous, mint condition Apple II Europlus

Apple II on cover of Electronics Australia (February 1979)

High-resolution scan of Apple II review from Electronics Australia now available HERE

 

ComputerLand (Melbourne) Apple II Plus ad (above)  &  description of the Apple II Plus (below)

Both from my 1980 edition of "Electronics Australia - Microprocessors & Personal Computers"

(did they actually sell the NTSC Apple II Plus in Australia, during the very early days?)

 

    I found the definitive answer HERE - the "Eurapple" mod was standard in the early Australian Apple II Plus (i.e. 50Hz "PAL" B&W output via motherboard RCA jack), and PAL colour RF modulator card was an optional extra.  Special considerations - the 240V ColorMonitor/AppleColor Composite IIe/IIc monitors will work for direct-connect colour as they correctly interpret the 3.56MHz NTSC subcarrier of Euromod machines - see video demonstration.

  

Apple UCSD Pascal  &  C.E.D. Card Reader  —  ads by ComputerLand (Melbourne)

Electronics Australia - June & July 1980

 

Apple II Graphics Tablet (A2M2007)

photos courtesy eBay

 

ComputerLand magazine & newspaper ads (Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney)

 

Apple II advertisement

Electronics Australia - October 1981

Early Apple II reference manuals supplied by ComputerLand Australia

^ 2016-05-16 (last revised 2023-04-12)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

AppleColor Composite Monitor & Platinum Apple IIe — International Varieties

   

AppleColor Composite Monitor specifications

 

Feedback card with Apple Computer Australia warranty insert

 

 

   

                     NTSC Apple II  — Master crystal 14.318 MHz  divide by 4 →   3.58 MHz NTSC colour burst (@ 60Hz)
                     PAL-region Apple II  — Master crystal 14.250 MHz  divide by 4 →   3.56 MHz NTSC colour burst (@ 50Hz) "International NTSC"
                     PAL Apple IIe colour circuit  (active when motherboard colour switch enabled)    4.43 MHz PAL colour burst (@ 50Hz)

NB:  120V model AppleColor Composite monitors support 3.58 MHz NTSC colour (60Hz)

220/240V AppleColor Composite monitors support 3.56 MHz NTSC colour (50Hz)

I'm not aware of any Apple-brand monitor compatible with PAL 4.43 MHz colour (at least no such model was sold in Australia or Europe)

   

 

AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe

 

A2M6021X 240V 'International NTSC-50' model for the southern hemisphere

 

      Genuine Apple II composite video cable 590-0539-A   AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe original box (Australian model)  

Unlike its 120V North American counterpart, this 240V model has a detached power cord

 

Packing List for North American version (A2M6021)

 

"ColorMonitor IIe / IIc" - as they were originally called when launched in late 1985

Apple ColorMonitor IIe

A2M2056X 240V 'International NTSC-50' model as sold in Australia & New Zealand

See also   New release ColorMonitor IIe/IIc with Australian pricing - Your Computer (November 1985) 

      Review of ColorMonitor IIe from The Apple II Review (Spring 1986) 

My scan of  Apple ColorMonitor Installation Manual  (1985 multi-language edition) now available HERE

 
 

"Technically, the ColorMonitor IIe is an RGB monitor on the inside... A standard composite video jack "looks" at the computer's video signal.  If the color burst frequency is present, the signal is split from composite video into its components (red, green, blue and sync signals)."  — The Apple II Review (Spring 1986)

 

 

  

Apple ColorMonitor IIe & IIc original boxes

 

NB: ColorMonitor IIe is beige, whereas AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe is platinum - colour-matched for original Apple IIe and platinum IIe, respectively.  I was unclear whether the IIc model was ever released in the PAL countries.  Both the original 128K PAL Apple IIc i.e. model #A2S4000* (*=Z, F, B, D, T, N etc) and the later model //c for those markets (e.g. A2S4100X - "memory expansion" model a.k.a. "enhanced IIc") were inherently capable of colour, outputting an 'International NTSC-50' type of signal compatible with 220-240V models of the AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (e.g. A2M6021X) - see screenshots HERE & discussion HERE).  Apple-Bug (February 1988) - the newsletter of Apple-Q Brisbane - published a pricelist for AppleCare in Australia.  Extended warranty coverage for "Colour Mon.IIc", "Flat Panel Display.IIc" and even "Apple III" could be purchased from Apple Computer Australia - intriguing no?  An official Australian Apple Product List (1988-89) does show "IIc Colour" monitor.  So without a doubt, the 240V IIc colour monitor is for real!

 

These 1987 retail price lists for Australia give A$795 as the cost of an Apple //c Colour Monitor (A$80 for matching monitor stand)

Dust covers for "//c Colour System" were even available from Apple Users' Group Sydney (ad on right)

 

Apple II systems price list 1987 (Apple Computer Australia)   Apple IIe IIc IIGS colour monitor pricing - APC Hardware Guide 1987  

See also   Apple IIc colour system advertisement Australia - 1987 Grace Bros (New South Wales) @ Twitter 

 

 Actual examples of this most elusive of Apple //c monitors! 

240V AppleColor Composite Monitor (IIc) (A2M6020X)

ABOVE: photo courtesy 'musovern' (of New Zealand) @ aussiearcade.com {image URL}

Original discussion topic HERE

BELOW: photos courtesy Danny & Ian (of Australia)

   240V AppleColor Composite Monitor (IIc) (A2M6020X)   

 

 

  

240V ColorMonitor IIc (A2M4043X)  &  matching monitor stand (A2M4027)

 

ColorMonitor IIc Stand (A2M4027)

 

Apple IIc — 220/240V model (50Hz video output)

Assembled in Ireland

 

COLOUR with direct attachment to 240V ColorMonitor IIc (A2M4043X)

Reader Rabbit on 240V ColorMonitor IIc (A2M4043X)

 → see also CHOPLIFTER screenshot (220/240V Apple IIc to matching 240V ColorMonitor IIc)

 

Apple II Monitor Stand (A2M4029) original box  

 

eBay photos of original box for Apple II Monitor Stand (A2M4029) - introduced early 1987

Coloured platinum, this stand suits ColorMonitor IIc, AppleColor Composite Monitor (IIc) and RGB or mono IIGS monitors.  Monitor sits flat with the feet detached.  With feet slotted in place, the monitor is tilted up (allowing room for a raised //c to fit below the front lip).  The earlier ColorMonitor IIc Stand (A2M4027) is angled by design (lacks detachable feet) and suits the same monitors, but is coloured snow white to match the original IIc.  Its front overhang only has enough clearance for an unraised //c (handle retracted) to tuck beneath.  The tilt-and-swivel Apple Universal Monitor Stand (M0403) was introduced 1987 for Macintosh II monitors yet is also officially compatible with the aforementioned IIc and IIGS monitors.

 

 

     AppleColor Composite Monitor (IIc) with Apple II Monitor Stand

 

 There's a lot to be said for owning an Apple IIc 

 

ca. 1986-87 Apple IIc brochure  (USA)

Showcasing AppleColor Composite Monitor (IIc)  & more...

 

  High-resolution scan of Apple IIc brochure [21 MB] 

 

 

 

The 120V version monitors sold in North America support colour with regular NTSC 3.58 MHz only (other video modes i.e. PAL 4.43 MHz & NTSC-50 (3.56 MHz) will come up in monochrome).  'International NTSC-50' was a hybrid phenomenon first seen in the Apple II Europlus/Euromod (ca. 1979+) and the original 128K Apple IIc (April 1984) and subsequently extended to the 'memory expansion' Apple IIc (September 1986) and platinum Apple IIe (January 1987) - as sold in PAL markets.  Any 220-240V model of the ColorMonitor IIe/IIc or AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe/IIc ought to be compatible.  The specification defines a 3.562456 MHz colour burst and vertical and horizontal scanning frequencies of 50 Hz & 15.659 kHz.  A hardware modification to convert International NTSC Apple IIe to regular NTSC is described HERE.

The original pre-platinum Apple IIe sold in PAL markets from 1983-86 has a regular PAL 4.43 colour output (compatible with many TVs & any PAL monitor) — but this machine is the exception to the rule, as all other 8-bit Apple II models released in PAL region are natively 50Hz NTSC 3.56 and will need extra help to produce a PAL colour signal (e.g. PAL Colour Encoder Card for Europlus, A2M4023 PAL Modulator/Adapter for IIc).

Other considerations — when a CRT monitor designed for the northern hemisphere is operated in the southern hemisphere (or vice versa), certain colours may appear faded or patchy in some parts of the screen - a consequence of the CRT picture tube having been factory calibrated for the magnetic field of the opposing hemisphere.

 

Apple //e — NTSC /  PAL /  International NTSC flavours

American Apple IIe NTSC motherboard Rev. B (1983)       

  

  AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe A2M6021X 240V 'International NTSC' model for southern hemisphere   Platinum Apple IIe 'International NTSC' A2S2128X model (Australia & N.Z.)      Platinum Apple IIe 'International NTSC' A2S2128X model info

Screenshots from AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X 240V NTSC-50 model)

on my platinum 'International NTSC' Apple IIe (A2S2128X Australian model)

 

Alien Arcade — Skyfox — Airheart — Europe Ablaze — Prince of Persia — Apple //e RGB Demo — Summer Games II — Gumball — Transylvania — Mario Bros — Lode Runner — Karateka — Apple IIe self-diagnostic

      Airheart screenshot AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe A2M6021X 'International NTSC' 

Prince of Persia screenshot AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe A2M6021X 'International NTSC'     

Double hi-res colours AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe A2M6021X 'International NTSC'   

   

 

Gumball in colour and monochrome white

(monitor's front control panel has a mono toggle button)

       

The A2M6021X supports colour with 50Hz "International NTSC" (3.56 MHz) only (other video modes i.e. PAL 4.43 & NTSC 3.58 will come up in monochrome)

 

To see colour on this display you'll need either a 220-240V Platinum Apple IIe 'International NTSC'  or  any 220-240V Apple //c (e.g. A2S4000B, A2S4100X)  or  Apple ][ Europlus/Euromod (direct hookup)  or a  220-240V PAL Apple //e with Extended 80-Column Colour Card (A661-91097)

equivalent clones will also work e.g. Pravetz 8M

 The Apple IIGS can be toggled between 60 and 50hz vertical scanning frequency via the System Standards control panel which affects both RGB and composite video.  NTSC colour burst remains fixed at 3.58MHz (American standard) hence the GS is not colour-compatible with these 240V NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) monitors.  It also has no provision for PAL colour (4.43MHz) via composite.  The GS will of course do colour over any regular NTSC display (60Hz guarantees a stable picture but Vertical-Hold adjustment may be needed at 50Hz).

 

 

 

Apple ][ Plus — 230V Eurapple model (A2S2 Euromod Plus) — "REV 04" motherboard

Manufactured USA ca. 16th week 1980

 

COLOUR with direct attachment to 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X)

              

 

 

Apple II Europlus (IA2S2) — "820-0044-C" revision motherboard

Manufactured Ireland ca. 36th week 1981

 

COLOUR with direct attachment to 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X)

         Apple II Europlus with 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe  

     

Noteworthy Full screen text appears monochrome on Europlus (1981) yet exhibits green/purple artefacts on Eurapple Plus (1980) — using the exact same monitor

This Europlus has a newer type of motherboard which is described in the Addendum to the Apple II Reference Manual

 Video courtesy eBay Australia

 

Did you know?  In the early 1980s, a computer monitor supplier in the British Isles mulled the release of a customized "International NTSC" version of the Thorn TX10 as direct-connect colour solution for the Apple II Europlus — please see HERE

 

Apple //c 'Memory Expansion' model (A2S4100X)

 

with preinstalled 256K Apple IIc Memory Expansion Card (for total 384K RAM)

see also  TAKE-APART PHOTOS — Apple IIc (A2S4100X) with 384K RAM & PAL Modulator

Overview of the "Memory Expandable" Apple IIc see Apple IIc New Features Update (1986 Apple Computer)

 

A2S4100X model identifier (also showing A2S4100C & A2S4100E models)

 

Apple //c 'Memory Expansion' model (A2S4100X)

 

with 1MB Apple IIc Memory Expansion Card (for total 1152K RAM)  &  UniDisk 3.5 drive

COLOUR with direct attachment to 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X)

  

 

Apple //c original ROM model (A2S4000B)

 

COLOUR with direct attachment to 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X)

220-240V Apple IIc does 'NTSC/50' colour on 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor

 

Apple //c (A2S4000B)  versus  Platinum Apple IIe (A2S2128X)

 

Comparison screenshots — direct attachment to 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X)

As you can see, their picture qualities are practically indistinguishable

 

Apple //c PAL Modulator/Adapter (A2M4023)

& Apple IIGS composite video (regular NTSC/60)

 

MONOCHROME ONLY on 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X)

Apple IIc PAL Modulator & Apple IIGS - mono only on 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe

 

 Apple IIGS to 120V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021) works in colour as expected - see my screenshot HERE

Check out my video with more screenshots from 120V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021 NTSC-60 model) HERE

 

Le Chat Mauve RGB SCART/PERITEL adapter A2M4020F for Apple //c  

In France, RGB solutions were especially favoured — every Apple //c came standard with "Le Chat Mauve" RGB Scart/pιritel adapter (A2M4020F)

 This adapter also provides a composite SECAM signal for displays with only "half Scart" input and will even route the //c speaker audio.

"Le Chat Mauve" also made an RGB TTL adapter (DIN plug) for //c and the Eve and Fιline cards (RGB 80-column 64K) for Apple //e.

 

 

RGB screenshots on “RCA” Blackpearl CRT TV (21DG17EA / TX807CS)

from Apple IIc (A2S4100X) with Le Chat Mauve RGB SCART adapter (A2M4020F)

 

  

NB: This TV is equivalent to European model THOMSON Blackpearl (21DG17E / TX807CS)

       

     

     

TIP: Cold-booting forces some double hi-res games (e.g. Platoon) to render correctly in colour which might otherwise appear mono with Le Chat Mauve

 

     

Neuromancer (above left) inadvertently invokes the DHR mixed mono-colour mode of Le Chat Mauve!

 

         

 

French ads Apple IIc colour system - GOLDEN magazine (1986-87)

GOLDEN magazine ads showing French Apple //c 384K system (A2S4110F / A2S4100F see FinApple's blog) — as bundled with Philips RGB colour monitor and Extasie software by Le Chat Mauve

& the original 128K Apple //c (A2S4000F) with Arlequin - another Chat Mauve creation

  See HERE for info & photos of French Apple //e with Philips RGB colour monitor & Le Chat Mauve "Eve" card

Philips monitors were endorsed by Apple in parts of Europe — e.g. prior to the release of Monitor II, the officially approved monochrome displays for Apple //e in Italy were Apple Monitor /// (green) and Philips PCT 1201 (amber)

see 1983 Italian Apple IIe & III brochure "I Sistemi di Elaborazione Personale"

A subsequent Italian IIe/IIc brochure (ca. 1984/85) describes an optional RGB interface for Apple IIe  «Uscita RGB opzionale» see HERE  {Vintage Apple ~ jesperalsed.com}

 

Apple Monitor II - 230V model A2M2010P   Apple Monochrome Monitor IIe - 240V model A2M6017X

12" Apple Monitor II  &  Apple Monochrome Monitor IIe (green phosphor)

A2M2010P (230V beige) & A2M6017X (240V platinum) models for Australia

 

Apple Computer Australia & AUSOM at PC86 Melbourne  

Apple Computer Australia crowd pleaser @ PC86 Show (June 1986 Melbourne)

 Download PC86 Show Catalogue - complete scan [52 MB]

See also   Comprehensive Price List for Apple IIe & IIGS computer systems (November 1988) - Central Logic Systems, Melbourne - hi-res scan 

 

 Guess what 

 

1986 Apple IIe brochure  (USA)

Showcasing AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe,  Apple Monochrome Monitor IIe  & more...

 

  High-resolution scan of Guess What Apple IIe brochure [15 MB] 

 

 

 

 

 Table comparing known variants of the Platinum Apple IIe 

    "Apple //e 128K" Platinum Apple IIe Platinum Apple IIe Platinum Apple IIe Platinum Apple //e "Hybrid"  
  Market USA USA Canada

Australia

New Zealand

Europe  
  Model Number

A2S2064

A2S2128 A2S2128C A2S2128X

A2S2080*

[* = D (Germany), F (France), S (Sweden), P or B (Britain), T (Italy)]

 
  Date of Introduction October 1986 January 1987 January 1987 January 1987 ca. January 1987  
  Factory of Origin Singapore

Singapore

Malaysia

Singapore Singapore Ireland  
  Voltage 120V 120V 120V 220/240V 220/240V  
               
 

Motherboard Type

 

Platinum motherboards are Rev. C or higher, as denoted by part number suffix

(this list is incomplete!)

Platinum Apple IIe

Platinum Apple IIe

 

607-0187-C

607-0187-D

607-0187-E

Platinum Apple IIe

 

C607-0187-E

Platinum Apple IIe

International NTSC

 

B607-0288-C

B607-0288-D

B607-0288-E

Platinum Apple IIe

International NTSC

 

B607-0288-C (Britain)

B607-0288-D (Britain)

F607-0288-C (France)

D607-0288-D (Germany)

S607-0288-D (Sweden)

etc.

607-0288-E has also been observed

 
               
  Video System NTSC NTSC NTSC International NTSC International NTSC  
               
 

Standard Memory

(64K motherboard plus preinstalled miniature 64K extended 80-column card)

128K 128K 128K 128K

Some miniature extended 80-column cards were made in Australia PHOTOS

128K  
               
  Case Type Original Apple IIe style New platinum style New platinum style New platinum style Original Apple IIe style but new platinum colour scheme which also extends to the name badge  
                       
  Keyboard Original Apple IIe layout (no numeric keypad)   New platinum layout with numeric keypad   New platinum layout with numeric keypad.  Dual character set French-Canadian & USA English with toggle switch under keyboard.   New platinum layout with numeric keypad.  Dual character set UK & USA English with toggle switch under keyboard.   Original Apple IIe layout (no numeric keypad) in new platinum colour.  Dual character sets with toggle switch under keyboard.  "65C02" label on keyboard power light.  
                       
  Additional Notes Original box is labelled "Apple IIe 128K" - photo album available HERE

 

"E64009Y A2S2064" is the model code of the depicted specimen - i.e. manufactured 40th week of 1986 in Singapore

 

For the PAL countries, the platinum "International NTSC" motherboard also shipped briefly in the traditional Apple IIe case ca. late 1986 VIDEO: Swedish beige IIe International NTSC &  PHOTOS: New Zealand beige IIe International NTSC

 

"Apple introduces an updated IIe" from Apple-Bug (April 1987) - reprint from Open-Apple (February 1987)

 

Platinum Apple IIe A2S2128 & original boxes

 

 

Platinum Apple IIe & AppleColor Composite Monitor original boxes

 

Serial numbers of two units appear in top photo:-

E-9-43... E=Singapore, 9=1989, 43=43rd week

 

WI-3-34... WI=Malaysia(?), 3=1993, 34=34th week

 

Platinum Apple IIe production could have shifted to Malaysia towards the very end (IIe was discontinued November 1993).  I can't confirm the "WI" factory code, but some ca. 1992-93 units were "Packaged in Malaysia" - see HERE.  And Malaysia definitely produced some pre-platinum IIe motherboards - see HERE.

 

Keyboard PCBs were made in Taiwan for at least some platinum IIe's - see photos HERE

 

Packing List for Apple IIe (July 1991 / USA) is HERE

 

Platinum Apple IIe A2S2128C Canadian model

More photos available HERE

 

Despite having a UK keyboard (£ keycap), I can't find proof that this model was actually sold in the UK - it might be specific to Australia/N.Z.

 

 

Apple Computer Australia October 1990 Product Range & Price List is HERE

(PAL Colour Card A2A005 is available option for the Platinum Apple IIe PHOTOS)

 

The pre-platinum PAL Apple IIe for Australia (ca. 1983-86) was sourced from both Ireland (A2S2064P - UK model) & Singapore (A2S2064X - AU model) - all had dual character support for UK & USA English

 

a.k.a. NTSC/50 — 3.562456 MHz colour burst & 50 Hz vertical scanning frequency - also the native video output of any Apple ][ Europlus or 220/240V Apple //c.  Regular NTSC or PAL displays generally interpret this signal in monochrome only.  The 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor (IIe or IIc matching models) will give colour - see HERE & HERE.

 

These units were assembled in Ireland, but at least some of the motherboards were made in Singapore, and some keyboard PCBs were by Mitsumi.

 

Apple Monochrome Monitor IIe - 240V model A2M6017Z

Apple Monochrome Monitor IIe

A2M6017Z model for Europe

(220/240V platinum)

 

European Platinum Apple IIe original boxes (May 1988 Apple User UK)

 

Further info & photos of the European Platinum Apple IIe are available here:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Apple IIe still being made in Ireland (Jan 1988 Apple User UK)

 
               

 

  Others ??  A Spanish version of Platinum Apple IIe was evidently released in Latin America - here's a photo by Jose Ricci - a model code "A2S2128E" would be most likely but this is just an educated guess.  A beige Apple //e with Western Spanish keyboard also exists (model A2S2064E - 115V NTSC).  This model appears related to the Canadian beige Apple //e (model A2S2064C) - affixed to their undersides is a common model ID sticker for units assembled in Ireland.  The Apple //e was also locally manufactured by Apple de Mexico in Nanicalpan.  In Europe, the PAL Spanish Apple //e utilizes a somewhat different keyboard layout.

 Download above table as PDF

 

 

 

 Table summarizing colour behaviour of international Apple II models on various monitors 

  PAL Apple IIe (220/240V beige)

Motherboard video switch set to COLOUR

Inbuilt RCA jack

PAL Apple IIe (220/240V beige)

Motherboard video switch set to MONO

Inbuilt RCA jack

PAL Apple IIe (220/240V beige)

RCA jack of Extended 80-Column Colour Card (A661-91097 — assembled in Australia or Singapore)

International NTSC Platinum Apple IIe (220/240V)

Inbuilt RCA jack

Apple IIc (any 220/240V PAL-region model)

Apple II Europlus/Euromod

Inbuilt RCA jack

Apple IIc (any 220/240V PAL-region model)

RCA jack of PAL Modulator/Adapter (A2M4023)

 

Apple IIGS (any model)

Fixed 3.58MHz NTSC colour burst with selectable 50 / 60Hz vertical scanning frequency via System Standards control panel

Inbuilt RCA jack

240V ColorMonitor IIe (beige) & IIc (white) — NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) MONOCHROME WRONG COLOURS CORRECT COLOUR

CORRECT COLOUR

CORRECT COLOUR MONOCHROME MONOCHROME
               
240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe/IIc (platinum) — NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) MONOCHROME WRONG COLOURS CORRECT COLOUR CORRECT COLOUR CORRECT COLOUR MONOCHROME MONOCHROME
               
120V ColorMonitor IIe/IIc or AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe/IIc — regular NTSC (3.58MHz) MONOCHROME MONOCHROME MONOCHROME MONOCHROME MONOCHROME MONOCHROME CORRECT COLOUR (configure GS for 60Hz to avoid rolling picture)
               
Regular PAL-only colour composite monitor or TV CORRECT COLOUR MONOCHROME MONOCHROME MONOCHROME MONOCHROME CORRECT COLOUR MONOCHROME
               
Regular NTSC-only colour composite monitor or TV MONOCHROME

MONOCHROME (or wrong colour)

MONOCHROME (or wrong colour) MONOCHROME (or wrong colour

Kero's Mac Mods )

MONOCHROME (or wrong colour) MONOCHROME CORRECT COLOUR
               
Regular PAL/NTSC (dual standard) colour composite monitor or TV CORRECT COLOUR MONOCHROME (or wrong colour) MONOCHROME (or wrong colour) MONOCHROME (or wrong colour) MONOCHROME (or wrong colour) CORRECT COLOUR CORRECT COLOUR

 

AppleColor Monitor 100 — Apple's official RGB solution for Apple IIe & III

Monitor on American NTSC Apple //e with Extended 80-Column Text/AppleColor Card in auxiliary slot

 

NB: third-party adapters allow the monitor to be used on Apple II/II Plus/IIc and it can be made IIGS compatible by setting an internal switch

 

"Green only" monochrome mode:-

 

Extended 80-Column Text/AppleColor Adapter Card manual @ Asimov server is HERE [32MB PDF]

For AppleColor Monitor 100 pricing & options please see my scan   Apple //e and //c Products Confidential Dealer Price List (USA) - November 1984 

 And also   RGB Monitors: Best of the Brightest - inCider (October 1985) 

(reviews of AppleColor Monitor 100, Princeton Graphic HX-9 & HX-12, Zenith ZVM-135, Amdek Color 500, Thomson CV36432SI, Sakata SC-200)

 

Steve Wozniak with AppleColor Monitor 100 & Apple IIe

The AppleColor Monitor 100 (12" RGB monitor) was officially introduced on July 9, 1984 in the United States — see  Apple press release 

 

For detailed technical discussion of Apple IIe/IIc RGB please refer Open-Apple - May 1985 (TXT)  and  Open-Apple - July 1985 (TXT)

 

“While standard single-resolution Apple graphics always come in loud and clear on an RGB system, double-resolution graphics don't. In order to see anything when double-resolution graphics are displayed, you must have both an RGB card that supports double-resolution graphics and software that turns on the RGB card's double-resolution feature...”  — Open-Apple (May 1985)
 

Two examples of double hi-res programs that work fine with Apple's Extended 80-Column Text/AppleColor RGB Card are Beagle Graphics and Broderbund's Dazzle Draw, the latter even exploiting the special DHR mixed mono-colour mode available with this card ( Dazzle Draw RGB demo video by 8BitBites).

Some DHR games show up monochrome (white) with Apple's RGB card - e.g. certain Epyx titles, Platoon by Data East, Who framed Roger Rabbit by Buena Vista and undoubtedly others (need proof? view GALLERY of screenshots).  Many software developers didn't check for full DHR compatibility with the AppleColor RGB card.  It's been reported that cold-booting may alleviate this problem with some software (see further discussion HERE).  Third-party //e RGB cards which more closely mimic a conventional Extended 80-column Text Card won't have these issues ( Platoon in colour with Digicard 64K Extended 80 Column RGB Card) (NB: Native RGB of the Apple IIGS is genial with just about all double hi-res software)

It's worth noting that recent versions of AppleWin can emulate the AppleColor RGB Card (along with RGB of Video-7 and Le Chat Mauve).

 

The AppleColor Monitor 100 was not released in Australia.  In a February 1985 interview, Rudi Hoess states that "In Australia, Apple doesn't sell a colour monitor, which means that virtually all the Apples being sold have only a monochrome green screen."  His company Electronic Concepts was the official distributor of Apple in Australia from 1977 thru mid-1983.  High cost was cited as the reason by Your Computer - see HERE.  So down under, your options for Apple II colour were third-party PAL monitor/TV or RGB setups (e.g. Kaga/Taxan with Digicard //e RGB card watch video demonstration HERE).  The new Apple-brand colour composite monitors, launched late 1985 in the USA, were certainly available in Australia by 1986.

The Apple II Video Overlay Card, introduced 1989 by Apple, doubles as an RGB card for Apple IIe when paired to a GS AppleColor RGB Monitor (or equivalent).  This card was officially available in Australia (see October 1990 Apple Australia Price List HERE).

    

Apple II Video Overlay Card in Australia  &  American brochure

RGB piggyback cards for AE RamWorks

RGB for AE RamWorks - ColorLink & Digital Prism

ColorLink (IBM 9-pin & Apple IIGS 15-pin RGB)  &  Digital Prism (IBM 9-pin & AppleColor Monitor 100 15-pin RGB)

 

PAL Apple IIe (A2S2064X)

RamWorks ColorLink RGB Option  &  Taxan Super Vision III monitor

^ 2016-05-13 (last revised 2024-04-10)


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RamFactor 8M  (from a2heaven.com)

 

Praise the heavens!  This snazzy new RamFactor 8M landed in my hands on 18 July 2016.

 

RamFactor 8M raring to go in slot 7 of my enhanced Apple //e

 

   

   

 

   

With the addition of a small CR2032 battery, the memory contents of the RamFactor 8M are preserved even whilst the computer is powered off (just like AE's RamCharger)

 

   

TIP:  If you want to have multiple partitions on the RamFactor, they should be setup exclusively as storage partitions.  Because once the active partition is made bootable, you can no longer call up the Partition Manager to select a different partition (without wiping RAM).  So in practice, you have a choice between a single bootable partition OR one or more storage partitions (selectable via the Partition Manager — PR#n).  The computer can only see a single partition on the RamFactor at any given time.  There is nothing to stop you putting programs on a non-booting ("storage") partition, just the operating system will have to be loaded from someplace else (floppy or hard disk) in order to utilize them.

 

Various utilities can aid the tasks of backing up and restoring a RAM disk.  Taking an actual example from earlier years:

Infocom Shogun (5.25" ProDOS-based game) was copied in its entirety to a RAM disk.  Using ProSel 'BACKUP' this was imaged to a file on a 3.5" disk.  This 3.5" disk boots into ProSel 'RESTORE' which rapidly rebuilds the RAM disk.  (The ProSel-8 manual explains everything in detail)

 

   
 

 

I've used an Apple IIGS RAM disk of 1024K to illustrate the process but it's similar for a RamFactor or other slinky card which ProDOS recognizes automatically

 (For Apple IIe or IIc with auxiliary RAM expansion (e.g. RamWorks, Z-RAM) ProDOS won't configure a large RAM disk automatically - an additional driver is needed here)

 My old ProTERM 3.0 disk employed a different approach.  I had it setup with AE's Autocopy to automate copying the contents of the 3.5" disk to RAM. (But slightly modified so that holding down the Open-Apple key bypasses RAM copy)
 

 

     

Autocopy is an Applesoft program compatible with any ProDOS RAM disk (slinky or GS).  Some versions - like the one shown here - will also automatically create a large RAM disk for RamWorks/Z-RAM-type cards (using the bundled ProDrive driver).

 

^ 2016-07-18 (last revised 2017-11-13)

 

1MB RamFactor for Apple II from Applied Engineering

Original RamFactor (1MB) from Applied Engineering

 


Apple IIe starring in the movie "Bliss" (1985 Sydney)

 

Apple IIe as 1980's drug of choice?

Surgeon General's Warning: Apple II is seriously addictive!

 

Apple IIc in "Explorers" (1985)

 

Platinum Apple IIe & Mac LC in "Marabunta: Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!" (1998)

 

Macintosh in "Crocodile Dundee II" (1988)  &  "Back to the Future II" (1989)

   

 

Apple II in "Iron Man" (2008)

 

Apple IIe & IIc in "Hoarders" S3E16 {USA} / S3E14 {AU} (2010)

  

 

"American Genius - Jobs vs Gates" (2015 National Geographic)

         

Bill Gates at the University of Washington (February 2012 UWTV)

(I tuned into his talk from a hotel room in Seattle!)

 

 

Tributes flow to Steve Jobs

(personal photos - October 2011, Taipei)

 

      Guanghua Digital Plaza in Taipei

^ 2016-01-09 (last revised 2021-07-17)


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Pravetz 8M - Apple II Europlus clone (Bulgaria) - Правец 8М

 ◊  Released circa 1985

◊  Apple II+ clone with 6502 CPU and integrated Z-80 SoftCard for running CP/M

◊  Integrated 16K Language Card (for 64K RAM total)

◊  Clone of Apple II Europlus "PAL" version (50Hz frame rate) - mono video on standard PAL monitor - needs a PAL card in slot 7 ("PAL Encoder" or "Euro Color PAL-SECAM Card") to output in colour (alternatively hardware modification to motherboard to output NTSC color) — my video demonstration of Pravetz 8M with PAL Colour Encoder Card is HERE

◊  Special considerations - 240V ColorMonitor/AppleColor Composite IIe/IIc monitors (but not the 120V models) will work for direct-connect colour as they correctly interpret the unusual 3.56MHz NTSC subcarrier of Apple ][ Europlus/Euromod and equivalent clones

◊  Selectable Latin / Cyrillic character set (keyboard & text display)

◊  High quality Soviet era internal speaker (possibly of better quality than Apple's)

◊  In theory, can accept any card that works with Apple ][+ except RAM cards with ribbon cables connecting to the motherboard 4116 DRAMs since the Pravetz uses higher density 4164 DRAMs and has a language-card already built-in

◊  ProDOS needs to be patched for compatibility as for Franklin 1000 series and most other clones (notably excepting Laser 128 & Franklin ACE 2000/500) since it contains a "prawec" string instead of "APPLE ][" in its ROM - alternatively, one can burn an original Apple ROM and replace the standard factory ROM

I acquired this venerable Apple II clone on eBay in December 2015 for a good (i.e. "non-vintage") price, taking delivery on 4 January 2016.  Thanks to seller George for providing most of the detailed info (above) on the Pravetz, along with the DIP switch settings for configuring the integrated peripherals (see further down).

 
 

 Red, rosy Apple 

 
 
 

The Sydney Morning Herald
May 13, 1991

 
 
  “The Apple II not only lives in the schools of Australia. It is alive and well and living in Russia as well. There is an Apple II user group although most of the machines are Apple II compatibles rather than the genuine article. Apparently, the bulk of the existing Apple II computers were imported into Eastern Europe as a result of joint Bulgarian-Soviet work. The mainstay of the Apple II user population is the Pravets-8 computer, an Apple II clone that was available in Russia for many years at low prices.”  

 

 UNPACKING PHOTOS WITH CLOSE-UPS 

Pravetz 8M Apple II Europlus clone - main unit & close-up of keyboard with latin and cyrillic support

 

 

Close-up of Pravetz logo & underside of case showing serial number and 1987 manufacturing date

 

 

Rear view of Pravetz 8M.  There is a 5-pin DIN socket for cassette tape recorder.

   

 

First test of Pravetz 8M with Choplifter

 

 

The Pravetz 8M came supplied with an 80 column card and Disk II interface card (clone) in slots 3 & 6.  For kicks, I added an EDD Plus card to slot 5 (but later shifted to slot 4).

The Pravetz 80 column card has a "soft-switch" to alternate between standard video and 80 column mode.  There is a cable going from the card to a socket on the motherboard where normally there would be a 74LS259 chip which has been relocated to the card itself.  (On a real ][+ with a similar setup the chip in question would be either a 9334 or a 74LS259 in the F-14 socket).  The monitor plugs directly into the video jack of the card, which outputs all text and graphics modes and switches between them transparently.  Years ago, I had a Rosco "Auto-Screen 80" card with soft-switch which offered the same functionality  [Rosco soft-switch instructions HERE]

 

Close-up of Pravetz Disk II interface card

 

Close-up of Z-80 CPU on the motherboard (lying just below the 6502)

 

For comparison, here is a shot of my Z-80 SoftCard (Hong Kong clone) - I've had it since 1984, wonder if it still works?  The Pravetz 8M integrates all this on its main board!
 
 
    Yes, confirmed working in December 2016

 

Pravetz 8M motherboard DIP switches for configuration of integrated peripherals

 

Pravetz 8M - DIP switch configuration table

 

SW#:

0 1
1 16K RAM Card ON OFF
2 Z80 DMA ON OFF
3 Z80 NMI ON OFF
4 Z80 IRQ ON OFF
5 Z80 Address shift ON OFF
6 Character set CYRILLIC LATIN
7 Speaker OFF ON
8 (Not used)    

 

ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO!

Pravetz 8M paired with an Apple //c monochrome monitor

 

... and a Mitac half-height 5.25" disk drive

 

Mitac AD-3C Apple II floppy disk drive ad - scanned from October 1985 inCider

 

Kraft 16 to 9 pin joystick adapter plugged into the gameport for easy external connection of 9-pin joysticks.  The Pravetz 8M gameport is identical to that found on a regular II+ or //e.  The orientation is also the same (pin 1 at the keyboard end).

 

Close-up view of Pravetz 8M game port socket (16-pin DIP).  Due to the presence of an interface header sticking up directly behind the gameport it's much easier to insert a connector that has a ribbon cable, than one with a rear-protruding moulded cord.  The Kraft adapter was a tight fit, being of the rear-cord variety.  Nevertheless it's working perfectly even if I couldn't push it all the way in.

 

Pravetz 8M greets you with "prawec" on startup in place of "Apple ]["

 

 DOS 3.3 System Master recognizes the built-in 16K Language Card and loads Integer BASIC onto it

 

 The Pravetz 8M has built-in support for upper and lowercase

 

 The "KИP" key serves as toggle for lowercase entry.  An amber light beside the keyboard comes on for lowercase.  Also, the keyboard is auto-repeating (hence no "REPT" key).

 

ProDOS hangs on the startup screen - it needs a patch same as most other clones since the ROM contains a "prawec" string instead of "APPLE ][" which ProDOS checks for [patched ProDOS available HERE or try the new ProDOS 2.4.1 HERE]

 

Back in 1984, ProPATCH from Canada could have solved this problem...
 

 

[courtesy archive.org]

 

 CP/M and WordStar tested working with the Pravetz 8M's built-in Z-80 SoftCard.  The 80 column card is detected and utilized automatically.  The WordStar menu does show cyrillic where inverse text would ordinarily be Notice how the lowercase 80 column characters (e.g. 'y' and 'g') have "true descenders" - in the Western world such 80 column cards typically carried a premium price tag.

   

NB: Having the Z-80 enabled does not interfere with the running of non-CP/M programs in any way - it behaves just like a standard Z-80 card in a real ][+, activating only when CP/M is loaded.  As far as I can tell the Z-80 maps to slot 5.

 

From rudimentary Applesoft testing, Pravetz 40 column mode supports INVERSE and FLASHING uppercase text, but not in 80 columns where text always appears as NORMAL.  I also discovered several CTRL keystroke commands at the Applesoft prompt that are only available in 80 column mode (PR#3):-

 
  CTRL-A     Soft-toggle for UPPERCASE & lowercase  
  CTRL-O     Switch to cyrillic character set } cyrillic & latin elements can be mixed on the
  CTRL-N     Switch to latin character set } same page or even in the same line
  CTRL-Z then CTRL-<any key>     Generates special graphics characters similar mode of operation as the Videx Videoterm
  CTRL-Z then 1     Revert to 40-column mode  

Pravetz 8M 80-column mode

 

 Comparing 40-column screen text of Pravetz 8M (left) & Apple //e (right)

Pravetz 8M 40-column text  Apple //e 40-column text

See also   Video showing INVERSE & FLASHING 40-column text of Pravetz 8M  (LATIN character set) 

 Video showing INVERSE & FLASHING 40-column text of Pravetz 8M  (CYRILLIC character set) 

 

I managed to get AppleWorks running on the Pravetz 8M in 80 columns using Videx AppleWorks Modify Plus:-

 

 

An old favourite - Beach-Head II on the Pravetz 8M

 

 

Xevious & Crazy Climber on the Pravetz 8M

 

 

Music & speech synthesis on the Pravetz 8M

 
 

Songwriter brochure

  Songwriter command summary Apple II

Songwriter manual — complete scan now available HERE  [13MB PDF file]

 

Hard Hat Mack on the Pravetz 8M

  

 

Kraft KC 3 joystick

Top champ with the Pravetz 8M

      

     

 

COLOUR on the Pravetz 8M with genuine Apple PAL Colour Encoder Card (A2B0017) in slot 7

 

 

Screenshots Apple PAL Colour Encoder Card in Apple II Europlus clone (Pravetz 8M) Samsung 32" LCD TV

 

XeviousUp'n Down hookup to S-Video input of Panasonic DVD/VHS deck, then component video to TV

 

Bilder Show Volume 3 (AUGE) direct connection to S-Video input of TV

       

   

   

       

   

 

COLOUR on the Pravetz 8M with direct motherboard composite connection to 240V AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (A2M6021X)

Native video output of Pravetz 8M (or genuine Apple ][ Europlus for that matter) is 50Hz NTSC (3.56MHz) which this display correctly interprets in colour

(ordinary PAL or NTSC displays will typically produce a monochrome picture with this signal)

        

       

     

   

 

^ 2016-01-05 (last revised 2022-08-31)


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VERSAcard by Prometheus

All-in-one serial & parallel interface, clock/calendar (Thunderclock compatible), and BSR control

 

 

 Overview of the VERSAcard (August 1982, Creative Computing) & ad for Thunderclock Plus (February 1982, Softalk)

 

   

VERSAcard original brochure & manual cover

 Download as PDF

 

 

VERSAcard placed in slot 2 of my Pravetz 8M. Fresh batteries (2 x size N) have been fitted.

DIP switches on the Versacard are configured to map the clock card to slot 1, with the parallel interface disabled.  The serial interface always appears in the physical slot (in this case 2).  The manual HERE explains everything in abundant detail.  Though I'm mainly interested in the clock/calendar functions for now.

 

 I downloaded a patched ProDOS 8 (v1.9) that works on any 64K clone from HERE (alternatively one could use the new ProDOS 2.4.1 HERE) The clock programs you see above were manually keyed in from the VERSAcard manual.

 

       

VERSAcard showing correct date and time.  Unlike the Thunderclock, the VERSAcard does store the year, which is set to "1916".  Just tack on 100 for the current century.

 

 

Testing out the official Thunderclock Plus (DOS 3.3) utilities (disk image HERE

 

           

 Thunderclock is detected in slot 1 and time and date are recognized.  So the VERSAcard lives up to its emulation claim.

 

         
             

 MBASIC program to read the clock in CP/M

 

 

ProDOS 8 has a built-in driver for the Thunderclock (and compatibles).  Since the Thunderclock doesn't supply the year, ProDOS calculates this from a look-up table based on other date information.  For the moment, I can't get this to work properly.  ProDOS reports the year as 2000, and shows the wrong day and time - only the month is picked up correctly.  I did use the CLOCK.PATCH program (included with GS/OS System 6.0.x) to update the ProDOS Thunderclock year table but still the issue persists.  Though if the basic date isn't even read correctly the year will be awry regardless. 

 

 

ProDOS expects the date and time in Thunderclock "numeric" format (e.g. 10,01,13,10,55,01 {ASCII string} which translates as October, Monday, 13th, 10:55:01 AM), but my VERSAcard (with v1.41 ROM) seems to omit the leading 0 in the day-of-week (10,1,13,10,55,01).

Actual example of the VERSAcard numeric format:-

 

NB: ProDOS compatibility was fixed in later versions of the VERSAcard (see Cecil Fretwell's article "Date Computer" in November 1985 Call-A.P.P.L.E.)

 

Apple Pascal 1.1 reads the clock perfectly, including the year!

 

 Nor did I have to apply any patches - this disk drawn from the collection of Hans Halupka came pre-configured for VERSAcard - hence the following error message when launched from AppleWin:

 

Thunderclock Plus by Thunderware

The original standard for Apple II time-keeping in ProDOS 8

 

Need a modern clock solution for your 8-bit Apple II ?  Check these out ...

 

    RTC 2019 by David Mutimer (true plug & play, compatible all versions of ProDOS — no need for driver or year patches!) 

 

    No Slot Clock v1.1 by Manila Gear 

 

  Hyperion 512K RAM+ card by Ian Kim (emulates Saturn RAM & No Slot Clock) 

 

  TimeMaster II H.O. clone by a2heaven 

^ 2016-06-02 (last revised 2023-08-28)


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ProModem 1200A by Prometheus

Internal card modem for the Apple II with onboard comms software & Hayes Smartmodem compatibility

 Ad for ProModem 1200A & 2400A (February 1989, inCider)

 

 

 

Prometheus ProModem 1200A-2 sitting pretty in slot 7 of my Apple ][+ clone

 

     

The built-in terminal software can be called up anytime with PR#n or IN#n (n=7 in my case)The "Terminal Driver" screen will appear allowing commands to be issued directly to the modem.  A menu of options (baud rate, file transfer etc.) can be invoked with ESC followed by some key like RETURN or SPACEESC-C enables the scrollback buffer.  ESC-S enters scrollback to review the online history (use arrow keys to move up and down) ESC-D initiates file receive & ESC-X initiates file send (only works under DOS 3.3)ESC-Q quits the terminal (returns to ] prompt if DOS/ProDOS resident, else the monitor).

 

   

 

The bundled ProCom-A software (on two 5.25" disks) is rather more sophisticated.  It supports all Prometheus ProModem models (internal & external), the Hayes Micromodem and Novation Apple-Cat II, and in general any Hayes compatible external modem connected via Super Serial Card, VERSAcard, or IIc/IIGS serial port.  It features a configurable phone book, a word processor and support for 80 columns.

 

   

ProCom-A also compatible with Apple IIGS (including mouse!)

 

Many third-party communications programs such as ProTERM do offer native support for the Prometheus ProModem.  And if it's not listed as an option, configuring for a Hayes Smartmodem & Super Serial Card will most likely work.

 

Here's a photo of an earlier model of the ProModem (pre-1986) which actually consists of two separate cards connected by a ribbon cable

 

^ 2016-12-07 (last revised 2016-12-13)


DataLink 2400 by Applied Engineering

Advanced Internal 2400/1200/300 bps Modem for the Apple IIe, IIGS and II+

 

 

 

AE DataLink 2400 recognized as "Super Serial Card" by MECC Computer Inspector

 

AE OnLine 64 for DataLink modem on Apple II Plus

 AE OnLine 64 running on Apple II Plus with DataLink 2400 modem 

 

AE DataLink & EasyLink/ReadyLink software

 AE DataLink modem and EasyLink/ReadyLink software 

 NB: AE's DataTerm (128K //e or IIGS) & OnLine 64 (64K ][+ or //e) came bundled with DataLink 1200/2400 and won't work with other modems

AE EasyLink/ReadyLink is a full-featured standalone telecommunications program for any Hayes compatible modem on 128K Apple — see ad & review in pg 19 & 51 of The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide (Winter 1990)

^ 2017-07-09 (last revised 2024-02-14)


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Miscellanea

Photo of Hong Kong's (infamous?) Golden Computer Arcade taken by me on 17 January 2011 during a visit to the city.  It may not look like much but at its peak, this place likely had the greatest concentration of shops in the world selling Apple II gear (mostly cloned or pirated).  InfoWorld March 1984 reported more than 500 stores in the centre alone, plus a further 300 stores in surrounding back alleys.  How much of this Apple II legacy remains?  Not much, since everything old gets thrown out to make way for the new in Hong Kong (if you see the size of the average H.K. apartment dwelling you will understand).

香港深水埗黃金電腦商場,當年無人不知,照片於二○一一年一月十七日旅港時所攝。現在看來不大起眼,但在全盛時期,Apple II蘋果二型用品店密集於此(所售多是剽竊仿製貨色),數量之多並世無儔。據InfoWorld一九八四年三月報導,當時該商場有店鋪五百多家,附近橫街另有三百左右。昔時此地的AppleII風光,至今餘幾?大都煙消雲散!香港迎新必棄舊,寸金尺土使然,你若看過一般港人住的「白鴿籠」便會明白。

 

 

Sub Battle Simulator manual for Apple II (supplied with disk purchase for an extra fee) from Hong Kong's Golden Computer Arcade

 

Apple II clone parts ad (Nov 1983)  Apple II joysticks & accessories ad (Nov 1983)  Super 5 disk drives & printers ad (Nov 1983)  Ad for VTech Laser 3000 & FD 100 disk drive (April 1985)  Ad for FD-103 disk drive (aka Meiji 128) (July 1985)

Apple II hardware galore!

 

  Colour scans of rare Apple II clone and peripheral advertisements from Computer Products trade journal 1983-86 (published in Hong Kong) - 29 pages

 

 

 

See also   Meiji FD-103 Apple II Disk Drive User's Instruction Manual & photos (PDF) 

 

 

See also my video "Laser 3000 in the movies" HERE

 

   

 

  High quality scans of Pineapple Operation Manual (Apple II clone)

 

 

 

Apple ][ 電腦特輯 (Hong Kong Apple II magazine)

Apple ][ 電腦特輯 — Hong Kong Apple II magazine  HQ scans HERE

 

See also   Apple User Monthly (H.K.) 蘋果用家 — 1985 scanned issues @ archive.org 

 

 

“The Apple II is the most popular machine in Hong Kong,

and most of the shops are oriented toward it and its imitations.”

 

Apple II at Hong Kong Golden Shopping Centre - Your Computer magazine (May 1984)

Your Computer magazine on the Apple II craze in Hong Kong

 

 

“The latest software, be it games, business, or whatever, can be picked up for around AUS$7 per disk.  Interface cards are also very cheap: $25 for a 16K card, $30 for a wild card.  Printers are available either from Japan, where the higher-quality ones come from (Epson, NEC and so on), or locally at incredible prices.”

 

 

Super 5 disk drives & Apple joystick marketed by Micro-Educational in Australia

Potential power issues with imported Apple II clones

The Australian Apple Review (July 1984)

 

Super 5 advertisement — Your Computer (October 1984)

Photos of Super 5 disk drive — offers unique user selectable write-protect & head-seek speed

 

Apple II hardware, software & books from Datamedia Ltd of Hong Kong

Australian Personal Computer (February 1983)

 

5.25" full-height Apple II floppy disk drive from Kanto Electronic (H.K.) Ltd

 

See also   'Computer Compatible' generic Apple II joystick instructions & photos (PDF) 

 IDEAL Arcade Joystick for Apple II instructions & photos (PDF) 

 

  Check out Johnson Lam's Apple ][ Fan page recalling the Hong Kong PCL PRO-Mockingboard & legendary UFO Joystick ][

AMAZING !!   WATCH VIDEO — Crown G-889 microswitch arcade joystick for Apple II with unique analogue emulation mode 

Crown G-889 arcade joystick for Apple II [PHOTO]

 

 Innovative creations from KbooHK  

wDrive disk emulator — supports WOZ/NIB/13-sector/32M/800K etc. & even disk copy transfer to WOZ/NIB

softSP — adds SmartPort to Disk ][ interface - supports UniDisk 3.5

DB19M to IDC20M converter

Apple II+ Mini & IIe Mini

Keychain Apple II+ clone

  Visit KbooHK store & KbooHK on Facebook

 

 

A sampling of typical Hong Kong warez CDs of the 1990s (I didn't install any of them, honest!)

See also   Bondwell Model 38 (IBM PC/XT) & Model 39 (PC/AT) brochures (Pompous Ltd & Worldstar Hong Kong) (PDF) 

 

    

ABOVE: "Computec" floppy disks from H.K. (very popular in Australia), "Host" 3½ disks & Australian made "Nashua" disks

BELOW: The coloured "CenTech" floppy disks from the USA were a novelty and great favourite of mine - once widely available in Australia in same or multi-colour packs

 

Genuine Apple IIGS promotional watch from 1986 (made in Hong Kong)

See my video of the Apple IIGS watch HERE

 Apple IIGS promotional watch - 1200 dpi ultra high-resolution scans (front & back)  now available HERE  [7MB ZIP archive of JPG files]

 

 

Two special timepieces from ca. 1997.  The one on the left is a unique commemorative watch with embossed pouch presented to some members of the Royal Hong Kong Police in the lead-up to the 1997 handover to China.  My uncle, who served in this force before retiring in the early 1980s, had received one and kindly gifted it to me.  The very aesthetic Apple watch (with MacOS on the wristband) was something I acquired when it first became available through Apple Australia's merchandise catalogue (I don't recall the exact year).  NB: It was advertised for US$28.99 in the "Apple Merchandising Catalog - StartingLine" (1995-96)

 

 

 US$1,999.99 ???!!

     
  cvxmelody in Hong Kong (February 1977)

Souvenir bag recalling a past visit to Hong Kong's Ocean Park (I was also there in 1977!)

 (the Super Mario sticker is my own addition - btw, was amazed to discover recently that this game has been ported to the Apple IIGS !)

    

 

 

     
 

 
     
 

  To celebrate Apple's 40th anniversary, 8Bitdo Tech HK Ltd releases AP40 Bluetooth gamepad for Apple II (2016-17)

 

 

 

 

 

 LEFT: Old photo taken around 1993 showing an Apple souvenir cup (sitting atop the modem) and Apple mouse pad with logo — both items are featured in The Apple Collection Catalogue Australia (1987)  &  The Apple Collection Catalog (1987-88 USA).  The microphone plugged into the Sonic Blaster of my Apple IIGS.  The cup was later smashed after I accidentally dropped it.  The modem was a pretty sophisticated model - an Australian (Austel-approved) version of the Penril DataComm (good close-up photo HERE) - which I had gotten for a good price during a corporate close-out.  It was known as the Scitec Datalink in Australia.  Virtually every setting could be configured directly using the push buttons and LCD menu on the front.  I had experienced several modems up to that point, including the Supra Modem that was popular with Apple II users in the USA - it ran off a 110V step-down transformer and was technically illegal having no Austel approval [click for my scan of Supra Modem advertisement from inCider/A+] (NB: it was later sold as the Q-Modem by Quality Computers).  And from 1994 onwards, I had periods of fun with Maestro and NetComm.  But my first ever modem was the Automatic Ice internal Apple card modem (Auto Ice was based in Newcastle, Australia).

PHOTOS Automatic Ice Intelligent Modem Card for Apple II

 Automatic Ice Co. Intelligent Modem Card for Apple II & IIe MANUAL  now available HERE  [19MB PDF file]

Apple Mouse Mat (The Apple Collection 1987 Australia)

 

Auto-Ice Modem mini-introduction (WAppleII)

 

Even after making the switch to external modems, I hung onto the Auto Ice a while longer for its built-in ProDOS clock (Thunderclock compatible, backed up by two AA batteries) and Viatel capability. It also had Bell 103 support (for calling American BBSes at 300 baud - a 1987 list of GBBS Pro boards in the USA is HERE). All the comms software was onboard but I recently saw an article in Applecations (March 1988) confirming the modem would also work with some regular terminal programs e.g. ASCII Express Pro & Pinpoint's Point-to-Point.

  Apple Computer Australia also released an internal Apple II card modem (the "In/Modem 1200" made for them by NetComm), and Maestro Australia had an Apple II modem card (see ads HERE & HERE).  Then there was the "Hampack II" sold by a Melbourne company:

Ad for Hampack II modem (Jan 1984)  Ad for Hampack modem, Apple II cards & joystick (Nov 1985)  Apple II joystick (sold in the Far East, Australia, USA etc)

 

Auto-Ice Apple Modem    Automatic Ice Apple II card modem ad (Feb 1988 ETI)

 RIGHT: On the shelf, there are original boxes for a Ram GS memory card and Zip Chip - I still have this hardware but the boxes are long gone.  You can also just about make out several original Broderbund Apple II titles - Lode Runner ; Choplifter! & David's Midnight Magic (double pack edition) ; Prince of Persia, and Epyx Impossible Mission (I).  In an unexplained fit of largesse, I gave them away for free in the mid-1990s (along with around 500 Apple II 5.25" disks and many gaming manuals) to a guy in Perth with a platinum Apple //e, and never saw them again...

    Reacquired - another BOXED edition of David's Midnight Magic - original scans now available HERE

 

And sealed double pack Choplifter & David's Midnight Magic - original box scan available HERE

 

UPDATE:  SupraModem redux - how nice is that? (December 8, 2016)

 

 

Q-Modem complete in original box - twin souls? (December 29, 2016)

        Q-Modem power supply made by Supra Corp

[Q-Modem 2400 User's Guide now available HERE and Reference Card is HERE]

 

 

 

 

ABOVE: Upon re-acquiring an Apple IIe setup in December 2015 (thanks are due to Hans Halupka of Canberra), I was thrilled to be reunited with an original Lode Runner disk and manual!

BELOW: Surviving backup copies of my original Prince of Persia disk. I had ordered this game from the US when it first came out, but was unable to back it up myself.  I gave the job to a copy-protection expert in Perth who lived nearby and owned an EDD 4 Plus card.  The backup disk is labelled with the precise procedure he used to successfully duplicate the bootside - sync, bit-copy, manual nibble count.  To the right are EDD disk scans (sides 1 & 2) of this fully functioning backup.

  EDD disk scans Prince of Persia backup disk

 

Further examples of his endeavours - assorted backups of Mr Cool, Kid Niki, 2400 A.D. (cracked versions are his own), and some original specimens (Computist Super IOB Collection #1-4 etc.)

 

 

 

Probably a copy he made of the Airheart disk which I had purchased from Hong Kong's Golden Computer Arcade in 1988

 Though not an original, it was pristine, uncracked and retained the full copy-protection.  I bought much else from the same shop including many double hi-res games, etc. - most were uncracked and hard to copy.  It took them several days to fulfil my order but all their disks worked perfectly.

 

EDD disk scans original Airheart disk vs backup

 EDD disk scans — original Airheart disk versus EDD 4 Plus backup of Hong Kong pirate copy

 

   Welcome to COMPUTIST Free Starter Kit

 

 

     

Beagle Bros ads from Softalk, Australian Personal Computer & Your Computer (1982)

 

Pinball Construction Set for Apple II ad (Feb 1983 Softalk)   Penguin Graphics Magician & Complete Graphics System II ads (Feb 1983 Softalk)

Pinball Construction Set and Penguin Graphics Software ads from Softalk (February 1983)

 

Original scans - "Disk Inspection and the use of Super IOB"

     

 

My annual subscription to "The Road Apple" (An Apple // "End Users" Underground Newsletter)

Sadly, I no longer have even a single issue left - but there's an original scan HERE

 

   

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame - screenshots from Mac PowerBook 3400c (NB: Mac version of this game offers superior quality with 640x480 graphics vs. Windows with 320x200)

     

Prince of Persia 2 - Macintosh original Broderbund box

 

   

 The Golden Orchard CD-ROM  — Apple IIGS software goodies (above)

 

  AUGE CD #1  — Mac & Apple IIGS collection by Apple User Group Europe (below)

 

 

 

 DeluxeWare CD-ROM  — Apple IIGS software bonanza by Brutal Deluxe Software & La Pomme Illustrée

   

    

 

"Apple II Schaltplδne - The Apple II Circuit Description" (1984 German edition)

 & "Apple ][ BASIC Hand-Buch" (Sybex)  [courtesy of James Kunz]

    

 

"Apple II Benutzer Handbuch - Reference Manual" (1979 German edition)

Apple II Benutzer Handbuch - Reference Manual (1979)

 

"Yes, Master?" Apple IIc poster by Rich Tennant (1987) - I got it from Open-Apple/A2-Central back in the day

 

Rediscovered box for my Spectravideo QuickShot X deluxe joystick controller (Apple II) - the stick itself was discarded ages ago

 

 

 

 My circa 1991 QuickShot "Warrior 1" QS-133 deluxe analog joystick (Apple II & IBM PC) - still a smooth operator after all these years

 

 

 New sealed in box units may still be available from Amazon - see HERE

Conan victory screen Apple IIGS

 

 

Some photos of my Macintosh PowerBook 180c, newly purchased in February 1994 from an Apple dealer in Windsor House (Causeway Bay, Hong Kong).  Being the top-of-the-line PowerBook at the time, it didn't come cheap, but in Australia would surely have cost three times as much!  To my chagrin, Apple discontinued the PowerBook 100 line just a short while later, coming out with a brand new series.  Still, I was happy with the 180c and its vibrant active-matrix display, and it gave me good service up until 2000 when I finally packed it away (but still working).  When powered on again in 2015, the hard disk failed to properly boot, the display functioned somewhat at first, but then something in the hinge broke and now it only ever shows a white screen (in the photo you can see how the LCD is lopsided - not good).  Incidentally, the Apple carry bag and video adapter cable were standard inclusions (though a piggyback adapter was needed for VGA plug).  The dual battery charger, spare battery, and HP DeskWriter 520 (only the manuals are left) were purchased a short while later in Australia.  The Technöggin PowerPlate 5x may have been something I imported from the US.  And at one stage there was also a Gravis Mac GamePad.

 

NOW AVAILABLE   Getting Started With Your Color Macintosh PowerBook (1993 Apple Computer) - complete scan (PDF) 

 

Macintosh Australian Postcodes (1988-90) —  800K disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 800K disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk

Connectix PowerBook Utilities 2.0 (1993) —  800K disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 800K disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk

Connectix Speed Doubler 1.3.3 (1998) —  800K disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 800K disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk | Scan of complete manual

MacTest Pro (PowerBook Vol 1) (1993) —  1.4MB disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 1.4MB disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image]

 

 

 

PowerPlate reviewed in Australian Macworld - May 1994

 

PowerBook 180c in The Apple Catalog - Fall 1993 (USA)

Complete catalog retrieved from DocSlide - several Apple II products were still on Apple's pricelist at this time

(Apple IIGS System Software 6.0, SuperDrive Controller Card, High-Speed SCSI Card, Joystick, Apple II Memory Expansion Card etc)

Apple SuperDrive original box

 

Apple Hard Disk SC, AppleCD 150 & Apple External 1.4 MB SuperDrive

 

Apple Product Range and Price List - Winter 1992 (Australia)

 

Apple HDSC, AppleCD 150, Apple External 1.4MB SuperDrive prices 1992 Australia

 

"We're behind you and your Apple II" Apple Computer ad (April 1993 inCider/A+)

 

Earlier, in Fall 1990, Apple had published "The Apple II Guide" "A complete resource for users of Apple II computers" with forewords by Steve Wozniak and John Sculley.  I obtained a free, original copy of this tome simply by writing away to Apple, though which now appears lost!  Fortunately, digital preservations are not lacking e.g. see HERE.  There's also a revised 1992 edition - details HERE

["System 6: The Future is Here" from The Apple II Guide (1992) now available HERE]

 

Genesis of The Apple II Guide

 

Nice table cloth to keep your Apple clean and shiny

 

 Apple jade paperweight

Frogger original Apple II instruction card now available HERE  &  Repton original instructions & disk are HERE

 

Atarisoft collection, Ghostbusters, Batman, Ikari Warriors, Platoon

Batman original Apple II box, manual & disk scans now available HERE  &  Moon Patrol scanned original is HERE

  Ghostbusters scanned original Apple II box & disk HERE & instructions HERE

Dig Dug original Apple II box, instructions & disk scans are HERE

 

Kung-Fu Master & Moebius

 

Dark Castle

 

Apple IIgs screenshots

≈≈  Airball — Dark Castle — Shufflepuck Cafe  ≈≈

Apple IIgs screenshots - Airball, Dark Castle, Shufflepuck Cafe

 

Test Drive & California Games

[Test Drive manual & disk scans now available HERE  &  California Games box & disk are HERE]

Test Drive (8-bit) NTSC TV screenshot (Apple IIGS)  California Games (8-bit) NTSC TV screenshot (Apple IIGS)  California Games (8-bit) NTSC TV screenshot (Apple IIGS)

 

The Duel: Test Drive II

^ 2016-01-28 (last revised 2023-12-21)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Viatel & CompuServe Pacific

 

My starter pack for Viatel (Telecom Australia's Videotex service)

       

NOW AVAILABLE   Welcome to VIATEL Starter Kit - complete scan [7MB PDF] 

 

It's a curious fact that Viatel's online telephone directory would show most unlisted numbers.  Once, I exploited this loophole to recover some Apple II disks I had lent someone who showed no intention of returning them.  I only had a name to go on but with Viatel was able to track down his phone number.  He didn't seem at all pleased to hear from me and sullenly asked "how did you get this number?"  But at least I got back what was rightfully mine...

 

Viatel magazine from 1988  (later the service was renamed "Discovery")

 

 

 

Two messages I received on Viatel in 1988 recent rediscovery!

[Hardcopies to Epson LX-86 from Auto Ice Apple II card modem with onboard Viatel comms software]

 

Automatic Ice Apple II card modem ad (Feb 1988 ETI)

 

Interlink Viatel Graphics Terminal System — full colour Viatel for Apple II

See also   Ewen Wannop's DATA HIGHWAY telecommunications program (later renamed ANTELOPE) 

... capable of colour Videotex (Viewdata) on any 128K Apple IIe or IIc using double hi-res graphics (no special hardware needed)

 

Viaterm Videotex software — for Apple II+, //e, //c, IIGS

    Viaterm for Apple IIGS

 

The NetComm Program — Apple IIGS version

The NetComm Program for Apple IIGS by Ian Joyner

 

Viatel magazine from 1986

 

 "A good first year for Viatel" 

 
 

  Viatel Directory and Magazine Volume 4 / 1986 - complete scan

 

 

 

 CompuServe magazines

   CompuServe Pacific Welcome To The Future  

 

Index of their computer forums, usage tips... and tariffs (yikes!)

   

 

CompuServe in Australia was just way too expensive for anything more than the occasional use and when connected you always felt like a panic attack was imminent.  Though I did find it useful for contacting US software companies to request catalogues and such. 

A printout I made ca. 1991 showing "CIS" addresses of various companies

I must have acted on this public plea urging people to pressure gaming companies to support the Apple IIGS

 

My quick reference chart of favoured CompuServe destinations

 

 Apple II files list of CompuServe MAUG (Micronetworked Apple Users Group)  — ca. late 1991

 

 Download as PDF

 

But well before the advent of Viatel and CompuServe Pacific, there was "The Australian Beginning" - launched in March 1982 it was Australia's first online information service, modelled after "The Source" in the United States

 "The Apple II is well-supported on the Australian Beginning, with over 1000 programs available" 

     

^ 2016-03-25 (last revised 2022-04-24)


AlphaSmart Pro keyboard

What is it?  The AlphaSmart Pro is a standalone "memory keyboard" for typing up things whilst away from your computer.  It features compact size (thus easy to carry around), simple text editing functions, small LCD screen showing 4 lines at a time, supports 8 separate files, and 2 regular AA batteries provide enough juice to keep it running for days on end.  All data is retained even whilst turned off (a replaceable lithium battery provides secondary backup if AA batteries are dead or removed).  Hotplug the AlphaSmart to the ADB port of a Mac/Apple IIGS or PS/2 port of a PC (well, I personally wouldn't risk it with PS/2) and it should show up as a regular keyboard.  Open your preferred word processor, hit "send" and the active file gets zapped across like an ultra-fast typist.

 

 

Hands on with the AlphaSmart Pro keyboard - I found it to be a real time-saver for compiling lists of scattered Apple II documentation!

 

 

AlphaSmart Pro plugged into ADB port (above) and text dumped into MS Word (below)

 

 An aficionado of these keyboards P. Touchman wrote in to alert me about other great models in the AlphaSmart lineup.  Do check them out!

P.Touchman on AlphaSmart complete lineup

^ 2016-02-01 (last revised 2018-12-20)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Enhanced Apple //e clone

 

In early February 2016, I came upon this enticing enhanced Apple IIe clone on eBay - and bought it.  A copy of the NTSC Apple IIe, equipped with an extended 80-column card and Disk II interface (both cloned), plus a genuine Apple Super Serial Card.  The eBay seller (in Canada) had disassembled the machine and taken these nice photos:-

   

 

 

[photos courtesy of eBay]

 The underside of the motherboard shows a date of 1985.  On startup, it displays "Apple //e" which is consistent with an enhanced IIe.  (Non-enhanced would show "Apple ][" though on a clone it could be anything) 

 

 

Apple User July 1985 Asian Apple IIe clone story

 

 Erratum: "model with a separate keyboard" probably should read "model with an extra keypad"

 

[from Apple User July 1985 - scan courtesy of SpeedyG ]

 

IIe clones in PC-style enclosure with integrated drives & detached keyboard were available but invariably cost more see photos HERE

 

This style of clone is quite familiar to me.  My cousin in Perth had one, purchased in Hong Kong.  It resembled the clone above except it also had a numeric keypad.  His was the exact model shown in the following photos (from opportune sighting on Australian eBay):-

   

   

[photos courtesy of eBay Australia]

 

Comparing the motherboard to the "Canadian" unit above, they are almost identical.  The keyboard is also the same, as is the case, apart from the numeric keypad.  The auxiliary slot is adjacent to the power supply, like an American IIe.  Typical of look-alike clones from the Far East, the rear case openings mimic the simpler Apple II+ style.  Somebody stuck on the Apple II Europlus badge (!), but more likely than not this clone was originally sold unbranded.  The clone my cousin had was unenhanced which I would expect to be true of this one.

I've seen such clones being sold in Hong Kong firsthand, and from what I recall, the asking price was roughly HKD$1500—1800.  The variant with numeric keypad naturally cost more, and you could choose between 128K or 64K (i.e. with or without extended 80 column card), and a 110V or 220V power supply.  The shopkeeper informed me that only unenhanced clones were available (perhaps enhanced units could be provided "under the table" if one were insistent enough, but I honestly don't know).  Incidentally, the numeric keypad of these clones is integrated with the main keyboard so that only a single lead runs to the motherboard keyboard connector.  As with the American IIe (but unlike the PAL, International NTSC and French-Canadian IIe), there is no rocker switch under the keyboard, although there may be DIP switches or jumpers on the clone motherboard for changing keyboard layouts.

I found proof that these Apple IIe clones were also being actively imported and sold in Australia [see HERE]

 

 Motherboard appears to be a straight IIe copy with 4 labelled ROMs - CD, EF, Video & Keyboard - so very likely compatible with the genuine Apple IIe Enhancement Kit which consists of 65C02 CPU and 3 enhanced ROMs - CD & EF (both 28 pin) and Video (character generator)

And someone in Melbourne posted photos HERE of another IIe clone housed in the same case (minus numeric keypad) - it has a Seasonic power supply (like the one on Australian eBay above), many peripheral cards (including PAL encoder), and shows "][E" on startup.  I suspect this may be a PAL-variant IIe clone (I've seen similar ones on European eBay, e.g. see HERE - notice how the video ROM has 28 pins (vs 24 pins of the genuine American NTSC IIe).  The missing ROM should be CF, same as that found on platinum IIe).

Photos of an NTSC-variant IIe clone motherboard of the same type are HERE - "][E" startup greeting, 6502 CPU (i.e. unenhanced), 14.318MHz video crystal (NTSC) yet still with 28 pin video ROM!

 

Feast your eyes on this "Made in Taiwan" NTSC Apple IIe clone motherboard — "FOX-2001" startup greeting, 6502 CPU with stock standard 4 ROM configuration:-

Special thanks to Danny C. of Melbourne!

   Apple IIe Taiwanese clone motherboard FOX-2001 - high-resolution scan of PCB (top & bottom) 

[18MB ZIP archive of JPG files]

 

  

Apple IIe clone keyboard assembly — two distinct models — with or without numeric keypad

 

Astonishingly, this style of clone was also imported from Taiwan to Bulgaria and badged as the "Pravetz 8E" but with an important distinction - it had an actual PAL motherboard layout (auxiliary slot in line with slot 3) [see discussion HERE] - I'm not aware of too many PAL Apple IIe lookalike clones from Asia so this model was likely custom produced for Bulgaria and is truly rare.  Also, the rear of the case has more openings than the "Canadian" and "Australian" variants we have seen, although the keyboard remains the same.  (The motherboard appears identical to a genuine Apple IIe PAL motherboard - exact same layout and markings - but minus Apple branding and presumably fitted with cheaper components and knockoff ROMs. The plot thickens...)

     

[photos courtesy of 'galinpetkov' & Apple Fritter]

 

Pre-Pak Electronics of Sydney — advertising Apple II Plus & IIe compatibles

   

NEW Apple IIe compatible with 128K & 80 columns for A$750

NEW Apple IIe compatible with detached keyboard & twin drives for A$1500

 

[from Electronics Today International November 1985 - scan courtesy of americanradiohistory.com ]

 

My cousin's clone would show "COMPUTER" on startup - this meant that ProDOS had to be patched for compatibility [patched ProDOS available HERE or try the new ProDOS 2.4.1 HERE].  In every other respect, it behaved just like a genuine unenhanced IIe.  Eventually, I suggested to him to get it enhanced in order to keep up with the latest software offerings.  Taking it to an authorized Apple dealer was obviously not an option.  Fortunately, Mr S.R. of Perth used to offer the enhancement service so we paid him a visit.  He had the 65c02 CPU and enhanced ROMs at the ready (burned copies, of course) and after inspecting the clone, told us that one of the chips was different from the regular (PAL) IIe but he had the correct part on hand.  (He must have been alluding to the character generator (video) ROM of the clone being of the American IIe variety i.e. 24 pin).  The upgrade was an unmitigated success - it now showed "Apple //e" on startup and could run any software compatible with enhanced IIe, including programs requiring MouseText.

  I once knew somebody who bought an Apple II Plus look-alike in Hong Kong for use in Australia. It was unbranded (the lid had the proper indentation for the logo) but for an additional fee, the shop quietly slipped him a sealed envelope. They instructed him to only open it once back in Australia!  And it turned out to be a sticker with a good 1:1 colour reproduction of the "Apple ][" badge.  True story.

 

The old unenhanced ROMs from my cousin's IIe clone were given to me for safekeeping.  I still have them - some pics:-

   

So if ever I wanted to "de-enhance" the Canadian clone I purchased from eBay, I could just swap in these chips (along with the 6502 CPU which I also held onto).

 

  On closer inspection it won't be that straightforward as the Canadian clone has a ROM marked "CF" which is the same as that found in the platinum Apple //e.  CF ROM merges the CD & EF ROMs of the earlier IIe into a single chip.  Hence one would need an unenhanced version of this ROM, perhaps taken from a similar clone, or custom-made, as Apple never produced an unenhanced CF ROM..  Furthermore, the chip with the orange label at the keyboard end - assumed to be the Video ROM - is 28-pin.  What joy!

 

         
    TO SUMMARIZE — Asian Apple IIe clones come in several distinct flavours.  One type has a "standard" motherboard with 4 ROM configuration of a real //e - CD, EF, Video, Keyboard - and hence compatible with the genuine Apple IIe Enhancement Kit (if not already enhanced).  Some combine the CD and EF ROMs into a single chip - equivalent to "CF" ROM of the platinum IIe (NB: genuine CF ROM is always enhanced but this mightn't be true of a clone).  Both 24 pin and 28 pin Video ROMs are seen (on genuine NTSC IIe, 24 pin is capable of single character set (USA) or dual character set (USA/French Canadian, USA/Western Spanish) ; European PAL IIe models utilize 28 pin Video ROMs with dual character set - e.g. USA plus UK, French, German etc depending on the target market.  The clone motherboards could be pre-configured for either NTSC or PAL output - the Video ROM type gives a clue but it really depends on other hardware).  Other variations may be observed, yet most conform to an American layout with the auxiliary slot located next to the power supply.  (One exception being the rather unique Pravetz 8E which may not be a true clone as the PAL motherboard appears to be sourced from Apple, though the case and keyboard are undoubtedly of Asian clone origin)    

 

Counterfeit Apple IIe sporting rarely seen clone motherboard with "PAL" layout  (aux. slot in line with slot 3)

 

Genuine PAL Apple //e is inherently capable of colour from the motherboard RCA video jack.  Yet the IIe clone shown above (Italian eBay listing), outputs a black & white signal (presumed 50Hz).

 As with the Apple II Europlus, it needs a PAL Encoder card in slot 7 for colour (see example HERE).

 

UNPACKING PHOTOS WITH CLOSE-UPS

Enhanced Apple //e clone (NTSC)

 

The IIe clone from Canada arrived at my doorstep on 29 February 2016 - an "odd" date but not jinxed in any way...

 

 

Rear view of the Apple //e clone showing the ports, case openings (][+ style), and 110V power supply (I'll use a step-down transformer)

 

   

Close-ups of the keyboard.  Note the "non-infringing" fruity design of the open and closed apple keys.

 

   

 Close-ups of the power supply and motherboard.  The CPU is indeed a 65c02.  The speaker had come loose during the long journey from Canada and I had to glue it back in the right spot.  Aside from that, everything else looks healthy.  And in case you were wondering, the DIP switches near the keyboard connectors are for changing the layout of certain punctuation keys.

   

 

First power up with only an extended 80 column card in the auxiliary slot.  The motherboard power LED lit up and a reassuring beep issued from the speaker.  I ran the composite video to my LG 47" LCD TV (model 47LK950S).

 

 "Apple //e" - as promised

 

 

I ran the Apple IIe self-diagnostic test (CTRL-OPEN APPLE-CLOSED APPLE-RESET) - System OK !

 

80 column card working fine.  The clone outputs a proper NTSC (60Hz).  I'm very impressed with the LG TV's extreme clarity in composite video mode, certainly as good as any monitor, something I hadn't expected. (I have the composite output of my Apple IIGS hooked up to a CRT TV, and there the 80 column text is readable, but a little fuzzy)

Playing around with the keyboard, I soon discovered an "undocumented" feature of this clone.  Holding down the CTRL and SHIFT keys together with any other key (alphanumeric or punctuation) triggers some commonly used Applesoft commands.  In the above example - HOME ; PR# ; NEW ; REM ; TEXT ; XDRAW etc. - were automatically generated via these special "macro" keystrokes.  (My cousin's IIe clone lacked this funky facility)

Quite a few Apple II+ clones have this feature and come with labelled keycaps.

Here are photos of an Apple II+ clone with an example of such a macro keyboard (from an eBay listing).  Notice how this machine has a similar case type as my newly acquired IIe clone!

 

Close-ups of the keyboard assembly (another eBay listing)

[photos courtesy of eBay]

 

This style of clone was even sold in Germany and I found pics of a modded version with IIe-style backplate HERE

 

Jameco Electronics imported this keyboard/case to the USA - I scanned the following ad from the October 1989 issue of inCider/A+

 

 

The ad refers to "predefined function keys" - implying that the macros are built into the keyboard and work independently of the motherboard

 

Well getting back to the unpacking...

   

Close-ups of the extended 80-column text card and Disk II interface card (both cloned) (also supplied was a genuine Apple Super Serial Card not depicted here)

This cloned Disk ][ interface was made in Taiwan - see HERE

 

I wanted to test out a half-height Apple II disk drive (Meiji 128 / FD-103) that I'd recently acquired.  "New old" stock - still in its original box, and in pristine condition!

   

     

   

NOW AVAILABLE   Meiji FD-103 Apple II Disk Drive User's Instruction Manual - high-resolution scan (PDF) 

 

Ad for Meiji Apple II disk drive from the September 1989 issue of inCider/A+ - it retailed for $79 USD

 

 

Disk drive connected to Disk II interface card (in slot 6)

 

 

 Apple IIe Diagnostic reports an "Apple IIe Enhanced".  MouseText is working.  So this IIe clone is enhanced, no doubt about it.

 

Fine looking NTSC color palette

 

How about we soup up this system?  I have here a RamWorks II 1MB and TransWarp accelerator, both made by Applied Engineering.  I got them very recently and haven't had a chance to play with them as yet.  (Nor do I have prior experience with these cards, although in the past, I did have a //e with AE RamFactor 1MB and TransWarp II)

 

RamWorks II close-up, and after installation in auxiliary slot of the enhanced Apple IIe clone

 

WORD OF CAUTION: RamWorks II won't physically fit inside a PAL or "international NTSC" Apple //e, for which you need a RamWorks I or III - see discussion HERE

 

 Close-up of the Applied Engineering TransWarp (with latest v1.4 ROM)  |--|  Upon installation in slot 3  |--|  Key features of TransWarp from manual

 

 

 

An unmodified AppleWorks 3.0 reports 687K available on the desktop, so the RamWorks is being picked up and utilized

 

AE RAM diagnostic successfully passed

 

 

TransWarp startup logo & built-in diagnostic test - AOK !
 

 

 

GAME & APPLICATION SCREENSHOTS:   Pooyan, Black Magic, Mouse Desk  [ double hi-res ], Dazzle Draw  [ double hi-res ], Fantavision, Fat City, Mr Do!, Apple Invaders, Create with Garfield!, Choplifter, Spiderbot  [ double hi-res ], Rad Warrior  [ double hi-res ], Dino Eggs (1988 Softdisk edition), Bruce Lee  [ double hi-res title ], BurgerTime, Microwave, Congo Bongo 

Enhanced Apple IIe NTSC clone  —(RCA composite)—>  LG 47" LCD TV

 

   

     

Dazzle Draw & Fantavision Apple II (8-bit) manuals  Fantavision At-A-Glance (Apple II 8-bit)

[Fantavision User's Manual for Apple II (8-bit version) now available HERE]

 

 

   

   

   

 

Dino Eggs (Softdisk 1988 reissue)        Dino Eggs original Apple II box (1983 Micro Fun)

[Dino Eggs manual & disk scans now available HERE]

       

   

 

 

Enhanced Apple IIe NTSC clone  —(RCA composite)—>   AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe 120V model (A2M6021) 

IIe clone NTSC screenshots AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe

 Bruce Lee, Gumball, Dig Dug, Championship Lode Runner, Autobahn... 

 

 

But is bigger better??  I have this Shinco MDP-1770 portable DVD player with 7" LCD display which also functions as a composite monitor.

It supports PAL & NTSC and sports a mini-jack for video input/output (selectable).  Mine came standard with rechargeable battery pack (removable), AC power adapter (100-240 VAC), car power adapter (plugs into cigarette lighter), and remote control unit.  The 7" display has a horizontal resolution of 500 lines, according to the manual.

   

 

Screenshots of Aztec on the Shinco MDP-1770 - as output by NTSC Apple IIe clone

 

 

And the same scene from my PAL Apple IIe...

 

 

With its rechargeable battery pack and car power adapter, the Shinco would make a decent portable screen for, say, an Apple IIc.  Don't know if they are still available though.  In the USA, it appears to have been sold under the brand name "Mintek", and depending on the specific revision may or may not support video input [see discussion HERE and HERE]

  

 

 

And for heavy number crunching we have this...

 

 Apple IIe external numeric keypad 

 (generic style - made in Taiwan)

       Instructions for Apple IIe generic numeric keypad 

This keypad was evidently designed with the clone //e in mind - the moulded strain relief fits perfectly into one of my clone's rear case openings

 

 

Fully compatible with genuine Apple //e as well...

 

see also my scan of genuine Apple Numeric Keypad IIe (A2M2003) - original box, hardware & manual  [41MB PDF]

 

 

Fully loaded Apples always benefit from a...

 

 Kensington System Saver 

 (clip-on fan & surge suppressor - 115V model)

 
 

     

see also my scan of System Saver IIGS Instructions & photos of original box

 

And keep that weight off with an...

 

 Apple II Monitor Stand 

(part #815-0540 REV. A)

 

 

      

Apple's Monitor III (12" green or white phosphor CRT display) for Apple III was also commonly paired with Apple II Plus and IIe.  Though a perfect fit for Apple III as you might expect, its base was wider than the Apple II, so out of necessity this stand was born.  (It's also ideal for an Apple ProFile Hard Disk.)  The Monitor II (12" green phosphor CRT display) introduced 1983 shortly after the debut of the IIe, did away with the requirement for a stand.  When the Platinum Apple IIe was introduced in 1987, it was renamed to Apple Monochrome Monitor IIe - case colour changed from beige to platinum but in all other respects it stayed the same.

 

Go back to where it all began with this...

 Computer Cassette Player 

 (with original box and correct leads for Apple II)

^ 2016-03-01 (last revised 2023-11-24)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Following link has much interesting background on the Apple II clones of Hong Kong and Taiwan along with rare scans of original product brochures:- http://www.applelogic.org/TheCLONES.html

In the Far East, South Korea also cloned the Apple II intensively, two examples being the Intertek System IV (close-up photos HERE) and the Romax 2000HQ (Royal Computer) (with extended Korean keyboard).  Apple II manuals were available in Korean translation (see HERE).  Seoul's "go-to" hub for Apple II clones was Cheonggyecheon Electronics Market (like Akihabara in Japan).  The Cordata WPC Bridge, by Korean firm Daewoo, was a two-in-one IBM XT & Apple IIe compatible (Apple emulation provided by way of a Trackstar board).  Mainland China had various clones among them the Fujianese「福桔」("Blessed Tangerine" with connotation of "luck" 吉) and the well-known CEC-I that was aimed at the education sector (there also exists a CEC-IIe of uncertain provenance... from China?  California?).  Creative Technology of Singapore made the Cubic 99, a non-infringing clone with 6502/Z80 dual processor and inbuilt Chinese/English speech synthesizer.  Singapore is of course better known as a key site for manufacture of genuine Apples, with some production spilling over into Malaysia e.g. Apple IIe motherboards.  Other genuine Apple II components sourced from Asia would include monitors (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore), power supplies (Astec in Hong Kong & Malaysia), keyboards (Japan, Taiwan) etc.  An enhanced Apple IIe clone, the Microdigital TK3000 IIe, hailed from Brazil.  The ASEM AM 100 was an Italian made Apple ][+ clone with detached keyboard, and Basis 108 was a high-end ][+ clone from West Germany with integrated Z80 CPU for running CP/M (see 1983 advertisement HERE).  The Gigatronics KAT from Greece offered dual Apple II & IBM PC compatibility.  Micro-Sci in the USA made an Apple IIe clone the Havac (close-up photos HERE).  But by far the most well-known American clones were the Franklin ACE series.  Canada had its own indigenous Apple II clone known as the Orangepeel.

Brochure for "Pineapple" Apple II clone from the above Apple Logic page:-

[Scan courtesy of Apple Logic]

 

Pineapple — as marketed in Australia

 

I knew a classmate who had an Apple II clone with IBM XT-style case (I assume he got it from Malaysia where he was originally from). It may have been similar to the Pineapple DP-64E but I don't recall seeing any Pineapple badge.

 

A surprising discovery in my collection - an authentic Pineapple-branded floppy disk:-

 

Pineapple close-up photos available HERE and HERE

 

 

 

  High quality scans of Pineapple Operation Manual

 

 

DON'T MISS MY PINEAPPLE VIDEO!

 

 

SEE ALSO   1985 New Tech Times TV report on counterfeit Apple II computers being smuggled into the U.S. 

{showing Banana, Pineapple, Golden II, Multitech Micro-Professor etc}

 

A succulent Pineapple mouse pad from Woolworths!

 

The Apple II clones of Asia (May 24, 1982 TIME)

 

Advertisement for "Pineapple" - sold in kit form by Formula International Inc.

& "Customs Service to Seize Bogus Apples" (February 1983 BYTE)

   

 

Apple II Plus look-alike clone - supplied by Formula International?

 

"Precedent-setting injunction" (May 30, 1983 InfoWorld)

 

Advertisement for "Pinecom" - back in business with a new moniker

64K Starter & DP-64E Business models (September 1984 Radio-Electronics)

 

Autoterm ][ 80 Column Card with RGB output — by Pineapple Computer Products

 

Did you know?!

 

 Asian Apple planned to kill off the fakes 

 
 
 

Sydney Morning Herald
Monday, December 3, 1984

 
     
  APPLE Computer of California is planning to produce a purely Asian Apple which will be manufactured and assembled partially in Hong Kong or Singapore and partially in China. Apple's international markets manager, Mr Jon Covington, said: "That is my plan to have a truly Chinese Apple II Plus or an Apple IIe that cannot be re-exported to another country." Some months ago, an Apple vice-president, Mr John Cavalier, who has since left Apple, said the manufacturing cost could be less than $300. Mr Covington was not able to give any firm indication of the date when such a model might be released, but he indicated that the development of such a machine was part of Apple's plan to kill off fake Apples certainly as far as China was concerned. One problem that still has to be solved is the production of acceptable Chinese characters by the computer. Hong Kong- and Taiwan-made boards do produce such characters but they are not of an acceptable standard. Apple is in the middle of converting its Macintosh to produce characters for the Japanese market, and a modification of that program may be used on the projected Chinese Apple.  

 

 

 Apple II & IIGS mail order warez direct from Asia 

 
 
 

Sydney Morning Herald classifieds
May 28, 1988

 
 
  Ibrahim Bakar was a well known source of mail order warez for Apple II & IIGS and other popular platforms. His advertisements appeared regularly in the classifieds section of newspapers all around Australia. This 1988 ad from the Sydney Morning Herald divulges a Singapore contact address, but I believe his actual location was nearby Johor Bahru in Malaysia.  

 

   

 

A typical Apple II Plus lookalike clone from Hong Kong (1983) complete with clone manuals:-

     

 

This unit may have been modified along the lines of the Apple II Europlus (i.e. "PAL" B&W / 50Hz NTSC 3.56 via the motherboard RCA video jack - workable in colour with 240V ColorMonitor/AppleColor Composite IIe/IIc monitors - assuming 14.250MHz crystal oscillator correctly fitted).  Some "PAL" II+ clones, despite jumper pads configured for 50Hz vertical refresh, skimp on the matching crystal and retain a 14.318MHz oscillator (American standard) and hence are doing NTSC 3.58 - an oddball setup with dividend of colour-compatibility on some NTSC displays able to sync to 50Hz (CRTs are the best bet) e.g. Wombat clone screenshots & Unitron U-2000.  The typical Apple II clone purchased in H.K. with monochrome composite monitor might have a fully NTSC (60Hz) motherboard (even if the PSU and monitor were rated 220-240V - H.K. itself runs on 220V).  For clones fitted with PAL colour encoder card in slot 7, perhaps a PAL hardware modification was mandatory.  But without doubt any type of system could be tailor-made on request!  H.K. residents themselves wouldn't need the PAL encoder if their TVs happened to be multi-system.  So I assume the PAL "Eurapple" mod was mostly reserved for units bound for resellers in Europe/Australia/New Zealand... but even such clones could be outputting NTSC 3.58 (check the crystal!)

 

So far as I can make out, the slots are populated as follows: 16K RAM card (slot 0), Grappler+ (slot 1), 80-column card (slot 3), Z80 SoftCard (slot 4), Disk II card (slot 6), PAL encoder & RF modulator card (slot 7)

[above photos and seller's description courtesy of eBay Australia]

A period photo of a similar unbranded Apple ][+ clone from Hong Kong is HERE.  And see HERE for the H.K. lookalike clone known as "Banana" (I've used one of these before - it would show "BANANA" on startup in place of "APPLE ][").

  

 

Ads for "Banana" Apple ][+ clone in Electronics Australia (Feb 1984) & Sydney Morning Herald (Jan 1984)

 The Banana had a green coloured motherboard with standard ][+ layout (8 slots), and could of course be configured for 64K with the addition of a language card in slot 0

 

  

The lookalike clones of Hong Kong mimicked the classic American Apple II Plus, and hundreds of thousands were surely sold.  All sported the same form factor but with slight variations depending on who supplied the case, keyboard, motherboard, and power supply.  The cases could range in colour from an Apple beige to a quartzite white.

 

   

Apple ][+ clone motherboard (same type as the 1983 unit above) and clone Wildcard  [photos courtesy of eBay] - see HERE for Wildcard clone ad

 

Bypass the middleman - buy direct from Hong Kong (March 1983 Electronics Australia)

 

 

 

  Colour scans of rare Apple II clone and peripheral advertisements from Computer Products trade journal 1983-86 - 29 pages

 

 

 

We've already encountered Pineapple and Banana... another fruity clone is the "Pear II" - one of the first Apple II clones to emerge in Europe - see 1981 Pearcom advertisement (U.K. and Holland)

Pearcom Pear-II Apple II clone (Sep 1981 InfoWorld)

Pearcom Pear-II announced (Sep 1981 InfoWorld)

 

Luscious fruits in Australia?

 

Microsoft SoftCard "cloned" manuals

  (special thanks to James Kunz for the loan)

     

 

      

Apple Logo pirated manuals & original disk (cvxmelody collection)

 

Still more cloned manuals...
 
Apple Music Theory (MECC), Apple Pascal Operating System Reference Manual, Super Serial Card, Apple Pascal Language Reference Manual,

Apple FORTRAN Language Reference Manual, Apple Language System Installation and Operation Manual, Apple PILOT Language Reference Manual, Apple PILOT Editors Manual

 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8  (courtesy eBay)

See also   Photos of original manuals & disks — Apple PASCAL, FORTRAN, PILOT & DOS 3.3 

 

"Malum ][" — Apple II Plus (NTSC) lookalike clone from South Korea (1983)

           

[photos courtesy of eBay]

This "Malum ][" clone from Korea has 4 slots instead of the standard 8.  The 16K language card (normally in slot 0) appears to be integrated.  (Some Malums did have more slots - e.g. see HERE]

 

Review of "Laser 128" Apple IIc clone by Cynthia E. Field (May 5, 1986 InfoWorld)

 A reverse-engineered, fully legal clone from Hong Kong - as the ROMs weren't direct copies of the Apple, it offered good but not perfect software compatibility

 

   

The Laser ROMs underwent continual revision and many of the issues noted in this early review were subsequently addressed.  By 1988, around the time the Laser 128EX/2 was introduced, software compatibility was as high as "99.8%" from some accounts.

 

See also   Laser 128 - An Affordable Compatible (December 1986 inCider) - high-resolution scan 

 Laser 128EX & Franklin ACE 500 reviews (July & August 1987 inCider) - high-resolution scan 

   

Assorted Laser 128 & 128EX ROM versions (see also YouTube - HERE & HERE)

 

NB: Laser 128/128EX share identical ROMs, 128EX/2 has different ROMs which may also work on the 128/128EX - see discussion HERE

 

I was rather fascinated to learn that the Laser 128EX and 128EX/2 were engineered from the ground up to run at 3.6MHz, unlike the Apple IIc Plus which employed a caching accelerator (essentially an integrated Zip Chip) - see discussion HERE

 

Apple IIc Plus & Laser 128EX/2 The Next Generation (November 1988 A+)

 

 

Laser 128, 128EX & EX/2 ads (1990-91 inCider/A+)

 

 

 

Laser as mainstream consumer product
 

Major department stores like Sears in the U.S. marketed the Laser 128 series to the wider public with great success

 
Sears in Honolulu (personal photo of Dec 2009)

 

Laser 128 Series manual (128, 128EX, 128 EX/2)

     

    Laser 128EX/2 configuring boot device from control panel       

 

  Laser 128 128EX 128EX/2 User's Guide & BASIC Manual (1989) - 285 pages complete scan  [77MB PDF file]

 

 

 

Ad for VTech Laser 3000 & FD 100 disk drive  

An earlier model, the Laser 3000 was imported to Australia & New Zealand by Dick Smith Electronics and rebranded as the 'Cat'

 

It offered broad Apple ][+ compatibility with extras like 2MHz CPU, improved BASIC, 560x192 colour graphics, in-built 80 columns, RGB output, 280x192 RGB bit-image graphics (8 colours with no limitations), and even a 3 channel sound generator chip

        

 

 

 

Dick Smith catalogues also advertised the "CAT Net Controller" used to set up a classroom network of up to 17 CAT computers - see HERE

 

 READ a review of the Dick Smith CAT by Electronics Australia (May 1984) 

See also   'The CAT is colourful, with extra circuits' - Sydney Morning Herald (June 1984) 

 

Dick Smith CAT Personal Computer (Laser 3000)

Dick Smith CAT Personal Computer — complete system

 

   Dick Smith CAT colour ad (Electronics Australia August 1984)

 

This clone was also sold in the USA under its original name - "Laser 3000" - and later as the "Aplus 3000"

Laser 3000 advertisement by VTech

 

[courtesy VTech]

 

 Laser 3000 as marketed by BHRT-Nevada - BYTE Magazine (March 1984)

 
 

[advertisement courtesy archive.org]

   

 
 

 Laser 3000 User's Manual 

   Laser 3000 BASIC Reference 

 Download as PDF    

 

     Download as PDF

 

Photos of the Laser 3000 — 1 | 2 | 3 — as new in original box  (courtesy E. Betori)

 

Laser 3000 complete with TV-20 TV Interface, FP BASIC Cartridge, DI-100 Floppy Disk Controller, PI-40 Printer Cable, RS-232 Adaptor, FD-100 disk drive

 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12  (courtesy 'wcwhitson' on eBay)

 

 

If video is blocked on YouTube please watch it here instead  Laser 3000 in the Movies 

Laser 3000 specs & movie info

 

Nothing to do with the 'Cat'... but a letter of thanks from Dick Smith to West Australian customers - Electronics Australia (March 1981)

 

Dick Smith Whitford City April 2016

 

Concord II Apple II clone advert - Electronics Australia (March 1982)

    HERE is a review of the Concord II by Electronics Australia 

 

100-page package on Apple II Look-Alikes from Taiwan - Sydney Morning Herald (July 4, 1983)

WATCH MY VIDEO   WOMBAT - the infamous Taiwanese Australian Apple II clone at centre of legal storm 

 

 Computer-Asia (July 1983) 

 Taiwan - Asia's Micro Dragon 

 

Basis Med-Fly (Apple II clone)

Multitech Micro-Professor II (pint-sized Apple II clone)

C-Plus II Chinese character generator for Apple II

Assorted ads

     
 

  Taiwan Asia's Micro Dragon - Computer-Asia (July 1983)

 

  Multitech Micro-Professor II (MPF-II) photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
                                                                  (courtesy 'el00192' on eBay)
 

HERE is an Electronics Australia review of the MPF-III (Feb 1984) & Jaycar advertisement for MPF-II (Feb 1983)

  Multitech Micro-Professor III (MPF-III) photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
                                                                  (courtesy 'wcwhitson' on eBay)

 

Multitech Micro-Professor MPF-II ads

Emona Enterprises & Jaycar

Electronics Australia (June 1983)

 
 

 HERE is a Your Computer review of the MPF-II (1984)  &  HERE an Emona advertisement for the MPF-III (June 1984)  

 

Basis Medfly ad - Electronics Australia (June 1983)

BASIS Medfly photo gallery  (courtesy Apple Museum Poland)

See also   Basis Medfly Apple II clone motherboard - high quality photos  [40MB PDF] 

 

Basis Medfly ads

Compak Computer Centres & Micro-Educational

Australian Personal Computer (August 1983)

 

Apple II workalikes at the Consumer Electronics Show (Chicago) - Laser 3000, Unitronics Sonic, Taiwan Happy Home Computer...

 

Creative Computing (September 1983)

 

PC-5 Apple IIe portable & Super Modem Telefax cards - Asian Sources Computer Products (August 1985)

 

Unitron U-2200 Apple II clone advert - Your Computer (AU) (March 1984)

   U-2200 keyboard close-up photos 1 | 2  (courtesy 'retrowallaby' on eBay AU)

Unitron U-2000 Apple II 'lookalike' model photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4  (courtesy 'thatmacguru' on eBay)

 

Unitron U-2000 with original box

Unitron U-2000 with original box

These Unitrons were made in Taiwan, though there also existed an unrelated Brazilian company of the same name making Apple II clones!

 

 

 

 
 
 

The namesake Unitron Apple ][+ clone from Brazil

 

Apple Laser-//c Milmar (Brazilian Apple ][+ clone in a //c case)

 
 

 (courtesy Ricardo Contieri on YouTube - see HERE)

     
 

Unitron apII 64K photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

     
 

  (courtesy 'asshen' on eBay)

     
 

 

Microsoft Papa Tudo (Pacman) on Microdigital TK2000 from Brazil

 

Apple II Language Card clone

 

 

Unitron Apple II Language Card

Displays "UNITRON" when booting  (even when installed on genuine Apple ][)

 The Unitron U-2000 - a popular, mass-produced Taiwanese Apple ][ Plus clone with blue (or green) motherboard - also not uncommonly came supplied with exact copies of Apple ROMs and these units showed "APPLE ][" on startup (and were 100% ProDOS compatible)

 

 Microsoft 16K RAMCard clone

 (see HERE for Microsoft RAMCard ad)

 

 Videx Videoterm 80 column card clone (with optional inverse video chip)

ROM 1 = firmware, ROM 2 = standard characters (7 x 9 matrix), ROM 3 = inverse video

   

   

   

       

 

 

 Apple II internal modem card compatible with Hayes Micromodem II / IIe

Hayes Micromodem IIe clone card  

 

"Graphic Plus" clone of Grappler+ parallel printer interface card

 

Photos:  1 | 2

 

See also   Grappler+ clone from Taiwan - scan of original box, hardware & manual 

 

Apple II Super Serial Card clone (assembled in Philippines)

 

Photos:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

 

Gibson LPS II Light Pen System and clone counterpart "SMC-II"

   Gibson Light Pen System ad (inCider Dec 1984)

 

"Shining Super Mouse" with two buttons for Apple //c & Laser 128

         

Should also work with Macintosh 128K/512K/XL/Plus, Lisa & Apple II or //e with mouse card

 Both buttons are operable and perform the same task... ADB version also exists for ADB Macs & Apple IIGS

 

 

"KB 3000" Apple II Plus detached IBM-style keyboard

  with numeric keypad and 10 programmable function keys

   

Perhaps some clones could accept the female 9-pin plug directly (e.g. ASEM AM 100?) - otherwise it needs an adapter for the motherboard connection which I lack

 

   

This Lingo 128 clone has a nine-pin D-type keyboard socket which matches the plug found on the KB 3000, but sadly my keyboard turned out to be incompatible with this machine (and I didn't have original Lingo keyboard at the time)

  

 

Official keyboard specifications of the Lingo PC-128 Mk II

(also applicable to the Mk I in my possession?)

The complete manual for the Mk II is available from HERE

 

Lingo PC-128 Mk II Personal Computer with original keyboard & monitor

photos courtesy eBay Australia

NB: The Lingo PC-128 Mk II has a revised design and only works with Apple CP/M (Z80) in its base configuration - a separate BASIC Rom-card must be added to support Apple DOS 3.3.  A good example of a "legally hardened" clone.

 

Lingo 128 — Apple ][+ clone with extras!

Lingo 128 Apple II clone (by Limco Products of Singapore)    Lingo 128 ads (1984 APC)   

Lingo 128 (left)  &  advertisements from 1984 Australian Personal Computer (above & right)

See also   Lingo 128 advertisement from Your Computer (February 1985)  @ archive.org 

The Lingo 128 (first version) is a sophisticated Apple ][+ clone from Limco Products of Singapore featuring dual processors (6502 & Z80), RGB and PAL video, integrated parallel & serial ports, 9-pin joystick connector (IIe/IIc-type), detached keyboard, adjustable speaker volume, built-in 80 columns, 128K standard RAM, and twin floppy disk drives all brought together in a PC-style enclosure.  My unit is badged "Panther 128" on the front (by an Australian reseller Interface International), but still shows "Lingo 128" on startup.  The 5.25" Chinon floppy disk drives are from Japan, as is the APS-I switching power supply.  The motherboard has "Kegani" stamped on it.

Ad for APS-1 switching power supply

August 1983 Australian Personal Computer

The Lingo has separate PAL colour and monochrome composite video outputs but only the mono jack is working.  There are two RGB sockets - one stemming from the motherboard, the other from an unusual card in slot 3.  Perhaps the PAL colour composite output had to be disabled to support this unusual configuration, I really don't know.  An RF Modulator is mounted on the back, but if its generating any signal my Toshiba TV can't detect it.  I've not tested the RGB outputs.  The Lingo has six physical expansion slots (corresponding to #2—#7).  Slot "0" should be taken over by 128K RAM, and slot "1" by the inbuilt parallel port.  A switch lets you toggle between 40-column and 40/80-column mode but the machine will only boot in the 40/80 configuration (all text displayed in 80 columns by default).

Without a compatible keyboard I can't do much with this computer, besides playing some joystick games that don't need any keypress to get going!

     

   

  Lingo 128 Apple II clone motherboard  Lingo 128 Apple II clone motherboard dual 6502/Z80 processors

     

     

   

   

Lingo 128 Apple II clone running Skyfox

 

Lingo 128 with CP/M, Saturn/Titan RAM Board software, Championship Lode Runner, Gumball, etc.

Lingo 128 Apple II clone screenshots - CP/M, Gumball, Championship Lode Runner

 

You'd likely assume the 128K RAM of the Lingo 128 is compatible with Saturn/Titan RAM but this turns out not to be the case...

Saturn/Titan MOVEDOS utility reports "NO 128K BOARD FOUND"

DOS 3.3 System Master detects a 16K Language Card and loads Integer BASIC into it, just like any standard 64K Apple ][+

 

ProDOS 8 refuses to work.  I tried ProDOS 8 v1.2 & v1.7 (both unpatched), v1.9 (patched for clone) & v2.4.1 (2016 release - doesn't check for genuine ROM) — all hang on the startup screen

ProDOS 8 v1.9 (patched) & v2.4.1 run just fine on my Pravetz 8M (Bulgarian ][+ clone)

 

Speaking of Saturn RAM, check out these modern remakes ...

 

    Saturn128 Reboot by David Mutimer 

 

  Hyperion 512K RAM+ card by Ian Kim (emulates Saturn RAM & No Slot Clock) 

 

 

Lingo 128 — 80 column text sample

 Text displays in 80 column mode by default!  I've actually found no way to get 40 columns at all...

 

 

 

 

Lingo 128 classified advertisement in AUSOM News (Melbourne) — October 1986

 

Lingo AM-12 CRT monitor (amber phosphor)

 

Lingo 128 detached keyboard  (yes I finally found one!)

 

Panther 128 with original extended keyboard  (eBay photos)

 

Epyx Summer Games II on an NTSC Apple ][+ lookalike clone from the Far East

High-resolution scan of  Summer Games II original Apple II box (1985 Epyx)  now available HERE  [9.5MB PDF file]

^ 2016-03-28 (last revised 2023-11-08)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 
 

Laser 128EX

Apple IIe/IIc compatible
with Triple Speed Processor
by Video Technology Computers Ltd & Laser Computer

 

       

This Laser 128EX now in my possession was originally sold in the U.S. - it's a 1987 unit - presumably from an early batch as the letters "EX" are stickered on

  (Unlike the European version, it lacks a switch underneath for toggling video output between NTSC/PAL)

 

RGB video cable for connecting the Laser 128EX to my Commodore 1084S monitor

 

The Commodore 1084S has a button on the back for toggling between analogue & digital TTL-CGA

 

The Laser 128EX's Video Display Generator chip [HG61H20B44F] with dedicated 64K VRAM supports both analogue and digital RGB.  Although the quality of these RGB modes is similar, analogue gives a more vibrant picture by default.

However, digital RGB can be made to appear the SAME by tweaking brightness/contrast.  Only using digital RGB do you get the full 16 colour CGA palette (8 colours with 2 levels of intensity).  Laser's analogue RGB serves up a simplified subset of only 8 colours (lo-res/DHR colours #0-7 and #8-15 are duplicate sets).

 Standard hi-res colours look the same in either mode and correspond quite well to the Apple standard.  Lo-res colour #7 (also present in double hi-res) which is nominally light blue, shows the most striking difference, being rendered grey in digital RGB and white with analogue.  Stick to digital RGB for best results with lo-res or double hi-res graphics!

 

The 1084S monitor also has a regular composite jack ("CVBS"), but as mine is the PAL Australian model you would only get monochrome with the Laser (for RGB it doesn't matter).  The North American 1084S would be a better match, outputting colour in both RGB & NTSC composite modes.  Incidentally, the 1084S monitors also cater for Commodore 64's LCA mode (equivalent to S-VIDEO) for an excellent, crisp picture when paired to C64.

 
 

Laser 128 power supply model L-128PS     240V Laser 128 power supply

 

I have the Laser's original 120V power supply (photos above left), but prefer a modern 100V-240V 60-Watt supply acquired in 2015 for my Apple //c which is also fully Laser 128 compatible (indeed any //c PSU will work)

I was lucky enough to track down the genuine Laser 128 240 volt power supply for Australia (photos above right), which proves this machine was sold in an Australian context!

 

Laser 128EX startup screen (ROM Version 4.2) & built-in control panel

      

 

When I took delivery of this computer (on 16 December 2016), I actually had no idea if I was getting a plain Laser 128 (1MHz speed only) or a genuine Laser 128EX (selectable 1, 2.3 or 3.6MHz) - after all, the letters "EX" were stickered onto the badge which could be construed as fake.  I had only the eBay seller's photos to rely on and nothing more.

But lo and behold - it turns out to be the real deal!  Holding down '3' or '2' at power-on, a CTRL-RESET or "three-fingered salute" selects the higher speeds of 3.6MHz or 2.3MHz - just as you would expect for a 128EX.  The proof lies in the pudding - higher pitched beep, faster cursor blink rate, and programs verily hurtling along.  Some early 128EX units actually shipped in Laser 128 boxes with only an extra "EX" sticker on the flap - e.g. see HERE

Here's a video I made showing Thexder running at both 3.6MHz and 2.3MHz:-

 

 

Laser 128EX screenshots

 Commodore 1084S monitor in analogue RGB mode

Karateka

     

 

Pitfall II

 

 

Galaxian

   

 

Blazing Paddles

 

AppleWorks

   

The Laser 128EX keyboard sports open/closed triangle keys instead of apples - a change which even carries over to its unique MouseText

 

 

MultiScribe

 

 The Laser 128EX has a color/mono switch, handy for programs like MultiScribe which only look good in mono

Yes, the switch also affects the composite video output - mono disables the color burst for all graphics modes

AppleWorks and MultiScribe are ProDOS-based, and any version of ProDOS should run without modification on Laser 128 - no special patches needed (unlike most clones)

 

Airheart

   

 

TV screenshots of Airheart and Prince of Persia for comparison:-

Laser 128EX composite NTSC video to Samsung 32" LCD TV  (RCA input)

 

 

Laser 128EX composite NTSC video to Samsung 32" LCD TV  (S-Video input)

 

Airheart on the AppleColor Composite Monitor

Laser 128EX composite NTSC video to AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe  (RCA input)

 It's also worth noting that the Laser serves up a usable picture on my Apple //c monochrome green screen (240V PAL model G091H)

Many PAL displays can tolerate a 60Hz NTSC signal, though you may get shimmer and a vertically squashed, down-shifted picture (fiddling with vertical size and hold controls of the monitor may compensate somewhat).  Atypically perhaps, the PAL 220-240V Commodore 1084S-P1 monitor handles NTSC and PAL composite with equal aplomb, yielding a rock solid, full-sized picture either way (NTSC in mono only).  The PAL //c green monitor when paired to NTSC manifests the artefacts described earlier...

 

 

 

TIP OF THE DAY — The easy, ready-made solution to adapt Laser 128's RGB output to a modern VGA or HDMI display is to use Microbee Technology's CGA to VGA Converter  or  CGA to HDMI Converter.  A regular Laser 128 RGB cable (like the one I showed) will plug straight to the D-sub 9 input of these converters.  Alternatively, Microbee can supply a CGA to Analogue Adapter for use in conjunction with the popular GBS-8200 video upscaler (provides VGA output).

Microbee CGA to HDMI Converter with my Laser 128EX

Laser 128 RGB vs NTSC colors    Laser 128EX with Microbee CGA to HDMI Converter

 

 

Microbee Technology on their custom improvements to the HD-VC9900 (HDMI) or GBS-8200/8220 (VGA) video upscaler

"... The unit is based around a common video scaler board that has been available for a number of years and is widely used to convert arcade machines to use newer VGA CRT or LCD monitors... it does have a number of drawbacks which are overcome by adding our custom input board.  Firstly, the scaler board requires a quite 'clean' signal for Horizontal & Vertical Sync signals, otherwise there is degradation in the output display, with display jumping and poor sharpness.  Also, the analogue input to the board does not cater for true CGA colour output. The CGA interface standard provides digital (TTL level) RGB signals, plus an INTENSITY signal, giving 8 colours with 2 levels of brightness - 16 colours in total.  To fully implement the CGA colour set there has to be some work done to add the INTENSITY level to the RGB signals and create an analogue output.  Once these items are taken care of, the rest of the work is done by the scaler board...  In getting this project together we were not all that happy with the output from the scaler board under certain conditions. Intermittently, and mostly when the board was cold, there would be 'snow' on the video output. This seems to be a common fault with these boards, which, after much work, we found to be a result of poor circuit design in leaving off damping resistors in the SDRAM interface and poor calibration of the SDRAM timing. We have developed a workaround though and it is applied to all of the scaler boards that we ship with our units."

 

Laser 128EX digital RGB screenshots

 Asus VS228N 1080p LED monitor via Microbee CGA to HDMI Converter

 

         

Airheart, Pirates!, Wings of Fury, Prince of Persia, Kid Niki, Impossible Mission, Hackerforce BD Show, Into The Eagle's Nest, Dazzle Draw Demo, Bruce Lee

       

 

Watch my video with more Laser 128EX RGB screenshots (over 200!)

 

 

Laser 128EX inside scoop

High interior build quality - metallic cage prevents RF interference and protects the motherboard (even against corrosion)

 

 

Laser 128EX keyboard PCB - early model

NB: later revisions of the Laser 128EX keyboard have a single rectangular block connector (two parallel rows of 17 pins each) and a single ribbon cable going to the motherboard

 

Keyboard opened up revealing dome-switch mechanism

 

     

Motherboard with memory expansion card

As you can see, the motherboard comes fitted with an unpopulated 1MB RAM expansion card - a standard inclusion on all Laser 128EX, optional for the revised model 128 (ca. mid-1987 onwards)

 

Functionally, the RAM appears in slot 5 and conforms to the "slinky" standard (Apple II Memory Expansion Card compatible).  As such, it's automatically configured as a RAM disk under ProDOS or Pascal 1.3 and AppleWorks will utilize the extra RAM for its desktop.

 

 The Laser expansion card takes RAM chips of type 41256.  AE RamFactor uses the same chips and its manual lists some of the compatible variants.  Chips must be rated 120ns for the Laser 128EX and EX/2, though for the Laser 128 150ns will be sufficient.

 

I've a spare working Apple IIGS 1MB Memory Expansion Card with socketed MT1259-12 RAM chips - confirmed Laser 128EX compatible:-

 

After shifting sixteen of the MT1259-12 RAM chips over to the Laser I now have 512K of extra legroom

 

  AppleWorks 3.0 desktop at 501K and RAM disk size 1024 blocks in ProDOS:-

     

 

 

 

 

 

           

Laser 128EX complete with original retail box [photos courtesy of eBay]

 

 

Laser 128 early model with original retail box [photos courtesy of eBay]

  

Portable battery pack was an option for the Laser 128

 

Laser 128EX retail box with styrofoam - early version with "EX" sticker [cvxmelody collection]

Photos of the Laser Expansion Box — 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 — complete with power supply

The Laser Expansion Box is an option for the Laser 128 providing extra power and shielding for two Apple II peripheral cards (corresponding to slots 5 & 7).  But even without this box, the Laser 128 can accept a single peripheral card plugged directly into the expansion slot on its left side (configurable as slot 5 or 7 on the 128/128EX, slot 5 only on the 128EX/2) - just be careful to position the card component side up (this approach is clearly documented in the RamFactor 1.5 & Laser UDC manuals and explicitly labelled on the early Laser 128).  Also seen in the photos is a Laser Universal Disk Controller (UDC) Card (early "long" version) compatible with Laser 128 or any slotted Apple II, for interfacing UniDisk 3.5" and/or any type of Apple II 5.25" drive.  Please also see Laser 128 - An Affordable Compatible (inCider December 1986).  The early model Laser 128 (ROM 3.x or earlier) on its own lacks 3.5" support.  This was redressed in the revised Laser 128 of ca. mid-1987 - identifiable by its lighter-coloured case, same style as the 128EX, and ROM 4.0 or above.  The Laser 128 (revised model), Laser 128EX and EX/2 feature an integrated UDC for the internal floppy drive (5.25" or 3.5" on the EX/2 only) and external 3.5"/5.25" drive port.  The final revisions of the UDC added full support for the platinum Apple 3.5" drive and daisy-chaining capabilities.  With respect to the standalone Laser UDC card, the "short" versions of the card (miniaturized design with far fewer chips) are more likely to incorporate these advances.  (I used to have a standalone UDC card - the "short" version - that was fully compatible with my Applied Engineering 3.5" 800K drive on a //e - the AE drive being equivalent to the platinum Apple 3.5")  And any Laser 128 or 128EX that shipped with a later ROM version (6.0 or above) should have daisy-chain ability.  There is a known issue with the Laser 128EX/2 trashing information saved to the internal 3.5" floppy drive - see HERE.

Laser 128EX & EX/2 drive configurations      Ad for Laser Universal Disk Controller & 800K drive (March 1988)

According to Larry Barnes of Laser Computer (March 14, 1989 - GEnie RoundTable Conference), v3.0 was then the latest UDC Card ROM and supports daisy-chaining for drives that have this capability (Laser's own external 3.5" drive - the FD-356 - did not).  The UDC ROM version is stored in hex at location Cs15$ (s=the slot of the card)

 

 

Laser 128 Expansion Slot Card

from a2heaven.com

 

 

The ingenious modern solution for adding two Apple II slots to Laser 128

 

 

Laser 128/128EX ROM Version 6.0 behaviour when no bootable disk detected - it gives up after a while and shows these messages - quite similar to Apple //c and especially the IIc Plus

 

 

 

By contrast, earlier Laser ROMs - e.g. v2.9 (1986), v3.0 (1987), v4.2 (1987) - behave just like an Apple //e - the drive keeps spinning forever until a disk is found

 

 

Laser 128/128EX built-in control panel demonstration

 

Access the control panel by holding down 'P' while turning on or if already on, 'P' with CTRL-RESET

 

(Laser 128EX/2 would show additional settings for default startup speed, boot drive and built-in clock)

 

Laser 128EX with Epson APL card in expansion slot

 Laser 128EX with Epson #8133 (APL C) parallel printer card plugged directly into the side expansion connector (configured as slot 7)

 

 Epson LQ-500 text & graphic samples  - made with Applesoft BASIC & The New Print Shop

direct hookup to Epson APL C card on Laser 128EX

 

 Download as PDF

 

Two in-built LQ text fonts - Roman & Sans Serif plus enhancements - double wide, double high, outline, shadow, italic, etc.

 

CHECK OUT MY OTHER VIDEOS   Epson LQ-500 on Laser 128EX - Publish It!, Applesoft text & graphics printing, The New Print Shop 

 

  Epyx 500XJ & Beeshu Omega joysticks on Laser 128EX - Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Apple Invader, Wings of Fury, Cavern Creatures 

 

  Apple Hand Controllers //e (paddles) on Laser 128EX - Apple Invader, Alien Typhoon, Space Quarks, Beer Run, Ceiling Zero, Falcons 

 

 

See also   Laser 128EX & Franklin ACE 500 reviews (July & August 1987 inCider) - high-resolution scan 

 

  Laser 128, 128EX, 128EX/2 User's Guide & BASIC Manual (1989) - complete scan (77MB PDF) 

 

POSTSCRIPT:  VTech, the company behind the Laser 128 series (and other computers like the Laser 200, Laser PC3/PC4/PC5/PC6, Laser Compact XT & Laser LT321E Notebook), also tried to develop a clone of the 16-bit Apple IIGS and actually demonstrated a prototype at the 1989 KansasFest (A2-Central Developer Conference) - see HERE.  Today, VTech flourishes as a manufacturer of electronic learning products and cordless phones.

Laser LT321E Notebook Computer - Pacific Microlab catalogue Xmas 1992 (AU)

 

 

Laser FD 100 external 5.25" floppy drive

      Ad for VTech Laser 3000 & FD 100 disk drive   Laser 5.25" disk drive ad - A+ Dec 1986

Compatible with Laser 128 or any Apple II with DB19 connector or interface card  (IDC20 "Disk II" version also available)

 

 

 

See also my video showing Disk //c external 5.25" floppy drive (A2M4050Z) on Apple //c HERE

 

 

Laser FD-356 external 3.5" floppy drive (800K)

Laser FD-356 external 3.5" floppy drive for Apple II

 For Apple II, Laser 128 and Macintosh 512/Plus/SE

 

3.5" 800K Drive ad Central Point Software (MacUser Dec 1986)   3.5" 800K Chinon floppy drive for Apple II, Laser 128 or Mac

 December 1986 advertisement & close-up photos for 3.5" 800K Chinon drive from Central Point Software (VTech/Laser subsidiary)

^ 2016-12-16 (last revised 2023-08-11)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

The Software Automatic Mouth (S.A.M.) speech card

The Software Automatic Mouth, according to the manual, is "a versatile, high-quality speech synthesizer... that adds quality speech to your personal computer for a lower cost than ever before possible and, in the bargain, you gain features that other speech synthesizers cannot offer."

The hardware-based version of S.A.M. generates sound through a speaker mounted on the card - and shouldn't be confused with the software-only S.A.M. utilizing the Apple speaker

I was eager to audition the S.A.M. and now have it installed in slot 5 of my enhanced Apple IIe clone.  It normally goes in slot 4 but the program disk I have was patched for slot 5 operation (and renamed R.A.M. for "Remote Automatic Mouth") - perhaps the idea was to keep slot 4 free for a Mockingboard.

 

Close-up of the S.A.M. speech card.  I assume it to be a 1980's clone?

 

S.A.M. Owner's Manual and page describing the various demo programs

  

 

Hear the S.A.M. speech card in action (audio samples made using Edirol R-09HR and external mics)

S.A.M. introductory demo

 

 

S.A.M. speeches

 

 

S.A.M. text-to-speech demo

 

 

S.A.M. guess the number game

 

 

See also   Review of S.A.M. speech card - The Australian Apple Review (July 1984) - high-resolution scan 

^ 2016-03-04 (last revised 2019-11-06)


Master ][ (1984) - by Samurai-Software of Perth

   

An example of Apple II software development in Western Australia!

 

     

  "Master ][... uses some of the fastest sorting and analysing routines available for the Apple II range"

 

^ 2016-03-09


Just for fun...

 Cassette copy of "Lemonade Stand" from the vintage disk

 

Elementary, My Dear Apple (1980)

I had no easy way to test the cassette ports of my "new" enhanced Apple IIe clone, since I don't own any Apple II cassettes.  So I devised a simple procedure:

  I loaded the Applesoft program "Lemonade Stand" (1979) from the "Elementary, My Dear Apple" disk pictured above

Ran a cable from Cassette Out port of my enhanced Apple IIe clone to mic-in of Edirol sound recorder

Hit record button, then SAVE on the computer.  Single BEEP heralded start of the recording, another BEEP the finish.

Rebooted, CTRL-RESET, then LOAD at Applesoft prompt

Played back recording using a Cowon music player to the Cassette In port.  Had to experiment with volume, but finally, success!  Single BEEP signals start-detect of the "cassette" recording, and a return to the Applesoft prompt the completion...

LISTed the program to ensure it was all there, then RUN to execute it

 

   

   

UPDATE: Exciting new arrival - my first Apple II cassette!

 

  Download digitized audio files (FLAC) [24.9 MB]

Video sampler of these programs is HERE

 

   
   
 

Hear what the cassette recording of "Lemonade Stand" sounds like

 

 Download best quality version (FLAC) [7.56 MB]

 You can play this audio file back to the Cassette In port of any suitably equipped Apple II.  Type LOAD at the Applesoft prompt, start playback, and when the cursor re-appears, RUN to play the game.  If it doesn't work at first, try adjusting the volume and disabling any kind of sound enhancement.  Either a mono or stereo lead will work, as I've duplicated the audio to both channels.

^ 2016-03-10 (last revised 2017-12-14)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Gravis Mac MouseStick II

Brand new Gravis Mac MouseStick II to adorn my Mac PowerBook 3400c - most definitely a quality choice for any Mac with ADB port

   

   

   

 

High quality scan of  Gravis Mac MouseStick II Quick Start, Registration Card & Disk (1995-97)  now available HERE  [20MB PDF file]

Gravis Mac MouseStick II v3.3.2 Installer (1996) —  1.4MB disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 1.4MB disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image]

   

MacPlay/Interplay Out Of This World (1992) —  1.4MB disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 1.4MB disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original box, disk & manual [28MB PDF file]

     

 

Watch my video - RASTAN arcade fun with MouseStick II (Mac PowerBook 3400c emulating Apple IIGS)

 

 

Beeshu Omega Apple II/PC precision analog joystick

     

 

 

Another great find on eBay.  Works perfectly, and nicely colour-coordinated with the table for my enhanced Apple IIe clone!  Has very precise centering and control and a full analogue sweep (0-255).  There is only a single button 0 on top of the stick - both buttons on the base are button 1, an arrangement which takes some getting used to, but it's designed this way to cater for both left and right handers.

Read a review of the Beeshu Omega joystick from the Nov 1989 issue of inCider:-

 

WATCH MY VIDEO   Beeshu Omega joystick on Laser 128EX playing Donkey Kong 

 

See also   OMEGA Self-Centering Joystick Owner's Manual for Apple II & IBM PC - PDF scan 

 

 subLOGIC Flight Simulator II for Apple II (original box & contents)

   

 

 Rear cover ad for Flight Simulator II from Compute!'s Apple Vol. 5 Issue 5 (1987)

 

Another Flight Simulator II boxed original (this one came to me as a gift) - in startling mint condition:-

    MAXX Flight Yoke Joystick ad - Your Computer January 1989

                                                                           MAXX Flight Yoke Joystick advertisement

 

Datasoft Zaxxon by SEGA

^ 2016-03-12 (last revised 2021-10-19)


Epyx 500XJ Apple II/PC joystick

VERDICT: Nice one!

   

Right hand operates the stick, the palm of your left hand cradles the unit with index and middle fingers poised on the firing triggers.  A switch at the top alternates between free-floating and spring-loaded centre return.  Calibration is easy - just press the "CENTER ADJ" button once the stick is physically centred.

 

 

Apple II connectors (both 9-pin & 16-pin) & PC gameport adapter (standard inclusions)

 

 

Effortlessly slay your opponent in Epyx Death Sword!  Also superb with Shamus and Drol Moon Patrol refuses to cooperate in the right/forward direction, but that game is notoriously fussy when it comes to joysticks.

 

   

 

 

 

Epyx 500XJ joystick original box (Apple II & IBM PC)

^ 2016-05-23 (last revised 2020-02-15)


Nishida Radio USB Joystick Adapter & Elecom USB Gamepad

A dynamite duo!

 


 

Nishida Radio USB Joystick Adapter for Apple II

Plugged into TG Products Select-A-Port of my IIe

For the list of compatible USB joysticks and gamepads see HERE and HERE

 

  

Elecom USB Gamepad (JC-U2410TWH)

There are several versions of the Nishida adapter - mine is an intermediate model with DIP switches and a single 16-pin connector for the Apple II internal game socket.  I got this second-hand through eBay, and found that it wouldn't play along with my Logitech Attack 3 joystick.  So I ordered this new Elecom Gamepad from Japan which is confirmed compatible and for which the correct DIP settings are supplied on Nishida Radio's website.

 

   

Close-ups of the gamepad

Movement control is on the left.  There are 10 buttons in all, but only the four round buttons on the right side are functional on the Apple II (two of which map to Apple paddle button 0, the remaining two to button 1).

 

     

Gaming console action on the Apple II - paused screenshots from Cavern Creatures, Crossbow, Commando and Choplifter

   

 

Whilst you cannot adjust the calibration of the gamepad or the adapter, the default calibration will be fine for most games

 

Sample X & Y-axis readings

(courtesy of the Applesoft program described HERE)

 
           
           
 

 
           
           

^ 2016-07-11 (last revised 2016-07-14)


Microsoft SideWinder joystick & ReActiveMicro IBM 15-pin to Apple 9-pin joystick adapter

 

Apple IIc with Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro (PC game port joystick)

 

IBM 15-pin to Apple 9-pin Joystick Adapter (by Tom Arnold / ReActiveMicro - based on schematic by Jeff Hurlburt)

 

 

 

Xevious
RoboCop
Apple IIc PAL Modulator A2M4023 photos
Boulder Dash II
Microwave
Cavern Creatures
Up'n Down
Conan
  00:13
01:18
03:43
03:59
05:05
06:29
09:48
11:40

@ normal 1MHz speed or Zip Chip 4MHz†

Apple //c VGA Adapter to ViewSonic VS12319 LCD monitor
&
Apple IIc PAL Modulator/Adapter A2M4023 (colour composite) to Shinco MDP-1770 7" LCD DVD player/monitor

 

Video of Saracen played with SideWinder joystick @ 2MHz is HERE

†The references in the video to 8MHz speed-up are incorrect as this //c has a 4MHz Zip Chip (model 4000) and not 8MHz as was first thought.  HERE is my video of an actual 8MHz Zip Chip (model 8000) on Apple //e.

^ 2017-05-08 (last revised 2017-09-29)


Apple 20MB SCSI hard disk

 

The Apple Hard Disk 20SC debuted in September 1986 along with the Apple IIGS.  It originally contained a Seagate hard drive, but was later manufactured with the MiniScribe 8425SA 20MB SCSI hard drive depicted above [see Wikipedia article](The MiniScribe was also offered as a a built-in drive on the Macintosh II and SE)

The drive you see in these photos (with 1989 manufacturing date) has been in my possession since the early 1990s, when I got it second-hand.  It was shown working to me in a Mac though I never ended up using it, since I preferred a larger capacity Quantum ProDrive LPS (50MB SCSI) for my IIGS.  The Quantum was still working perfectly when taken out of storage in late 2015, but in April 2016 suddenly started misbehaving, throwing up bad blocks.  In the near future I'll replace it with a MicroDrive/Turbo IDE with 256MB CompactFlash card.  I have the Quantum backed up with ADTPro, so restoring the system won't be difficult.  The Apple II SCSI Card now in my GS will be shifted across to my enhanced IIe clone.  The plan there is to attach a SCSI2SD which emulates a SCSI hard drive using a microSD card.

 The ADTPro backup of my GS hard disk runs fine on emulators and in particular with GSPort under Windows I can easily move stuff between the virtual GS and the "real life" GS/Mac/Windows via A2SERVER.  Having never even touched an Apple II emulator prior to 2015 these mod cons really do strike me as awesome!

 

 

   

 

High quality scan of  Apple Hard Disk 20SC Owner's Guide (1986)  now available HERE  [12MB PDF file]

See also related documents   Apple SCSI Cable System manual (1987)   &   Apple External Hard Disks brochure (1989) 

 

GSPort browsing 1993 Apple Developer CD "Other People's Memory" (System 6 & HyperCard IIGS) on A2SERVER

 

GSPort emulates a color ImageWriter II printer

     

Quick test of GSPort's virtual ImageWriter II driver - printout from The Print Shop (1986 color version) to Brother laser printer

 

Airheart screen dump -  virtual vs real ImageWriter II  - printed from 816/Paint

 

My video of Mac LC with Apple IIe Card printing in color to a real ImageWriter II is HERE

GSPort razor sharp 360 x 360 DPI printing to Epson LQ

 

Another great Apple IIGS emulator is "Bernie ][ The Rescue" for PowerPC Macs

  Bernie integrates extremely well with the Mac environment and is compatible with real Apple II 3.5" floppies - even 1.4MB disks via the Mac's SuperDrive!

Bernie ][ The Rescue reading 1.4MB high density 3.5" floppies (ProDOS, MS-DOS...)

 

^ 2016-04-05 (last revised 2019-07-13)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

MicroDrive Turbo & SCSI2SD

SCSI hard disk emulation using flash memory media

MicroDrive Turbo in slot 1 of Apple IIGS  MicroDrive Turbo in slot 1 of Apple IIGS 

ADTPro transferring hard disk image to MicroDrive Turbo

 

MicroDrive Turbo with 256MB CompactFlash card working smoothly on Apple IIGS!  I have it setup with 8 partitions.  The first holds GS/OS - cloned from my Quantum 50MB SCSI hard disk, but now updated to System 6.0.3.  The second partition (also bootable) has 8-bit games, AppleWorks, MultiScribe etc.  On startup, the MicroDrive Turbo lets you boot from the partition of your choice by holding down the Open Apple Key plus the corresponding number.  Most of the remaining partitions are taken up with ready-made 32MB images downloaded from whatisthe2gs.apple2.org.za, full of 16-bit games and apps.  At first, GS/OS would consistently crash at the point where the Finder scans all your drives.  The problem seemed related to the ICONS folders of the storage partitions - too many icons for GS/OS to handle I guess.  I renamed them all to ICONS1 and no more crashes. 

 

SCSI2SD V5.0a adapter   

SCSI2SD adapter pairing up well with Apple II SCSI card.  No memory card was supplied and I've put in a 2GB microSD.  The setup - partitioning, formatting and transfer of HDD images using ADTPro - was performed on my IIGS Advanced Disk Utility handled the partitioning with aplomb (it's on System Tools 1 disk of GS System Software 6.0.x).  I configured four 32MB partitions and don't envisage a need for more.  I first tried copying the HDD images directly to the microSD using CiderPress but in the end, the ADTPro approach worked best for me.  I now have the Apple II SCSI card and SCSI2SD in my enhanced IIe clone.

Had the partitioning been done on an Apple //e, I would probably have used the Apple II SCSI Card Utilities (available HERE - for Apple II High Speed SCSI Card you'll need the one HERE)

 

 

 

AppleWorks 3.0 load time on SCSI2SD - quick and dirty demo video

 Configuration: Apple IIe enhanced clone | Apple II SCSI Card (Rev C ROM) | ITEAD Studio SCSI2SD V5.0a | RamWorks II 1MB | TransWarp @ 3.6MHz

 

 

See also   BOOTI USB Hard Drive Emulator Card for Apple II, II+, IIe, IIGS (supports 8 disk images) 

^ 2016-05-10 (last revised 2020-07-04)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Quickie Hand-Held Scanner for Apple II by Vitesse

       

The Quickie Hand-Held Scanner - a package comprising scanner, interface card & software - was originally released for Apple IIGS

 

A short while later, Vitesse came out with an 8-bit version of the Quickie software, compatible with Apple ][+ (64K), //e and Laser 128

 

 "Quickie-C" — a 1994 update for the Apple IIGS significantly introduced colour scanning for the first time (using 3 passes of the scanner) — see HERE & HERE

See also  Vitesse press releases — Quickie-C and FAXination for Apple IIGS  (1994 GEnie Apple II RoundTable) 

 

The Quickie Controller Card supports third-party hand scanners based on the Omron 1700 mechanism and having an 8-pin mini DIN connector (e.g. LightningScan, or PC scanners such as Logitech ScanMan, Genius GS 4500, etc - all were made in Japan)

 

Quickie Controller Card in slot 1 of my enhanced Apple //e clone

 

 

I don't have the official Quickie scanner to test.  Only this Marstek Mars 105 hand-scanner for PC:-

     

 

PC Magazine (November 1991) reports that the Mars 105 is capable of 400 DPI and 64 halftones

 

Here's one variant of the official Quickie scanner which outwardly looks identical to the Mars 105

[photo courtesy of «QUART DE POMME»]

 

Quickie software for 8-bit Apple II (ProDos 8)

   

 

InWords by WestCode Software - optical character recognition (OCR) for enhanced Apple //e or IIGS with at least 512K RAM

High-resolution scan of InWords sealed original box now available HERE

   

 

Unfortunately, I can't get the Mars 105 scanner working properly with the Quickie system...  the Quickie software (or InWords) detects the presence of the scanner, initializes it, and can initiate a scan.  Press the "START" button on the unit, and all the lights come on like they should.  As you run the scanner along the page, everything seems fine and you even hear audio feedback.  But the image that comes out is pure garbage.

Could it be a hardware defect, or simply that the Mars 105 isn't compatible?  Either way, this gamble didn't pay off.  May have to find another scanner to test someday...

 

 

Stumbled across a photo of the Mars 105 original box - see HERE - the blurb refers to a "custom ASIC chip design" and speeds "100% faster than most scanners" so it's not a straight copy of the Omron 1700 and will only work with Marstek's own PC interface card

 

 UPDATE 

I've now got hold of a Logitech ScanMan, one of the hand scanners officially supported by the Quickie Controller Card - you'd expect it to work and indeed it does!

     

     

         

 

Watch my video showing the Logitech Scanman and InWords in action:-

 

In this demo the scanner is in halftone mode (yields dots of varying sizes - best for graphics). But there is also a text mode (solid black) - required for proper text recognition (OCR) in InWords.

^ 2017-03-04 (last revised 2023-07-27)


 

Canon BJC-255SP impersonates an Apple ImageWriter

   

This humble Canon BJC-255SP at one time served as my "portable" printer for Windows.  It's similar in appearance to some of the Apple StyleWriter models (which drew heavily from Canon for inspiration).  However the BJC-255SP is parallel rather than serial.  One talent of the BJC-255SP - which I'd overlooked completely until today - is its ability to emulate an Epson LQ-510/LQ-550/ActionPrinter 4000 (24-pin dot matrix printer), making it a quite suitable printer for any Apple II with parallel interface card.

How to enable Epson LQ emulation on the Canon BJC-255SP

(These instructions also apply to Canon BJC-240 & BJC-250)

 

Whilst mulling the idea of putting a parallel card into my GS I suddenly remembered I have this adapter cable which converts any parallel printer into a serial ImageWriter:- 

 

 This end attaches to the printer and the other end has a plug for the built-in serial port of an Apple IIGS or Mac (8-pin mini DIN)The adapter takes the ImageWriter commands output by the computer and converts them into something the parallel printer can understand.  Such adapters were once easy to come by, and I had bought the one above to enable printing from my PowerBook 180c to Epson (and compatible) dot-matrix printers.  Supported emulations are ImageWriter, colour ImageWriter II and/or an ImageWriter LQ (only on 24-pin printers).  In 9-pin mode, emulation even extends to the full MouseText graphics character set of the ImageWriter II (watch my video demonstration HERE).

Different makes of parallel printer are supported by the adapter - there is a dial (in the photos above-left and below) which must be correctly set to match the printer type...  having lost the documentation I've no clue what those numbers on the dial correspond to, but as I had mine originally configured for an Epson (albeit a 9-pin LX model - dial position 7), there's certainly no need to mess with it now. 

 

It does work - like a charm!  With the aid of The Print Shop IIGS, I made this printout on the Canon BJC-255SP through the serial port of the Apple IIGS:- 

  When an Epson LQ (or compatible printer) outputs graphics intended for a 9-pin Epson printer, the result can be vertically stretched as seen in this example.  A solution for fitting everything on the page is to set the page scaling option in Print Shop IIGS to 80%.  Alternatively, just use this software's native Epson LQ drivers (printing through a parallel card or serial adapter with parallel pass-through).  Note that some Epson models (e.g. LQ-800/1000 & LQ-850/950/1050) had both parallel and serial interfaces as standard.  An article showing how to connect an LQ-1050 to IIGS serial port is HERE (in German but clearly illustrated).  For the Apple IIc and IIe, official serial cables were available from Epson - see HERE.

A number of 8-bit Apple II programs also feature native Epson LQ support, e.g. Publish It! 3 & 4 by Timeworks,  Springboard Publisher by Springboard Software,  TimeOut SuperFonts by Beagle Bros,  SuperPrint II by Scholastic,  The New Print Shop by Broderbund,  Fontrix 1.5 & Printrix by Data Transforms,  Jetsons Flintstones Print Kit & PrintPower by Hi-Tech Expressions:

       

 I eventually solved the problem of vertically stretched output on Canon BJC by reconfiguring the adapter for ImageWriter LQ emulation.  Trial and error established that LQ mode is dial position Ψ - the correct and best setting for an Epson LQ printer (or compatible like the Canon BJC).  In this mode, graphics for both ImageWriter I/II (9-pin) and ImageWriter LQ (27-pin) scale perfectly without resorting to special tricks - please see samples HERE.

NB: Canon BJC-200 series actually feature two emulations - Epson LQ and IBM Proprinter X24E.  In IBM (Canon BJ) mode, Epson 9-pin graphics do work in many cases and will print with the correct aspect ratio - this according to one expert user's experiences of the Panasonic KX-P1124 (sporting comparable emulations).  And confirmed in my testing of Canon BJC - see hi-res print sample HERE.  Incompatibilities can arise in some situations, e.g. gaps in the printout where programs or print drivers try to configure n/72 inch line spacing - issuing an ESC "2" command may fix this - see example HERE.

 

    

 The Print Shop IIGS configured for an ImageWriter II printer

 

   

 

 

 Test #2 - Apple's ImageWriter Tool Kit to the Canon BJC-255SP

NB: I have the Canon plugged into the modem port of the Apple IIGS which appears functionally as a Super Serial Card in slot 2

 

 

 

The resultant hardcopy - looking terrific!

 

 

 Test #3 - Paintworks Gold to Canon BJC-255SP under GS/OS System 6.0.3

Printing from GS/OS to an emulated ImageWriter can be problematic when using System 5.0.3 and above - see discussion HERE

I did encounter issues with the System 6.0.x ImageWriter driver and my parallel to ImageWriter converter and the solution was to revert to the equivalent driver from System 4.0

   

I copied the ImageWriter driver on the System 4.0 disk over to System 6.0.3, renaming it ImageWriter.OLD - this now appears as an additional option under the Printer Control Panel

Though not a perfect remedy, the borrowed driver seems to play along reasonably well with the handful of GS/OS programs I've tested so far

Apple IIGS System Software 4.0 scans of original box, disks & packing list now available HERE

 

Here's an actual printout from Paintworks Gold to the Canon BJC-255SP using the System 4.0 driver:-

 

 

Chanced upon what appeared to be an identical adapter on eBay - which I've bought - so now have two of them - see eBay listing HERE

My original unit (left) and the spare backup from eBay (right)

 

NEW!  This adapter was originally marketed as the  IceCable  — my scan of complete manual HERE  [11MB PDF file]

 

My original IceCable (ca. 1994) has a firmware version 4.9

 

UPDATE: I've now ditched the System 4.0 driver in favour of the ImageWriter II driver from Harmonie 2.1 which ticks the right boxes with its superior speed, flexibility and software compatibility...

And I've just picked up an Epson APL parallel card, dropped in slot 7 of the Apple IIGS for those times when I need it.  This is an Epson "APL B" (8132 ROM) which was upgraded by Epson to an 8133 ROM (chip is dated 17 December 1985).  It bears the revised part number Y49020510000.  I tried printing from AppleWorks 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 and it works. 

 

    I did encounter a strange issue where AppleWorks 3.0 refused to print to slot 7 when booted off the hard disk, though it worked when booted up from 3.5" disk.  This is apparently due to a disk device having been mapped over the printer slot (I have a MicroDrive Turbo with 8 partitions).  A patch to fix this in AW 3.0 is described HERE - if using TimeOut, apply patch to "APLWORKS.SYS".  This conflict doesn't arise with 3.5" AppleWorks 3.0 using an older ProDOS that can't see all the partitions.  AppleWorks 4.0 & 5.x can print to any slot, even one with a disk device (no patching necessary).

  

Two more examples of Epson APL B cards upgraded with the newer ROM(?) (photos courtesy of eBay & Trade Me)

 

In former days I had an Epson "New Apple II Intelligent Parallel Interface #8133" (original box bears the part number Y490340100), bought new and in daily use for many years, but eventually sold off.  This was quite possibly the final incarnation of the Epson APL series, superseding the APL A (8131) and APL B (8132 & 8132W).  It has a set of mnemonic commands which are compatible with the popular Grappler interface from Orange Micro.  I held onto the original manual which describes every feature in detail - now available HERE

 

  

Photos of Epson APL C #8133 card - with part numbers Y49022200000 (front) & Y49022200100 (back)

 

 

Two examples of the original Epson APL A (photos sourced from web)

"A" revision on the left — P4 jumper connected which grounds the 8th bit - if this is cut the 8th bit will pass - see discussion HERE

"C" revision on the right — M4 jumper connected which forces 8th bit high — by the way, don't confuse this card with the Epson APL C #8133

 

 

Rear view of an Epson APL A labelled '8131' - this is typically a 7-bit card, whereas Epson APL B and higher are 8-bit (better suited for graphics printing)

NB: Epson APL A could be easily modified to pass 8-bits by authorized service centres (and others)

 

How about this cloned version of the Epson APL B (SP-201-EP-0) which recently fell into my possession

 

The earlier Epson cards are not without their advantages and could prove more compatible in some settings - they were widespread so a lot of software was written with them in mind.  Any program with "EPSON APL" driver will probably work. 

The Vitesse Harmonie "EPSON APL" driver for Apple IIGS is incompatible with Epson APL C (#8133) but the stock System 6.0 "Parallel Card" driver in conjunction with Epson printer works, as shown in photos below left Apple's "Parallel Card" driver also supports the Apple II Parallel Printer Interface Card, Practical Peripherals GraphiCard, and presumably others.

System 6 'Parallel Card' driver printing to APL C & Epson LX-800   System 5.0.4 'Parallel Card' driver printing to APL C & Epson LX-800

Epson APL C (#8133) also tested compatible with Apple IIGS System 5.0.4 "Parallel Card" driver, as shown in photos above right System 5.0.4 and 6.0 both come standard with "v2.0" Epson printer & Parallel Card drivers.

Unfortunately, System 4.0's Parallel Card driver doesn't recognize the Epson APL C — see screenshot (NB: Epson APL C installed in slot 7 in my tests).

 

Comparison of Epson #8131, #8132, #8133 interfaces — from Epson LX-800 & FX-85/FX-105 manuals

 

WATCH MY VIDEO   Epson LQ-500 on Laser 128EX with Epson APL C #8133 - Publish It!, Applesoft text & graphics printing, The New Print Shop 

 

Dark Star Systems of the U.K. used to sell the ImageMaker EPC-1, a replacement ROM for the Epson APL B (8132) parallel printer card, to make it compatible with everything.  In order to secure copyright protection, a copy of the ImageMaker source code was lodged with the British Library.  So if anybody wants to look this up, it might be filed under "Dark Star Systems" or the name of its inventor (Robert or Bob Sather).

Info on the ImageMaker EPC-1 from Dark Star Systems newsletter -

 

 

A software patch to fix printing from AppleWorks 3.0 to Epson APL cards (pre-8133 ROM) is described HERE

Here's a letter I received in June 1988 concerning the Epson compatibility of Springboard Publisher:-

 

  
  
 
 Springboard Publisher big fold-out brochure for Apple II (1987) 

 Download PDF (high-resolution scan)

 

 

Ad for a serial to parallel adapter marketed by Epson - I scanned this from the November 1993 issue of MACNEWS (Australia)

If the Epson adaptor depicted above needs custom Mac drivers it might not work on an Apple IIGS.  However certain models were evidently GS compatible...

 

Epson Connect! 2 (Limited Edition) Serial to Parallel Converter Cable with Apple IIGS

Epson Connect! 2 (Limited Edition) Serial to Parallel Converter Cable with Apple IIGS system

Another contender, well known in the States, is the Grappler C/Mac/GS aka Grappler 9 Pin that emulates an ImageWriter in hardware.  The Xetec Superwriter 924 goes one better with 24-pin support (HERE is a good photo & HERE is my scan of the original box).  Both these models are Apple IIGS, //c and Mac compatible.  (You might also come across the Grappler LQ which is only partially Apple IIGS compatible - some programs like The Print Shop IIGS won't work - see discussion HERE)

Special mention too must be made of the Ice-Cable ("Epson to ImageWriter Converter") from Automatic Ice Co. of Australia which emulates an ImageWriter, colour ImageWriter II and/or an ImageWriter LQ (on 24-pin printers)

 

As advertised by Micro-Educational in days of yore:-Ice-Cable advertisement Micro-Educational

HISTORIC!  Micro-Educational ad from March/April 1980 in Call-A.P.P.L.E.

 

Apple II software ad from June 1982 Australian Personal Computer

                           HERE is a review of the Ice-Cable from A.C.T. Apple Newsletter 

Complete scan of  The Ice-Cable manual  now available HERE  [11MB PDF file]

 

Ad for the Ice-Cable (revised model with configurable dial and all-in-one 9 & 24-pin support) — April 1990 Australian Macworld

 

 

This unit looks suspiciously like the one used to interface the serial port of my Apple IIGS to the Canon BJC!

Yet when I originally bought mine (sometime around 1994?) I don't believe it was marketed as the "IceCable"

 

Adding to the confusion is that Micro-Educational later morphed into "Direct Access Computer Products" (thinking back now, I probably did order it from those guys)

 

 

 

Ice Cable adapter by Automatic Ice Co. Newcastle Australia

Circuit board is stamped with "Automatic Ice Co. Newcastle Australia" — so yes, tis indeed an Ice Cable!

 

 

 

 With further experiments I discovered that on dial position Ψ, the "Ice Cable" will emulate an ImageWriter LQ (27-pin) on any Epson LQ (24-pin) compatible printer!  In this mode, the Apple IIGS serial port must be set to 19200 baud.

 

Watch my video demonstration - printing to Canon BJC from Paintworks Gold, AppleWorks GS, and Springboard Publisher using ImageWriter LQ drivers:-

 

The white lines in the printouts are due to the Canon cartridge having become clogged (sorry it's very old stock)...

 

I did eventually manage to clear the cartridge (Canon BC-02) by swabbing it with alcohol.  Printing is now much improved:-

     

Paintworks Gold & AppleWorks GS, printing through Harmonie ImageWriter LQ driver @ 240 x 216 DPI, via "Ice Cable" adapter to Canon BJC-240

 

Print Shop IIGS, configured for ImageWriter II, printing @ Normal quality & 100% page scaling, via "Ice Cable" adapter to Canon BJC-240

 

Print Shop IIGS only supports ImageWriter II (no ImageWriter LQ driver), yet page scaling is perfect when printing thru the "Ice Cable" configured for ImageWriter LQ emulation - a full page sign fits on a single page

 

 In LQ mode (dial position Ψ), the "Ice Cable" really does perform at its best - handling both 9-pin & 27-pin ImageWriter graphics equally well! 

 

 Canon BJC-240 LQ font samples  - printed from Applesoft BASIC - direct hookup to Epson APL card

 

 Download as PDF

 

Five in-built LQ fonts - Prestige, Courier, Gothic, Roman, Script

 

WOW!!  Apple IIGS successfully prints MouseText graphics characters to Epson LX-800 via the "Ice Cable"

 

 Ice Cable on dial position 7 (correct setting for 9-pin Epson LX printer emulating ImageWriter II) & IIGS serial port at 9600 baud

 MouseText printout on Epson LX-800  high-resolution scan

 

 Download as PDF

 

NB: The Ice Cable can also be configured for straight through serial to parallel mode by the software command 'ESC ESC %'  — see discussion HERE

 

I managed to get hold of a Grappler C/Mac/GS which looks like this:
   

Only has Apple IIc plug, and missing the original AC adapter but fortunately I have a Sanyo power pack of the correct type.  The Grappler performs well with my Apple //c and The Print Shop to Canon BJC-255SP, in both parallel pass-thru and ImageWriter emulation modes.  I found the manual HERE.

The accompanying "Grapplerdisk" (available HERE) contains an 8-bit graphics printing toolkit along with Grappler GS, an Apple IIGS Classic Desk Accessory (CDA) to dump text and graphic screens (even super hi-res)

     

     

 

How about a tasty Granny Smith?

 

 

Granny Smith Connection from ZAP Logic Corp — Parallel Interface for Apple IIc

 

 

The Epson GX-80 printer is another option for the Apple IIc, when fitted with appropriate Printer Interface Cartridge from Epson (emulates an Epson LX-80)

 

NB: The Epson GX-80 - marketed in Europe, Australia, etc - is equivalent to American models Epson Spectrum LX-90 & HomeWriter 10

 

(HERE is a good photo of the Epson Apple IIc Printer Interface Cartridge)

 

 Epson GX-80 Printer Interface Cartridge #8699 for Apple IIc Operating Manual 

(also applicable to Epson LX-90)

 Download as PDF

 

 Epson GX-80 Setting Up Instructions 

 

 Download as PDF

 

Apple IIc with Epson LX-90

Fans of The Print Shop should also check out Print Magic by Epyx...

 

 

Watch my video - Print Magic with Apple //c Scribe Printer

[Print Magic Instruction Manual now available HERE and Print Magic Graphics Reference Card is HERE]

 

         

REVIEWS Hotlink, Grappler C, LiveWire, Apple ColorMonitor IIe, & Epson AP-80 (ImageWriter-compatible printer designed specifically for Apple II)The Apple II Review (Spring 1986)

 

Apple IIc system with Epson AP-80

 ABOVE: Apple IIc system with Epson AP-80 printer (and much else!)

BELOW: Epson AP-80 advertisement (October 1985, InfoWorld)  & more photos...

Epson AP-80 ad InfoWorld

 

       

 Epson AP-80 User's Manual for Apple II 

(100% ImageWriter-compatible printer)

 Download as PDF

 

ADVERTISEMENT AE TransWarp (Mac), Orange Micro Grappler II & Seikosha SP2400AP (ImageWriter II compatible printer)Australian Macworld (April 1993)

 

 

     

       

WHAT A STEAL !!  Found this Epson LX-800 dumped on a Perth suburban kerbside on the rather hot morning of 14th November 2016!  I rescued it and very glad I did, as this 9-pin printer is in excellent shape and functions as new.  Came with a ribbon fitted which should last me a while.  No tractor feed or cut sheet feeder, but even single sheets can be fun for the occasional printout. (NB: Pull tractor feed came standard with the LX-800 - whereas for the earlier LX-80 & LX-86 it was optional)

Please see   Font samples from Epson LX-800 (NLQ & Draft) - printouts scanned @ 300 dpi 

This scavenged LX-800 is rated 220V so the original owner must have bought it overseas.  There are two physically distinct models of the LX-800 - one for US/Australia and one for everywhere else.  The photo below left shows what the US/Australian one looks like (front cover is all-white).  To the right is a page from the Epson LX-800 Technical Manual on how the two models differ.

 

 

In the US, the LX-800 was also marketed as the "Apex80" and "ActionPrinter T-1000" (with same model # P70RA)

  

 

 "Application Notes - Using Epson Dot Matrix Printers with AppleWorks, Print Shop etc"  - official guide bundled with Epson LX-800, LX-810, ActionPrinter 4000 etc — see 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

 

 Epson Application Notes 

for Apple II & IBM PC

Y90299107001

 Download as PDF

 

I've owned Epson LX-86, LX-850 and Brother M-1324 in the past - the LX-850 as step-up model to the LX-800 offers similar print quality though with improved speed and paper handling (e.g. auto tear-off, seamless switching between cut sheet and built-in push tractor). Mine also had the optional cut sheet feeder with 150 sheet capacity (which I stocked with A4, though the only computer paper I ever used was US Letter size - this was in fact the most popular type in Australia, being supported by all software). In some markets the LX-850 is known as the LX-810 or ActionPrinter 2000. (The LX-800 continued to be sold in the guise of the Epson LX-400 - introduced around 1989 in Europe and Australia at the very least, it was priced lower but in appearance and functionality were identical to the LX-800)

 

  Epson LX-850 official sample brochure ca. 1990  

  Epson LX-86 & LX-810/850 9-pin dot matrix printer  
 

Epson LX-850 official sample brochure ca. 1990

   

 

 Commodore MPS 1000  is a 9-pin dot-matrix printer manufactured by Epson for Commodore.  I scooped one up relatively cheaply in January 2018 - and it includes the snap-on pull tractor feed (standard equipment with this model).  Separately I've acquired the optional single-bin cut sheet feeder (Epson #8338V) The MPS 1000 looks physically the same as an Epson LX-80, LX-86 or GX-80/Spectrum LX-90/HomeWriter 10.

How does it stack up against those Epson models and what's it actually like?  Watch my video to find out:-

 

Demonstration of Commodore MPS 1000 (240V model)

 ^ 2016-04-26 (last revised 2023-10-04)


Using AppleWorks 3.0 with an Epson LX-850

At one time I had this setup and made this primer on how to control the dot-matrix printer from AppleWorks 3.0.  Since I hardly remember how to use this program anymore, it's useful to revisit...  firstly the CPI (character per inch) settings should be set up correctly for your printer, then any special settings can be configured using the 6 special codes available in AW 3.0.  If that isn't enough, one can take advantage of vacant CPI settings to hide extra codes for other functions.  Using a similar approach, I created a separate configuration profile for a Brother M-1324 printer which could be called upon as needed.  All dot-matrix printers (and especially Epson compatibles) operate in the same way, but for best performance the AppleWorks printer settings need custom tweaking.

 

see also    AppleWorks TimeOut SuperFonts print sample on Epson LQ-500 (hi-res scan)

  TimeOut SuperFonts original box, disks & unpeeled Beagle Bros sticker (hi-res scan)

 

AppleWorks 3.0 and the Brother M-1324

 

 

Brother M-1324 Dot Matrix Printer Owner's Manual — specifications, LQ font samples

 

         

 

PDF of complete manual available for purchase HERE

 

 

Epson LQ-550 official sample brochure ca. 1990

 

 Brother M-1324 can fully emulate the LQ-550/LQ-510/ActionPrinter 4000

 

Menus showing the TimeOut applications I was using with AppleWorks 3.0 (left) and 2.0A which preceded it (right)

 

 

AppleWorks 2.0 promotional badge and fold-out brochure

   AppleWorks 2.0 brochure (1986) - "How over 500,000 people take a shortcut to work"

High quality scan of  The UltraMacros Primer: How to Use TimeOut UltraMacros  now available HERE  [131MB PDF file]

 

 

 

 

  Claris AppleWorks 3.0 original box & quick reference card scans

 

 
 

AppleWorks 1.0 brochure "A single package, A total solution" (1984 Apple Computer) is HERE

AppleWorks 2.0 high-resolution scan of original box, disks & packing list (1986 Apple Computer) is HERE

AppleWorks 2.0 Quick Reference Card (1986 Apple Computer) high-resolution scan is HERE

AppleWorks Tutorial (1986 Apple Computer) {for AW 2.0} complete scan is HERE  [61MB PDF file]

 

AppleWorks 4.0 high quality scan of original box & disks is HERE

 

I bought AppleWorks 4.0 when it came out, but didn't make much use of it as shortly afterwards I began to do most of my work on a PowerBook 180c (printing to an HP DeskWriter 520).  Though I'm sure AW4.0 (and 5.x) offer extra facilities in the printing department.  Later I got rid of the DeskWriter and my only regret is I never tried to hook it up to the Apple IIGS.  Printing would have been possible from GS/OS using Harmonie v2.11 by Bill Heineman (disk image HERE) though at the time I only had an earlier Harmonie (1990 revision) which lacked DeskWriter support.  I still have access to an HP LaserJet 1200 and maybe one day I'll try it out with the GS.  (Another solution is Independence from Seven Hills Software - a package of GS/OS drivers for HP LaserJet/DeskJet/DeskWriter)

 

DeskJet/DeskWriter 520 driver in Harmonie v2.11b supports all printer resolutions up to  600 x 300 DPI 

  See also  FAQ for Harmonie & Independence printer drivers, HP DeskJet, DeskWriter etc  (GEnie A2 RoundTable 1990-97) 

 

Incidentally, anyone in the market for a used HP DeskJet 550C/560C or DeskJet/DeskWriter 520/510 should check the roller before buying.  The initial batch of these printers had faulty rollers which would become slick after a while and have difficulty gripping paper.  HP offered a free repair kit to U.S. customers - see article HERE.  In fact, my DeskWriter 520 eventually developed this problem and I had the roller replaced for free at the HP service centre in Osborne Park (Perth). The new rollers have a rubbery, textured feel.  The defective rollers appear shiny and smooth to the touch.

 

     

 

A review of the original HP DeskWriter in Applecations (July-August 1990) is HERE

^ 2016-05-09 (last revised 2023-09-12)


 Curiouser and curiouser 

1970's meets the 1980's

 

Enter the Computer Age - Smith-Corona portable typewriter with Messenger Module doubles as Apple II printer (November 1983, Discover)

 

 

Epson MX-80 - the revolutionary printer that forever changed the world (December 1980, Australian Personal Computer)

 

Graftrax-80 / Graftrax-Plus - dot graphics and more for Epson MX series (August 1982, BYTE)

 


Apple Extended Keyboard II

 Never planned on getting one of these, but it was an opportunity too good to pass up...  and for just A$40 from Gumtree (local pickup) this was a no-brainer.  ADB cable and even an iMate ADB to USB adapter were thrown in.

   

   

The Apple Extended Keyboard II was released in 1990 primarily for Macs with ADB ports.  Designed with PC emulation in mind, it has the typical PC layout with a full complement of special keys - F1—F15, ALT, Scroll Lock etc.  It's also Apple IIGS compatible, with the upgraded ADB controller on the ROM 3 IIGS being able to light up the LEDs for Caps Lock etc.  The Caps Lock key is of the latching variety.

 

   

 iMate ADB to USB adapter

 

 

So far I've only tested the keyboard on a Pentium 4 desktop PC running Vista, as I don't have the space for it anywhere else.  The unobtrusive iMate adapter is doing its job with Vista immediately recognizing a USB keyboard. 

 

The Apple Extended Keyboard II has an agreeable lightweight touch and is a pleasure to type on.  LED indicators work and all the keys are perfect apart from an unresponsive = key on the numeric keypad.  Not a big deal as far as I'm concerned, and for the price, I reckon I snared a bargain!

UPDATE: Just realized the standard PC keyboard doesn't even have a numeric = key, which is why the iMate adapter doesn't map this key or Vista won't register it.  However, it works fine on a Mac or IIGS with straight ADB connection.

 

I also managed to acquire the Owner's Guide for the Apple Extended Keyboard II

 

 

 

  High quality colour scans of my Apple Extended Keyboard II Owner's Guide / Manual

 

 

 

  

The Apple Extended Keyboard II is a natural with Applied Engineering's PC Transporter (running v2.0 PCT software and later)

Having real PC function keys at your fingertips makes special key combinations unnecessary.  Caps, num & scroll lock indicators light up correctly in MS-DOS environment (even on ROM 01 Apple IIGS).

  PC Transporter on Apple IIGS video demonstration — Alley Cat, SimCity, MS Word 5.0, PC Paint 3.1 — watch it HERE

Some MS-DOS programs like Alley Cat don't work properly with ADB keyboard and the only way to overcome the problem is to use an actual PC/XT keyboard (5-pin DIN connects via simple adapter directly to PCT)

  Demonstration of PC Transporter with PC/XT keyboard & 360K floppy drive (using AE TransDrive adapter by nanja.info) — watch it HERE

^ 2016-05-03 (last revised 2023-06-11)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Macintosh Plus in original box & ImageWriter I

 Spotted a fine-looking ImageWriter I printer on Gumtree and went over this morning to take a closer look...  the seller - a real Mac enthusiast - showed me some other stuff he had, including a mint condition Mac Plus in its original box complete with manuals, keyboard, mouse, accessories, original purchase receipt, and an external 3.5" drive.  It was offered to me for what seemed like a pretty good price and I ended up buying it, together with the ImageWriter I, some ClarisWorks manuals, and a couple other odds and ends.

 

ImageWriter I (220/240V model A9M0303P) - originally sold by Computer Age of Nedlands, W.A.

 

      

 

My video of Mac LC with Apple IIe Card printing to this ImageWriter is HERE

See also   Font samples from Apple Dot Matrix Printer, ImageWriter I, Scribe Thermal Printer - printouts scanned @ 300 dpi 

 

Imagewriter Packing List for Macintosh  &  Apple Stacker Packing List (printer stand)  {courtesy eBay}

  See HERE for Imagewriter debut ad (Inside Apple Vol 1 No 4 - January 1984)

 

   Computer Age 1982 ad

FLASHBACK:  This empty Unidisk case with Computer Age sticker is something I've retained through the years (now employed as a caddy for the SCSI2SD adapter).  I do remember Computer Age in Nedlands, they had this small rectangular showroom with an Apple IIGS (and quite possibly a IIe) on display just beside the entrance, and long tables with other models on either side flanking the length of the room.  The other Apple dealers of the 1980's were ComputerLand on St Georges Tce, Perth (I saw a Mac and mouse there for the very first time, and believing the mouse to be a trackball tried to operate it upside down!), Computer Choice in West Perth, and later on came Random Access AppleCentre of Adelaide Tce, Perth.  Myer department stores sold the Apple IIc and had a decent range of Apple II software.  I don't know what Myer were doing prior to the IIc, though it seems Myer in Sydney carried the Apple II Europlus at some point, e.g. advertising in March 1982 Australian Personal Computer an Apple II 48K CPU for A$1645 (not including disk drive or monitor!).

 

     

1981 ComputerLand advertisement with Apple III  &  1982 Myer Computer Wave ad for Apple II

 

Myer Computer and Business Centre Indoorooopilly  &  ComputerLand Queensland ads

Brisbane COMPUTER EXPO '83 Catalogue

 

I also found a strange Myer ad in The West Australian (December 1985) showing Apple IIe yet the text only makes mention of Apple IIc, describing it as a '64K RAM' computer (yet IIc has 128K RAM standard - 64K configuration is only possible with IIe) - should we take this to mean that selected Myer stores (e.g. Perth city) did in fact carry IIe?

 

Myer Christmas ad for Apple IIe (December 1985 The West Australian)

 

The references to "IIc" are probably a mistake.  The advertised Christmas software bundle (Typequick, AppleWorks etc) is for an Apple IIe system - see corroborating references HERE & HERE

64K would have been sufficient to run AppleWorks 1.3 - the most up-to-date version for 1985

Probably all Myer department stores carried Apple IIc (see my recollections HERE), with Apple IIe being confined to some flagship Myers only e.g. central Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane (Indooroopilly) & Grace Bros in Sydney (City & Parramatta)

  See also ad for Apple IIe Business Solution by Myer/Grace Bros in Your Computer magazine (October 1983) HERE

 

  Apple IIe & IIc Systems Authorised Retail Price List Australia (September 1985)

 

The 16-bit Apple IIGS (introduced late 1986) wasn't really promoted to the general public and had little visible retail presence in Australia.

It was targeted primarily to schools and the existing Apple II fan base and handled by some specialist Apple dealers only.  Apparently, Apple suppressed the GS, fearing competition for the Mac!

 

Interestingly, Apple in Australia did arrange behind the scenes demonstrations of the Apple IIGS for the benefit of Myer staff. I know because a friend's brother who worked in the Myer computer section attended one of these viewings.

 So Apple may have had greater plans for the GS than we suspect.  Myer department stores never carried the Apple IIGS, though sometime in 1988 began selling the Atari ST. See also 1988 Grace Bros ad for Amiga 500.

 

      Apple IIc & IIe 1985 Christmas promotion - Computer Choice (West Perth)

Gift of Christmas - ImageWriter II and UniDisk 3.5" from Computer Choice & opening of new West Perth store (Nov/Dec 1985 The Sunday Times & The West Australian)

 

 

"Apple II Family Gets 800K From UniDisk" - review of UniDisk 3.5" drive (January 1986 InfoWorld)

 

UniDisk 3.5" demo video is HERE

 

 

Macintosh Plus featured in ComputerLand (Perth) Newsletter (May 1986)

See also   Macintosh Plus launch advertisement Australia - Your Computer magazine (April 1986) [archive.org] 

 

ComputerLand ad (Perth & Nedlands) (1988 Computers West)

 

LocalTalk adapters, cabling, ADB mice - never know when these might come in handy

 

Manual for LocalTalk cable system wasn't included but this is something I already have:-

LocalTalk Cable System Owner's Guide (1987 Apple Computer) — complete scan now available HERE  [11MB PDF file]

 

ClarisWorks manuals

(ClarisWorks v2.1 was installed on my now defunct PowerBook 180c and was capable of reading Apple II AppleWorks files directly)

 

Apple Macintosh Plus original box (Australian version)

     

The above box matches the supplied computer (1989 serial number)

I have another Macintosh Plus original box (Australian) — an earlier, more attractive edition from 1986 with rainbow coloured Apple logo, some photos for comparison:-

See also my hi-res scan  Macintosh Plus & LaserWriter Plus brochure  (January 1986 Apple Computer Australia) 

 

 UNPACKING PHOTOS

   

 

"A History of Personal Computing" - Apple Computer Australia brochure from October 1990 (tucked inside the box though not part of the original contents)

    Macintosh 1984 launch - A History of Personal Computing brochure

 

Platinum Apple IIe, Apple IIGS & Macs in Apple Australia's product line-up

  

 

See HERE for Apple Computer Australia October 1990 Product Range & Price List (Apple IIe, IIGS, Macs)

 

Mac Plus keyboard

     

 

Mac Plus main unit, assorted manuals, and original purchase receipt (dated November 1989)

   

High quality scan of  Apple Hard Disk 20SC Owner's Guide (1986)  now available HERE  [12MB PDF file]

 

Packing List, Apple Product List, Apple Australia 12-month Warranty, Thank You letter

     

 Download 1988-89 Australian Apple Product List as PDF (11MB high-resolution scan)

See also   Macintosh Plus Australian Packing List, Thank You Letter & associated paperwork (1989) - high-resolution PDF scan (37MB) 

 Macintosh HyperCard Version 1.2 Update for Australia (1988) - PDF scan (13MB) 

 

The facility depicted in the letter is Apple's then new factory in Singapore (located at 7 Ang Mo Kio Street 64) which opened on 28th April 1988, replacing the old one at Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park II.  Singapore was a major site of production for Apple II Plus (motherboard), IIc (motherboard & complete system), and Apple IIe, IIc Plus, IIGS.  During late 1988, Singapore began making Macintosh computers as well.

 

Mac Plus manuals & system disks

             

 

Mac 800K External Drive (model M0131)

Drive functions well apart from the auto eject not working (needs a paperclip to manually eject).  However, as the Mac Plus can boot off this drive, I'll just keep a System 6 boot disk permanently inserted, and use the internal 3.5" (ejects fine) as the working drive.

 

In case you wondered, the Mac 800K External Drive (M0131) is not Apple IIGS compatible though the Mac Plus can accept the standard Apple IIGS 3.5" 800K drive.  But there may yet be a solution for the M0131 and Apple II.  I used to have one of those "Laser Universal Disk Controller" (UDC) cards for an Applied Engineering 800K drive in my former IIe.  When I bade farewell to the IIe, I kept the AE drive but not the UDC - though the UDC had always worked great for me (I think it underwent several ROM revisions so YMMV).  Rather intriguingly, the UDC's manual cites compatibility with Mac 400K and 800K external drives.  Even if correct, the absence of eject buttons makes these Mac drives suitable really only for the GS/OS Finder (or Mouse Desk).

 

ImageWriter I adapter cable & spare ImageWriter ribbon in original box

   

 

Close-ups of the Mac Plus

   

 

 

Interrupt/Reset programmer's switch - this slots into the side of the Mac Plus - am told this part is quite rare

 

Took me a while to figure out the placement...  for now, the Mac Plus and ImageWriter will rest atop this nice plank of wood

 

Notice how this Mac Plus, manufactured in 1989, has a platinum colour case (Mac Pluses were beige until 1987 when platinum came in).  The beige external 3.5" drive dates from 1986.

 

 

][ in a Mac

 

 Apple //e emulator running on Mac Plus - blessed with RamWorks, 800K UniDisk support, and more!

   

   

   

 

Seller had taken the precaution of removing the Mac's old battery so the clock doesn't keep time.  Otherwise everything appears shipshape.  Apparently, Steve Jobs' and Wozniak's signatures are engraved inside the case!  I'm not about to pry this thing open to confirm, but see HERE

 

WOW check this out   VIDEO - Mac Attack (1984) classic 3D tank game running smoothly on my Macintosh Plus 

 

Earthquake insurance anyone?!

 

 
 

 

 Epilogue 

Separately acquired but worthy of note...

 

New battery for Mac Plus

 

 

 

 

Apple //c Imagewriter User's Manual

 
   
 

     

    

 
 

  High quality colour scans of Apple IIc Imagewriter User's Manual Part I: Guide to Apple IIc

 

 

 

Apple MIDI Interface A9M0103 for Apple IIGS & Macintosh 512/Plus/SE/II

     

 
 

  High quality colour scans of my Apple MIDI Interface Owner's Guide / Manual

 

 

 

Apple cables 590-0191-A (Apple IIc to ImageWriter I or Scribe Thermal Transfer Printer) & 590-0555-A

  

I believe the 590-0555-A cable (on the right) can connect an Apple II Super Serial Card (with jumper block set to "Modem") to an ImageWriter II/LQ.  With the ends reversed, it may also work for printing from the Apple IIGS serial port (with the right control panel settings) to an ImageWriter I - but I've yet to confirm this.  (Another cable to try is the 590-0556-A which I don't have)

?! BRAIN TEASER !?  One of my goals was to share the ImageWriter I between the Mac Plus and GS and I found the solution via an improvised series of switchboxes and cables.  From the GS serial port, I'm running an ImageWriter II cable 590-0552-A (mini DIN-8 on both ends) to the first switchbox - which really just serves as a mini DIN-8 gender adapter - and from there a mini DIN-8 to DB25 modem cable to the second switchbox.  The lead from the Mac Plus which normally goes straight to the ImageWriter also plugs into this DB25 (two-way) switchbox. A serial cable of unknown specification links the output of the switchbox to the ImageWriter I.  Yes, painfully stitched together but this arrangement actually works!  By the flick of a switch, I can toggle the printer between either computer.  (The first switchbox is somewhat redundant but just facilitates a multiple cable run from the GS which is further away from the printer... had I an extra long cable for the GS that would certainly simplify matters)

 

 

^ 2016-05-11 (last revised 2023-12-08)


 DIRECT LINK to this section 

Apple IIe Card & button microphone for Macintosh LC

 

Macworld (December 1990)

 

 

Mark Day of Apple Computer on the Mac LC Apple IIe Card

 

May 1992 - comp.sys.apple2 newsgroup

Mark Day on Apple IIe Card for Mac LC (May 1992)

 

Apple IIe Card

 

part # 820-0444-A & 670-4444-A1

 

     

 

 

   Mac LC Apple IIe Card packing list & Australian warranty

  Mac LC Apple IIe Card Startup Software v2.2 (1992) —  IIe Startup Disk (1.4MB) [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | IIe Installer Disk (1.4MB) [Disk Copy 4.2 image]

NB: Version 2.2 is necessary to use the Apple IIe Card on Macintosh LC III and later models

 

Setting Up Your Macintosh LC (1990) — complete scan now available HERE

Special Features of Your Macintosh LC (1990) — complete scan now available HERE

 

 

Part 2 of this video - Mac LC Apple IIe Card booting off Apple 5.25 Drive - is HERE

 

   

     Mac LC II & Apple IIe Card retail prices (Winter 1992 Australia)  StyleWriter & ImageWriter II retail prices (Winter 1992 Australia)

 

Mac LC Apple IIe Card screenshots (ViewSonic CRT monitor) 40/80 column text, MouseText & Prince of Persia

Mac LC Apple IIe Card 40 column text sample  Mac LC Apple IIe Card 80 column text sample  Mac LC Apple IIe Card 40 column text with 80 column firmware active

 

Note the unusual handling of FLASHing 40 column text, which comes up as an unblinking mixture of solid red and white highlights against black characters

Perhaps the Mac LC's graphical emulation of the text screen was deemed too slow to implement proper flashing?

 

NB: FLASH followed by PRINT when executed within an Applesoft program yields consistent flashing characters on the Apple //e (unblinking red highlights on the Apple IIe Card).  It is only when you execute FLASH at the Applesoft prompt, then key in a bunch of stuff, do you see this odd juxtaposition of flashing and inverse modes - even on a real Apple //e.  The Apple IIe Card's behaviour is at least consistent - any characters that authentically flash on a real //e will be faithfully rendered as solid red highlights.

Mac LC Apple IIe Card flashing Applesoft characters

Mac LC Apple IIe Card MouseText 80 column sample  Mac LC Apple IIe Card MouseText 40 column sample

 

Mac LC Apple IIe Card Prince of Persia screenshot

 

 Graphically intensive games like Boulder Dash crawl along at snail's pace with the Apple IIe Card configured for colour.

In mono mode, the scrolling of graphics is considerably smoother and more like a real IIe.

 

Boulder Dash mono Mac LC Apple IIe Card screenshot

NB: Faster, later model Macs, in particular the LC520, reportedly perform much better with the Apple IIe Card

 

Macintosh Performa 475 (Sears Catalog Fall 1993)

Macintosh Performa 475 (equivalent to LC 475 & Quadra 605) advertised in Sears Catalog Fall 1993

 The Apple IIe Card is compatible with the entire Performa 400 series (400/405/410/430/450/460/466/467/475/476)

 

Mac Performa 475 with Czech ALPS ADB Keyboard

Macintosh Performa 475 with Czech ALPS Extended ADB Keyboard

 

 The emulated Apple IIe only operates in full-screen mode — but Mac dialogs can still appear on top

This example shows 816/Paint (IIe software) printing Airheart splash screen to ImageWriter II in colour

 

 The Apple IIe screen can be readily viewed, saved and printed on the Mac side from the IIe Option Panel

Invoking the IIe Option Panel causes the Apple IIe session to be suspended to the background

Mac LC Apple IIe Card screen dump to ImageWriter printer

Wings of Fury screen as dumped to an ImageWriter from the Mac environment

 

With Clock Card in virtual slot 2, date & time are read correctly under ProDOS 8 v2.4.2 (2018 enthusiast release)

 

The virtual Clock Card is compatible with the native Thunderclock driver built into every version of ProDOS 8.

Since Thunderclock doesn't supply the year, ProDOS calculates this from a look-up table based on other date information. This table must be patched every few years for the calculation to work.  A simpler solution is to just grab the most recent enthusiast release of ProDOS 8.

The Mac LC's emulation of Thunderclock only extends so far - the official Thunderclock Plus DOS 3.3 utilities, for example, fail to detect the presence of a Thunderclock  [ screenshot]

 

Real Thunderclock Plus installed in Apple IIe



 

 

Behaviour of the emulated Apple IIe with LOAD & SAVE cassette commands at Applesoft prompt

  

 

 

Introducing Macintosh LC, Classic & IIsi AppleTalk October 1990 (newsletter of AppleCentre Perth)

Introducing Mac LC etc (AppleTalk October 1990)

 

“Customers who install the Apple IIe Card in the expansion slot of the Macintosh LC will be able to run thousands of Apple IIe applications... The Apple IIe Card also allows Mac LC users to work with Apple IIe disk drives and joysticks. And in the Apple IIe mode, the card supports LaserWriter printing over the AppleTalk network.”

 

NB: Any printer natively supported by IIe software that can be interfaced to the LC serial ports should work, in theory.  Version 2.0 of the Apple IIe Card software even lets you print to StyleWriter (v2.2.1 or 2.2.2d1 - dating from 1993 - were the final releases).

Printing to ImageWriter/StyleWriter/LaserWriter is usually accomplished through the virtual Printer Card, configurable from the IIe Option Panel.  Apple IIe programs should treat the printer as if it's an ImageWriter II - even if it's not - over a Super Serial Card.  Use the Mac Chooser to set the target printer.  Printing through the virtual AppleShare Card is an alternative for networked printers (set print destination with the IIe program 'CHOOSER.II').

Non-Apple printers can be assigned to a virtual Serial Card and your software configured as per a real IIe with Super Serial Card.

 

See also   Sound beginning for a well-spoken 'pizza box' - launch of Mac LC, Classic & IIsi with Steve Wozniak & John Sculley - Sydney Morning Herald (October 1990) 

 

 VIDEO   The Print Shop (1986 Apple II color version) printing to ImageWriter II on Mac LC is HERE

 

 VIDEO   ImageWriter II printing MouseText from Mac LC with Apple IIe Card is HERE

 

 

The only 5.25" drive that's officially supported by the Apple IIe Card is the platinum Apple 5.25 Drive (A9M0107).  Unidisk 5.25" (beige) and Disk II won't work but some cite success with the Apple Disk IIc.  The AMR 5.25 drive is touted as Mac LC compatible (see Resource Central Catalog - March 1992).  The only compatible external 3.5" drive is the UniDisk 3.5 - not the platinum Apple 3.5 Drive of the Apple IIGS.  The built-in Mac LC SuperDrive works fine as you would expect, even handling 3.5" 1.4MB ProDOS media.  Floppy Emu Model B is reportedly compatible with the Apple IIe Card, but only with 5.25" emulator disk images.  wDrive by KbooHK shown working HERE.

 

 

See also   Apple's Guide to Classroom Computing - in-depth advertising insert / Glossy 8 page ad for Mac Classic, LC & IIsi in education / File Transfer: Apple II to Mac And Back - inCider/A+ (March 1991) [130MB PDF] 

 An Introduction to Macintosh brochure - Why do so many people choose Macintosh? (1993 Apple Computer Australia) - Mac Classic, LC II & III, Centris, Quadra, PowerBook, Duo [12MB PDF] 

 

Macintosh LC & PowerBook starring in "The Firm" (1993)

 

Did you know?

 

 Gus - The Apple IIGS Emulator 

 
 
 

for PowerPC Macs
© 1993-1997 Apple Computer

 
     
  "... The color graphics modes for Hi-Res and Double Hi-Res are rendered using color-bleeding and match the output provided by the Apple IIe Card for the Macintosh LC.  Most of the graphics modes perform extremely fast updates; that is, most graphics on Gus are substantially faster than the Apple IIe Card."

  Gus Fact Sheet (1996 KansasFest)

 

 

 

The Apple Microphone (part # 590-0617-A or 699-5103-A) was originally designed for Macintosh LC and IIsi (see Macworld article further above), but will also work on the Apple IIGS equipped with appropriate sound card.  It's a powered mike so external DC power must be provided.  I'm using a Soundman A3 Adapter for this purpose:

 

It turns out the Apple microphones use a non standard voltage (around 7V) - see HERE.  The Soundman A3 Adapter provides power from a 6V battery...

 

Official specs — Macintosh LC sound input/output ports

 

Recordings made with Sonic Blaster software and AudioZap using Apple Microphone (590-0167-A) connected to AE Sonic Blaster card

 

    Sonic Blaster Revealed (March 1990 Applecations)   AE Sonic Blaster ad May 1989 inCider (300dpi scan)  

^ 2016-05-21 (last revised 2023-09-24)


 

Apple ][ memorabilia

Who could resist these party favourite "Apple ][" stickers, mug, mouse mat and pen?  Custom-made with Vistaprint :)

 

Apple ][ badge of honour for my enhanced Apple IIe clone!

   

 

 

 

Apple ][ badge (genuine article ca. 1977-79)

 

 

 

Apple magic rug (it flies!)

 
 

Promotional souvenir accompanying the sale of an Apple //c in Australia in the mid-80's

 

^ 2016-03-14 (last revised 2017-05-29)


 APPLE II VINTAGE LIBRARY  — RARE MAGAZINE ARTICLES, MANUALS, SCANS & VIDEOS...       DIRECT LINK to this section 

 

Apple II Plus ad ComputerLand Australia (Sep 1979)  

Apple II Plus ads & Apple dealer list (May 1981 APC)

  1982 Myer Computer Wave ad for Apple II   Apple I, II, III & Lisa - A History of Personal Computing brochure

 

Apple ][ Plus ad ComputerLand Australia

    September 1979 Electronics Australia

 

Apple ][ Plus ads & authorised dealer list

→  May 1981 Australian Personal Computer [HQ scan]

 

Myer Computer Wave ad for Apple ][ Plus

  March 1982 Australian Personal Computer

 

Apple I, II, III & Lisa — A History of Personal Computing

  October 1990 Apple Computer Australia

 

Disk II Drive - photos & packing lists      Disk ][ production line Cork, Ireland with Steve Jobs (1980)  

 

 Disk ][ Drive — photos, packing lists & pricing

 

  Steve Wozniak on inventing the Disk ][ Drive — August 24, 2016 Perth

    

Apple III advertisement (March 1982 BYTE) 300dpi

    Apple /// ad (March 1982 BYTE) [300dpi scan]

 

1983 Apple IIe ad 'The renaissance man is alive and well' (USA/Canada)  

Apple IIe - Engineering a Crowd Pleaser (Feb 1983 Apple Times)

            Apple corporate timeline 1976-1988

 

The renaissance man is alive and well — 1983 Apple IIe ad   Apple //e — Engineering a Crowd Pleaser (Feb 1983 Apple Times)

"The shareholders' meeting, held on January 19 (1983) in Cupertino's Flint Center... Chairman of the Board Steve Jobs gave the packed house what they had been waiting for, a look ahead to Apple's future, the public debuts of the Apple //e and Lisa."

  Apple corporate timeline 1976-1988 (Online Archive of California)

Apple IIe advertisement (Feb 1983 Softalk) 300dpi

        Apple //e ad (February 1983 Softalk) [300dpi scan]

   

64K Apple IIe ads Australian Personal Computer August 1983

      64K Apple //e ads  (August 1983 Australian Personal Computer)

Apple //c brochure  (U.K. 1984)

    

 

 

 

 

 
 

Apple Accessories. Perfect Under Any Tree.

Important New Accessories and Special Savings for Mac, Apple IIe & IIc — Holiday 1985 Catalog (USA)

 

 

                

Apple IIe advertisement France (May 1986 Golden)   Apple IIc ad Germany (March 1987 Happy Computer)     Download PDF >> Apple Computer Inc. 1986 Annual Report

Apple //e ad France (May 1986 Golden magazine)

Apple //c ad Germany - Vφlkner Electronic (March 1987 Happy Computer)

               
                Apple Lisa ad — Zofarry Enterprises of Sydney
                
                Five "NewsDisks" of the early Apple User Group of W.A. referenced in the database of my former Apple II 5.25" disk collection (given away entirely in the mid-90's save for a handful of originals)
 
                
                W.A. Apple Users Group plays host to Ray Sarlin (AUSOM Prowling Reporter) in November 1982

                

   Apple Silentype (A2M0032) photos & print samples   Demo disks - Apple Silentype, Daisy Wheel, Color Plotter, DMP

Apple II Plus (Europlus) brochures - 1981 UK

   Apple ][ Plus brochures (1981 Apple Computer UK)

 

 

 

 

 
 

May 1983 — Apple takes over Australian distribution

 (January 1985 Australian Personal Computer)

 

 

                            

                 WordStar 3.0 Apple II installation   WordStar 3.3 & Videx Ultraterm (Popular Mechanics March 1984)      PDF >> WordStar keyboard stickers (1983)

                      

     The Applesoft Tutorial (3 distinct editions)

Three distinct editions of The Applesoft Tutorial by Apple Computer

                  

                  

    

                 Sakata SC-100 color composite monitor with Apple II   Sakata SC-100 & SC-200 Apple IIe color monitors ad - Aug 1984 Popular Computing

                   See also Vectronic's scan of Sakata SC-100 ad with Apple II (June 1983 BYTE) HERE

  More Gumball screenshots:  Kaga/Taxan RGB (IIe) | Commodore 1084S PAL composite (IIe) | Commodore 1084S green mode (IIe) | AppleColor RGB (IIGS)

Nu-Tec CRT TV NTSC composite (IIGS) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (IIe) | AppleColor Composite mono mode (IIe) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/60 (Taiwanese IIe clone)

AppleColor RGB mono (IIGS) | ViewSonic CRT VGA (Mac LC Apple IIe Card) | Samsung LCD TV PAL Color Encoder Card (Pravetz 8M) | AppleWin NTSC (Windows 7)

NEC MultiSync CRT colour (IIc VGA) | NEC MultiSync CRT green (IIc VGA) | NEC MultiSync CRT shade of green (IIc VGA) | NEC MultiSync CRT amber (IIc VGA)

Samsung LCD TV NTSC (Unitron U-2000) | Samsung LCD TV NTSC (Taiwanese IIe clone) | Samsung LCD TV PAL (IIe) | Samsung LCD TV NTSC (Laser 128EX)

Samsung LCD TV (Laser 128EX mono mode) | Monitor IIc green (Pravetz 8M) | Toshiba LCD TV NTSC (IIe) | Asus LED monitor (Laser 128EX RGB via Microbee CGA to HDMI Converter)

Monitor IIc green (Apple IIc) | Monitor IIc green (Apple IIGS with control panel set to COLOR) | Monitor IIc green (Apple IIGS in MONO standard hi-res mode - dot patterns more like IIe/IIc)

AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (Apple IIc) | Commodore 1084S PAL composite (IIc PAL Modulator/Adapter) | Nu-Tec CRT TV PAL composite (IIc PAL Modulator/Adapter)

AppleColor Composite NTSC/60 (Apple IIGS) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (Pravetz 8M) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (Apple II Plus - 230V Eurapple model)

Kaga CRT green monitor (PAL IIe with motherboard colour switch enabled) | RCA/Thomson Blackpearl CRT TV (Apple IIc Le Chat Mauve RGB SCART adapter A2M4020F)

RCA/Thomson Blackpearl CRT TV NTSC (Apple IIe) | RCA/Thomson Blackpearl CRT TV NTSC (WOMBAT Apple II+ clone)

                 “Never the same color twice!”

Low-resolution graphics 16-colour bar plots —  Kaga/Taxan RGB (IIe) | Commodore 1084S PAL composite (IIe) | AppleColor RGB (IIGS)

Nu-Tec CRT TV NTSC composite (IIGS) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (IIe) | ViewSonic CRT VGA (Mac LC Apple IIe Card) | Samsung LCD TV PAL Color Encoder Card (Pravetz 8M)

NEC MultiSync CRT (IIc VGA) | Samsung LCD TV NTSC (Unitron U-2000) | Monitor IIc green (Pravetz 8M) | Toshiba LCD TV - NTSC (IIe & Laser 128EX) and HDMI (Laser 128EX RGB)

AppleWin NTSC (Windows 7) | Virtual ][ (iMac G3) | AppleColor Composite mono mode (IIe) | VGA mono (Mac LC Apple IIe Card) | ][ in a Mac (Macintosh Plus)

Nu-Tec CRT TV PAL composite (IIc PAL Modulator/Adapter) | Monitor IIc green (Apple IIc) | Monitor IIc green (Apple IIGS with control panel set to COLOR)

AppleColor RGB & Nu-Tec CRT TV (IIGS MONO standard hi-res mode) | Monitor IIc green (Apple IIGS in MONO standard hi-res mode - imparts strange effect to lo-res graphics!)

AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (Apple IIc) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/60 (Apple IIGS) | Commodore 1084S PAL composite (IIc PAL Modulator/Adapter)

AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (Pravetz 8M) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (Apple II Plus - Eurapple model) | AppleColor Composite NTSC/50 (3.56MHz) (Apple II Europlus)

AppleColor Composite NTSC/60 (Apple IIc Plus) | Kaga CRT green monitor (PAL IIe with motherboard colour switch enabled) | Le Chat Mauve RGB SCART adapter A2M4020F (Apple IIc)

AppleColor Monitor 100 (IIe Extended 80-Column AppleColor RGB Card) | RCA/Thomson Blackpearl CRT TV (Apple IIc Le Chat Mauve RGB SCART adapter A2M4020F)

RCA/Thomson Blackpearl CRT TV NTSC (Apple IIe) | AppleColor Composite NTSC (Apple IIc) | AppleColor Monitor 100 (Apple IIGS RGB)

JVC CRT monitor PAL (Eurapple Eurocolor Encoder Card on Euro Apple II+) | AppleColor Monitor 100 (IIe Extended 80-Column AppleColor RGB Card) - double hi-res mixed mode

RCA/Thomson Blackpearl CRT TV NTSC (WOMBAT Apple II+ clone) | Digitek PAL Color Encoder Card (Apple II Europlus)

Did you know?  The Apple Dot Matrix Printer is largely a rebadged C.Itoh Prowriter 8510 (parallel model).  The replacement for the Apple DMP — the ImageWriter I — is more or less a C.Itoh 8510 (serial model) with redesigned case (15" wide carriage version also available).  The built-in fonts are the same as those of the Apple DMP, with the addition of a new 13.4 CPI "semicondensed" mode.  The ImageWriter II, introduced in 1985, has a stylish new look, adds Near Letter Quality & Draft fonts, MouseText support, colour printing, networking, more advanced paper handling and greater speed, yet retains software compatibility with the earlier models and all take the same black ribbon cartridge.  The "Standard" quality (aka Correspondence) ASCII fonts of the ImageWriter II have the same appearance as the regular text output of an Apple DMP or ImageWriter I.

 

 Overview of ImageWriter II built-in fonts  &  print samples 

 
  Draft Standard (Correspondence) NLQ (Near Letter Quality)  

Pitch

(Characters Per Inch)

ImageWriter II draft sample ImageWriter II standard quality text sample ImageWriter II NLQ sample

WATCH VIDEO → ImageWriter II prints MouseText

9 √ √ √
10 √ √ √
12 √ √ √
13.4 √ √ √
15 √ √ √
17 √ √ √
NB: Applying Bold or Headline (double-width) to Draft at any pitch reverts to Standard quality
   
Proportional-1 160DPI N/A √ √  
Proportional-2 144DPI N/A √ √  
    ImageWriter II standard quality text sample ImageWriter II NLQ sample  
 

→ Download TrueType recreations of several ImageWriter II fonts (by John H. Isles) Draft | Pica | Proportional Standard | NLQ

ImageWriter II lives on in modern TrueType style!!  ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890

                              Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (Imagineering Apple II release)

STAR CURSOR Analog LDR-501 Joystick

for Apple & IBM  (by Multicoin Australia)

Australian Software Library ad & invoices (1985)

                      

see also    Impossible Mission Australian edition【"ECP"】 with locally manufactured plastic clamshell case

                ComputerEyes/2 & Project Space Station ads for Apple II (A+ Dec 1986)   Project Space Station for Apple II ad (A+ Dec 1986)

                     

Crown G-889 arcade joystick for Apple II

                  

        

"The new factory will continue to manufacture the Apple IIe, the most widely used personal computer,

as well as the portable Apple IIc and the Apple IIGS, which features extremely advanced graphics and sound capabilities."

              

BASIS 108 Apple II clone ad (3A Computer Products Catalog 1983)

              Epyx Dragon's Eye for Apple II by Southern Software (New Zealand)

Epyx Dragon's Eye by Southern Software (New Zealand)

Nikrom Master Diagnostics for Apple II original photos

                     

 

 

 

 

 
 

Why you should buy an Apple II-something instead of an IBM PC-anything

Apple IIe/IIc brochure (1984 Apple Computer)

 

 

Apple II j-plus was the only Asian-localized Apple II ever made.  As for subsequent Apple II models sold in the Far East, UK or USA English keyboards were the norm.  For instance back in 1983 in Hong Kong, you could have bought Apple IIe in the UK PAL version - see HERE.  In Japan, models similar to the American Apple IIc & IIe were available in stores - see HERE & HERE.  The Japanese Apple IIc A2S4000J { photos HERE} sported an American QWERTY keyboard, but toggle switches & status lights above the keyboard were labelled with symbols rather than text (as per European & Canadian IIc).  Supplied power module was 100V 50/60Hz or 120V/60Hz.  An Apple II Kanji Word Processor was developed internally at Apple but never saw commercial use - see HERE.  An 11" colour monitor with Apple logo - Toray TM-113V(A) - was marketed for j-plus - please refer HERE & HERE.

Apple Geometry and Measurement Japanese edition (1980)   Canon to sell Apple computers in Japan (ETI Jan 1984)  Canon Apple IIe IIc paperwork & Japanese //e manual

Dick Smith CAT Personal Computer (Laser 3000)   Dick Smith CAT colour ad (Electronics Australia August 1984)

                      

Did you know?  Laser 128EX (Apple IIe/IIc compatible computer) supports both analogue and digital RGB which produce a sharper image than is possible with regular composite video.  The RGB implementation is based around the 16 colour CGA palette but only digital RGB gives you the full set (8 colours with 2 levels of intensity).  Laser's analogue RGB serves up a simplified subset of only 8 colours (lo-res/DHR colours #0-7 and #8-15 are duplicate sets).  Standard hi-res colours look the same in either mode and correspond quite well to the Apple standard.  Lo-res colour #7 (also present in double hi-res) which is nominally light blue, shows the most striking difference, being rendered grey in digital RGB and white with analogue.

Commodore MPS-1000 Amiga bundle - Backgammon Shop (Dec 1986)

  

My close-up encounter with a wombat at Hartz Mountains National Park in Tasmania on 25 August 2014

       Wombat Apple II clone screenshots (mono & colour)

"In 1983, Apple, worried about the increasing number of illegal clones on the market declared war on the manufacturers. Their first victim was Computer Edge, the Australian distributor of a Taiwanese clone, the Wombat... At the end of 1983 the Australian Federal Court found in favour of Computer Edge... This led to an uproar which resulted in the Australian copyright law being amended so that it applied to software. In 1984 the full bench of the Federal Court reversed the original decision by a majority of 2-1. However, the final appeal, decided in 1986, supported the original judgment by a 3-2 majority." — The Age (May 3, 1988)

The ramification of this ruling is that Apple II clones (using copied Apple ROMs) and pirated software in general, were legal in Australia - right up until the law was changed. Apple did succeed in shutting down most of the Apple II cloning operations in the Far East. Those companies regrouped, switched to IBM cloning with a vengeance, and it was the millions of cheap PC clones flooding out of Taiwan in particular - many with legal BIOS (e.g. Phoenix, AMI) and licensed copies of MS-DOS or Windows - which almost drove Apple to the wall by the mid-1990's.

Apple loses lawsuit against Wombat Apple II clone - Jan 1984 InfoWorld

Apple loses Wombat lawsuit

& Apple III Plus released (Jan 1984 InfoWorld)

 

 Lothlorien Software ad for Apple II (March 1984 - Your Computer)

 
   

Lothlorien Software ad (March 1984 Your Computer)

further info on Lothlorien products HERE

 

   

      Dow Jones News & Quotes Reporter for Apple II ad (Nov 1980 Santa Cruz Sentinel)   Microsoft Apple II products - Multiplan, Fortran-80, Applesoft Compiler, SoftCard, RAMCard
    Dow Jones News & Quotes Reporter for Apple II ad (Nov 1980 Santa Cruz Sentinel)   Microsoft Multiplan, Fortran-80, Applesoft Compiler, SoftCard, RAMCard for Apple II

Your Apple II and the LaserWriter (July 1986 A+)

 

Using LaserWriter with the Apple IIGS (GS+ Magazine)

Apple LaserWriter with the Apple IIGS (Nov/Dec 1990 GS+ Magazine)

 "LaserWriting" fonts & templates  from the GS+ disk are HERE

 

 Your Apple II and the LaserWriter (July 1986 A+ magazine)

 

   Explore Australia on Apple IIgs - Your Computer August 1988

    

                    

Taxan RGB Vision-I monitor & 64K RGB 80 Column Card Apple IIe

Taxan RGB Vision-I monitor (120V model)

& Taxan 64K RGB 80 Column Card (IIe)

The Body in Focus on AppleColor Monitor 100 (RGB)

Ads for Fulltext Pro-80 & Dark Star Systems

         Automatic Ice Parallel Printer Card for Apple II    

1988 revision of Auto Ice Printer Card

featuring Epson ImageWriter emulation

 [the Auto Ice Printer Card was also produced under license by Cardco of the USA - see HERE & HERE & HERE]

Laser 128EX with Epson APL card in expansion slot  

see also    AppleWorks TimeOut SuperFonts print sample on Epson LQ-500 (hi-res scan)

                       

                  

Apple IIc International Packing List (Australia) - Z030-0846-A - high-resolution scan

Apple IIc Export Control Regulations (multi-lingual) - 030-1165 - high-resolution scan

Apple Monitor IIc Packing List (1984) - 030-0942-A - high-resolution scan  {same as USA version}

Apple Monitor IIc Evaluation Report (1984) - 030-0952-A - high-resolution scan

Apple Computer 90 Day Limited Warranty (1983) - 030-0183-E REV 1183 - high-resolution scan

AppleMouse IIc Packing List (1984) - 030-0962-B - high-resolution scan

                  

                         

                  Apple Scribe Printer A9M0306 vs A9M0306Z models

                            Apple Scribe Printer A9M0306 (115V) & A9M0306Z (220/240V) models

Did you know?  Apple Scribe can print directly on thermal roll paper with no ribbon — watch demonstration HERE

               

   

    Apple IIc 20 page promo booklet - 1984 USA/Canada (A2F4001)

Scan of complete Apple IIc brochure (A2F4001) available from  The Trailing Edge 

     

Apple IIc 12 page brochure A2F4003 (1984)

 
   

          

                 

 [see HERE for John Sculley with Apple IIGS on front cover of "Family Computing" (Oct 1986) & HERE for "COMPUTE!" (Nov 1986) cover story "A Hands-On Look At The New Apple IIGS Computer"]

       

   

   

Refer HERE & HERE for details of the 1989 Conference

                

Win an APPLE IIGS! — January 1987 Your Computer (Australia)

"With an unprecedented $500,000 television campaign, Questor Entertainment Products has arrived. Launched by Imagineering, the new company plans to create a high profile for its range of entertainment software. With exclusive access to products from some of the world's top software houses like Activision, Micro Illusions, Mindscape and MicroProse, Questor seems set to make quite a splash. Although taking over the entire range of Imagineering games, which is comprehensive, national sales manager Alan Bowman promises to seek out and deliver "all the hottest new titles". — Sydney Morning Herald (October 19, 1987)

see also    Apple Computer GmbH colour brochure - Preisliste Apple IIc, IIe, Macintosh, Lisa (November 1984)  &  Apple-Preisliste Apple IIe, IIc, Mac (November 1985) - Hardware, Software, Peripherie, Zubehφr

          

Your Apple Tour of the Apple IIGS screenshot (1986 first version)

Apple IIe & IIc made in USA (Dallas, Fremont) and Singapore

American models of the Apple IIe & IIc — as assembled in USA (Dallas, Fremont) & Singapore

                 

                               "The Journey Never Ends" poster (ca. 1990)

                         Apple IIe | Apple IIGS with Hard Disk 80SC | Mac LC

                  Vulcan (Applied Engineering) & InnerDrive (Applied Ingenuity)

                      Vulcan by Applied Engineering & InnerDrive by Applied Ingenuity

  

1986 Apple IIGS AppleColor RGB Monitor A2M6014X (240V)   1991 Apple IIGS AppleColor RGB Monitor A2M6014X (240V)

 

Apple IIGS AppleColor RGB Monitor A2M6014Z (220V)

AppleColor RGB Monitor (A2M6014Z - 220V model)

NB: This European model (220V) works best with GS set for 60Hz refresh - see HERE

Same applies to 240V model though 50Hz is mandatory with PAL version Apple II Video Overlay Card - see HERE

VOC Populi from Brutal Deluxe displays the state and capabilities of a Video Overlay Card (and distinguishes PAL vs NTSC versions)

 

            Apple IIGS hidden menu to select 60 or 50 Hz video

      Apple IIGS hidden menu to select 60 or 50Hz video (RGB & composite)

 

Every Apple IIGS - regardless of where it was sold - outputs NTSC video via the RCA composite jack (fixed 3.58MHz colour burst with adjustable 60/50Hz vertical frequency).  A little known PAL conversion kit was available in Australia.

 

AppleColor RGB Monitor (A2M6014X - 240V model)

Left:  Made in Japan - November 1986

Right:  Made in Singapore - February 1991

     
 
Australian 1988 Apple II Winter Promotion  

1988 Apple II Winter Promotion (Australia)

][+ trade up to Platinum IIe & discount pricing on IIe & 256K IIGS Starter System

 

GS/OS System 4.0 as bundled with Apple IIGS (A2S6010) from late 1988

System 4.0 as bundled with Apple IIGS (A2S6010) from late 1988  (NB: Some A2S6010 models predate System 4.0 and even - in their factory-original state - ROM 01 - e.g. see HERE)

 

 

Apple IIGS brochure with Video Overlay Card & AppleCD SC

 

Apple CD-ROM Explorer for AppleCD SC (1988)

Apple CD-ROM Explorer for AppleCD SC (1988)

       

Apple IIGS brochure with Video Overlay Card & AppleCD SC (April 1989)

 

  see HERE for "Apple IIGS Plus - The Future" (1988 prototype with 7.8MHz clock speed & four new super hi-res graphic modes...) — article from National US GS Users Group BBS republished in "Apple-Bug" (July 1988)

Second Sight VGA card for Apple IIe & IIGS     Cogito wins Best Mac Game 1992 Apple France

The Second Sight VGA Display Interface adds SVGA capabilities to any Apple IIe or IIGS with resolutions up to 1024x768.  Cogito from Brutal Deluxe Software (IIGS port of award-winning French game) supports this card with 640x400 graphics in 256 colours.

 "The Apple IIGS is the reincarnation of the Apple II spirit... We should not try to artificially constrain this product by positioning it as an educational computer or a home computer... It could be an interesting small-business type of machine. My idea of positioning tends to be simplistic: It's the high-end-technology Apple II... We are already working on the successor to this machine..." — Jean-Louis Gassée (Apple Vice-President for Product Development) — inCider (October 1986)

 

 

 

  NEW for 2019 — the VidHD from Blue Shift Incorporated provides an all-digital HDMI 1080p output to any Apple II, II Plus, IIe or IIGS. "VidHD has better clarity and color accuracy than composite, SCART, or even the original Apple IIGS RGB monitor."  Graphics are displayed in one of four color modes (HDTV, HDTV B&W, NTSC/PAL, IIGS). It provides new text modes (80x45, 120x67, 240x135) and confers color text and IIGS super hi-res to II/II+/IIe!

 

      

             

 [see HERE for photo of Digicard 4MB Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Board]

             

Digicard 80 column screenshots (Apple II Plus)  

Taxan RGB Vision, Graphic Mouse, Magic Touch Pad ads - Jan 1985 APC

  See also PHOTO: Apple II Europlus with Maclagan Wright & Associates PAL Encoder Card - courtesy S. Johnson

  See also 240V ColorMonitor IIc — A2M4043X  &  240V AppleColor Composite Monitor — //c matching model A2M6020X

PHOTO: Oscilloscope waveform - colour burst of European Apple IIc  - courtesy M. Orlandi

  See also PHOTOS: Apple IIe PAL Colour Card (A2A005) for the Platinum Apple IIe 'International NTSC'

                       

                       

    AutoDuel Apple II original box with Myer price sticker     Epyx Impossible Mission & Summer Games II original boxes with Myer price sticker

             AutoDuel, Impossible MIssion, Summer Games II original boxes with Myer price stickers

           Europe Ablaze Apple II original 

 

 

Strategic Studies Group ad (August 1987 Applecations)

 
 

"Superior Computer Games from Strategic Studies Group"

(August 1987 Applecations)

 

 

     [HERE is a 1985 television interview with Ian Trout and Roger Keating - founders of Strategic Studies Group.  See also Strategic Simulations Inc. Summer 1987 Catalog with games by Roger Keating et al.]

                     

                      

 [NB: The original IIGS has 256K on-board RAM, however a non-expandable 256K RAM card (A2A6008 / A661-0256) came standard with the Australian Apple IIGS from the very beginning, for a total of 512K - see HERE, HERE & HERE.  A discounted 256K "Starter System" (lacking RAM card) was made available during the Australian 1988 Apple II Winter Promotion.  From March 1988, Apple began including free, with every system sold in the USA, the Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Card (A2B6002) with 256K fitted (user-expandable to 1MB), ahead of the arrival of System 4.0 (GS/OS) which requires minimum 512K - see HERE & also pg 24 of The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide (Winter 1990). The revised ROM 3 Apple IIGS, launched late 1989, has 1.128MB RAM incorporated on the motherboard.]

 

 

 

"People buy Apple II computers for a number of reasons" brochure excerpts (Jan 1987 - USA)

 
 

"People buy Apple II computers for a number of reasons"

Excerpts from Apple IIe, IIc, IIGS brochure (January 1987 - USA)

 

 

 

 

Apple IIGS business promo from British Apple IIGS brochure

 
   

"Hire an experienced business partner" from 12 page British Apple IIGS brochure

 

PHOTOS Automatic Ice Intelligent Modem Card for Apple II

APC Aug 1985 - Apple Modem 1200 videotex bundle

          Apple II In/Modem from NetComm / Apple Computer Australia          

 

  Apple II In/Modem from NetComm / Apple Computer Australia
                          
&
  Videotex II software

  

                             SPRITE GRAPHICS CARD for Apple II (1984)

An earlier version of the NetComm Apple II modem (June/July 1984 Electronics Australia & AAR)

  Chip Checker and Sprite Graphics Card from Australian Video Presentations (Sep 1984 Electronics Australia)
 

              Apple Personal Modem (A9M0334)

Apple Modem 1200 (external) made by NetComm (1987 APC Communications Special)

Model # A9M0301-Z (supporting CCITT V21, V23 mode 2) photos HERE

 

        Apple Personal Modem (A9M0334 - USA model)

Australian models of the Apple Personal Modem & Apple Personal Modem Plus were made by NetComm - see HERE & HERE

Apple Data Modem 2400 (G5432) for the North American market was "assembled in Australia" by NetComm

                      The NetComm Program for Apple IIGS by Ian Joyner

                 The NetComm Program for Apple IIGS

              Apple Personal Modem Plus (A9U0004 - Australian model)
   

                    Apple Personal Modem Plus  (A9U0004 - Australian model)

                           (supporting CCITT V21, V22, V23  &  Bell 103, 212)

                             Stackable with Apple 3.5 and UniDisk 3.5 drives

Maestro Australia

Apple II modem card

                     Viaterm for Apple IIGS

HI TECH C Compiler for Apple IIGS (October 1987 Electronics Australia)

                Viaterm Videotex software for Apple II (1987 APC Communications Special & The Apple IIgs Software Directory)

             Plus-Works ad - AppleWorks for clones (March 1986 AUSOM News)

Videx AppleWorks Modify Plus on the Pravetz 8M

                Plus-Works - AppleWorks enhancer & clone compatibility e.g. Dick Smith CAT & Laser 3000 (March 1986 AUSOM News)
                      
 
               Information on Mouse Desk and Apple IIGS System Software releases

                       

   Epson #8699E & Star NL-10 Interface for Apple IIc

 

Quick File II for Apple //e — original box scans

           Quick File // for Apple //e — original box scans

 "In 1981, I wrote, and Apple published, Quick File for the Apple II and ///, a predecessor of the AppleWorks data base..." — Rupert Lissner (mastermind behind AppleWorks & /// EZ Pieces) — Apple-Bug (February 1990)

                        

TotalWorks book from McGraw-Hill

AppleWorks 5.0 for Apple II original box   AppleWorks 5.0 new features list

 AppleWorks 5.0 original box  (1994 Quality Computers)

Ice-Cable (Epson to ImageWriter Converter)   

Two Series Software Catalog - sample ads

[The 800K drive was newly purchased by me in early 1990 and is completely unmodified. It sports Sony MP-F17W-5PF 1.44MB mechanism but HD support is disabled (AE did offer an upgrade to activate HD - for a fee). Even in this 800K configuration the drive detects the HD notch on 1.44MB disks and refuses to work with them unless the notch is covered up making them appear as 800K.  The Apple 3.5 Drive doesn't care about this notch and treats all HD disks as 800K. In practice, I've found the AE drive to be somewhat more robust than the Apple 3.5 for reading marginal disks.  OTOH, the AE is noisier in operation.  The AE handles copy-protected IIGS disks just fine and supports 4:1 and 2:1 interleaving.  Its dual-colour LED flashes green when reading and red when writing.]

MacZombies for Apple IIGS by Bill Heineman

Cover June 1991 inCider/A+ - Apple IIGS vs Mac LC

Friends or Foes?  Apple IIGS vs Mac LC

(June 1991 inCider/A+)

 

3D Case for FASTChip IIe control panel

 

The Jet  (1985 SubLOGIC) — demo sequence on PC Transporter (Apple IIGS)

PC Transporter printing to Epson LX-800   

 Apple sells 4000 Apple IIgs computers with PC Transporter cards to US Department of Defense

Mind Prober & Mind Prober Jr for Apple II  

 Mind Prober, Mind Prober Jr  &  Human Edge Software ad

Rastan for Apple IIGS review (GS+ Nov/Dec 1990)

          GS+ Magazine review of Rastan

Apple Computer advertisement

Joystick ][, Hand Controllers ][, Cursor ///, Numeric Keypad

(September 1982 Creative Computing) [400dpi scan]

     [Cursor III joystick photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]

Applefest advertisement (Feb 1983 Softalk) 300dpi

Applefest Anaheim/Boston/San Francisco

(February 1983 Softalk) [300dpi scan]

GSoft BASIC from The Byte Works as featured in Juiced.GS

"The new Atari 1040ST, the one-megabyte-memory improved version of the 520ST, is to be launched at the PC 86 show in Melbourne. The 1040ST is aimed primarily at business users, but, like its small brother the 520ST, it comes equipped with the industry-standard musical interface, MIDI (which stands, as we all know, for Musical Instrument Digital Interface). This means it can be connected to all industry standard synthesisers. This is double handy, as the Australian distributor of the Atari machines, Mobex, is also the distributor for the Casio range of musical synthesisers and electronic keyboards. It is also interesting to note the Atari has a standard parallel interface which allows it to use the Casio portable electronic typewriter as a printer...

The long-awaited new Apple II will use the Western Design WD65C816. This is a 16-bit chip designed to be compatible with the eight-bit 6502 processor used in the Apple II, Commodore 64 and other home micros. Unfortunately, the new Apple package with disc drive and monitor will be less powerful than an Atari 1040STF, but more expensive, and have far less 16-bit software available. The new Super II will be very important in the United States where the Apple II has been a best-seller since 1977.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the home-micro market hots up with some quite amazing marketing plans due to be revealed towards the latter part of this year. At the same time, Apple will release new products which it is coyly hiding under such code names as Dodger and Milwaukee. These include the 16-bit Apple, mentioned earlier, a Macintosh with a larger screen and a laser printer operating at 400 dots an inch.
There will almost certainly not now be a colour Macintosh until earlier next year. It already exists, and has been demonstrated to the Apple staff in the company's California headquarters. The reason for it not being launched is that Apple want to keep the clear market differentiation between the Macintosh and the Amiga and Atari.
" — Sydney Morning Herald (June 2, 1986)

Support for Epson scalable fonts in Windows XP

"Apple Computer's Apple II range has dominated educational computing in Australia for 17 years... Like DOS machines, the Apple II runs on a text-based operating system, in this case called ProDOS... Two models are still being marketed to schools, the colour IIe at A$1195 and the GS at A$1795. Both will probably be phased out over the next year or so." — The Age (January 25, 1993)  [NB: Though already discontinued, Apple IIGS remained available in Australia until ca. 1994.  Of course it could also run GS/OS - a Mac-like operating system - in addition to 8-bit OS e.g. ProDOS, DOS 3.3, Pascal, GEOS as well as - with suitable co-processor card - CP/M and MS-DOS]

see also    Recommended computers for schools in each Australian State and Territory in 1986

Apple II Video Overlay Card

1989 dealer poster

Macintosh PowerPC, PowerBook 540c, Duo

   & Wolfenstein 3D in "The Net" (1995)

Apple Newton in "Under Siege 2" (1995)

with Steve Jobs look-alike Steven Seagal

"Land of the Giants: Titans of Tech - Apple: Think Different" (2022)

Macrocosm - Exploring the Macintosh Universe —  March 1994 - Feb 1995 [15MB StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 images] | March 1994 - Feb 1995 [14MB ZIP archive Disk Copy 4.2 images] | Scan of original disks [14MB PDF file]

Mac LC Apple IIe Card Startup Software v2.2 (1992) —  IIe Startup Disk (1.4MB) [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | IIe Installer Disk (1.4MB) [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | IIe Startup & Installer Disks [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 images]

Gravis Mac MouseStick II v3.3.2 Installer (1996) —  1.4MB disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 1.4MB disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk & Quick Start manual [20MB PDF file]

Macintosh Australian Postcodes (1988-90) —  800K disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 800K disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk

Connectix PowerBook Utilities 2.0 (1993) —  800K disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 800K disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk

Connectix Speed Doubler 1.3.3 (1998) —  800K disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 800K disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk | Scan of complete manual

MacTest Pro (PowerBook Vol 1) (1993) —  1.4MB disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 1.4MB disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image]

Take a fresh look at the Apple Family Tree (1994) —  800K disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 800K disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original disk

CD CLASSIC with 500MB+ shareware for Mac System 7.1 and below (1996 New York MacUsers' Group) —  HFS CD-ROM [266MB ZIP archive ISO image] | Scan of CD jewel case | Contents of root folder

AppleAssist Volume 6 Apple Software Updates CD & database of 12,000+ Macintosh Products (1998) —  HFS CD-ROM [381MB ZIP archive ISO image] | Scan of original CD label | Contents of root folder

Deja ][ v1.2 AppleWorks 5.1 emulator for Mac System 7 (1999) —  Self-Extracting Archive (2MB) [SEA in MacBinary wrapper]  → see screenshots HERE

Miles Computing Mac Attack (1984) —  Scan of original box & manual [16MB PDF file] | Demo video on Macintosh Plus  [this was only the 2nd game to hit the Mac market]

Capstone Trump Castle II (1992) —  Color Version (800K) [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Color Version (800K) [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image]

    Black & White Version (800K) [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Black & White Version (800K) [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original box, disks & manual [36MB PDF file]

MacPlay/Interplay Out Of This World (1992) —  1.4MB disk [Disk Copy 4.2 image] | 1.4MB disk [StuffIt archive Disk Copy 4.2 image] | Scan of original box, disk & manual [28MB PDF file]

 

FUSION-PC 1.2 Macintosh emulator (full version) for MS-DOS (1998 Microcode Solutions) —  ZIP archive  [emulates 68040 - includes Quadra ROM - runs up to MacOS 8.1]

                  

  see also    A Day in the Life of Bill Budge (K-POWER June 1984)

                     

      The original Apple II User's Guide by Lon Poole

   Sword of Sodan Apple IIGS advertisement - June 1989 inCider/A+   Sword of Sodan ad - 300dpi scan - May 1989 inCider

 

 

   

 

 

    Tweet from Woz staying at the Parmelia Hilton in Perth: 
   

    A fitting choice!  Interesting fact: In the 1980's, the Parmelia Hilton's accounting system was run entirely on Apple II equipment and the software was custom designed for them by Samurai Software's lead programmer (then aged just 16).

              
                    Parmelia Hilton as it looked in the early 80's
 
              
                    King Tut exhibition in Perth (October 2016)

^ 2024-06-27 (last revised)


 X-REF (Cross-Reference) to Apple II Programming Books (144 pages - PDF original scan) 

Download X-REF to Apple II Programming Books

A compilation of the glossaries and indexes from the books and references listed below. It is intended to be a "look here first" book for helping you find the definition to terms used in any of these sources of technical information. In addition, the compiled index will help you find what you are looking for across the entire suite.

The books covered:
Apple IIc Technical Reference
Apple IIe Technical Reference
Apple IIGS Firmware Reference
ProDOS 16 Technical Reference
Programmer's Introduction to the Apple IIGS
Technical Introduction to the Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS Toolbox Reference (treated as a whole)

 
Technical notes:
Apple IIe Tech Notes
Apple IIc Tech Notes
Apple IIGS Tech Notes
Apple II Miscellaneous Tech Notes
AppleTalk Tech Notes
GS/OS Tech Notes
ImageWriter Tech Notes
Memory Expansion Card
Mouse Tech Notes
ProDOS 8 Tech Notes
Pascal Tech Notes
SmartPort Tech Notes
UniDisk 3.5 Tech Notes

Apple IIGS Technical Reference Library (Addison-Wesley)

^ 2015-11-11 (last revised 2020-05-13)


AppleSwap disks (Apple Computer Australia Pty Ltd)

 

       

How Do I Get To Woolloomooloo? (1987 JDEisenberg)

 


 

"Enter the GS: A dramatic breakthrough for the Apple II range" - Apple IIGS cover story, Apple User magazine (UK) (October 1986)

 

Apple IIGS launch advertisement United Kingdom - Apple User magazine (UK) (April 1987)

 Download as PDF (60MB high-resolution scan)

 
 

 

 "Now the world's favourite personal computer is one of the world's most powerful.  Introducing the Apple IIGS." 

Apple IIGS brochure United Kingdom (12 pages)

 


 
Apple IIGS rear view

 
 

  High-resolution scan "Introducing the Apple IIGS" UK brochure (12 pages) & Apple UK Autumn 1986 Retail Price List [26MB]

 
 
 

The complete Australian edition of this brochure - 20 PAGE HQ scan - now available @ archive.org  (with thanks to 'Jongleur')

 Canadian English version of this brochure available HERE  (courtesy Mitchell Spector)  &  Italian two-page advertisement is HERE

  See also Apple IIGS French fold-out brochure (August 1986) similar to above 1 | 2  (courtesy 'michael_trust' on eBay FR)

«Son et lumiθre avec l'Apple IIGS» (Avril 1987)

French press release «Son et lumiθre avec l'Apple IIGS» (April 1987)

 

Apple IIGS Installationshandbuch & Technische Dokumentation (Apple Computer GmbH)

Installationshandbuch Apple IIGS & Apple IIGS Technische Dokumentation (official German manuals)

 "Installationshandbuch Apple IIGS" (1986 Apple Computer GmbH) - complete high-resolution scan

 

Apple IIGS Pandasoft (Berlin) ad (Der Spiegel 1987)

Apple IIGS — Pandasoft ad (Der Spiegel, Nr.38/1987)

Major vendor of Apple II in Germany — hardware, software, books & magazines

Also see   Pandasoft Apple II II+ IIe IIc Katalog (Spring 1986) @ archive.org 

 

See also hi-res scans  Apple Live - Sonderheft zum neuen Apple IIGS  (September 1986 Apple Computer GmbH) - 27-page German brochure 

 

 
 

Steve Wozniak reminisces in Apple User magazine (UK) (February 1987)

 

Apple User (UK) magazine - selected news, reviews, tutorials, ads  Feb 1987 - Aug 1987 [212MB PDF file] | Jan 1988 - May 1988 [297MB PDF file]

 

   Apple IIGS 220-240V assembled in Cork, Ireland

Apple IIgs British keyboard

Irish manufactured Apple IIGS original box  —  base of CPU with serial #  —  UK English Apple IIGS keyboard [photos courtesy of eBay UK]

Apple IIGS fact sheet from Apple Computer UK - "The powerful new generation Apple II"

 

Italian version "Apple IIGS - Il piω potente Apple II" (September 1986) is HERE

 

 

 

   Apple Monochrome Monitor A2M6016X original box (AU model)

12" Apple Monochrome Monitor (composite) for Apple IIGS or IIc (white phosphor)

A2M6016X (240V southern hemisphere) & A2M6016Z (220V northern hemisphere) models

  

  

 Download high-resolution photos Apple Monochrome Monitor A2M6016X original box [18 MB]

 

Italian Apple IIc A2S4000T

Italian Apple IIc

A2S4000T model (220/240V PAL)

[photos courtesy eBay UK]

 

 
 

 Apple IIGS garners prestigious 19th SMAU Industrial Design Award in Milan 

 

Italian Apple IIGS (A2S6000W)

Italian Apple IIGS (ROM 01)

A2S6000W model (220/240V)

[photos courtesy eBay Italy]

 

Apple IIGS wins IEEE Good Design Award (May 1987)

 Apple IIGS wins IEEE Good Design Award (May 1987) 

 

   Apple IIGS Bose RoomMate speakers (version with volume knob)

Bose RoomMate speakers for Apple IIGS

 VIDEO - Bose RoomMate on the new Apple IIGS - American TV special with Curtis Sasaki of Apple  (October 3, 1986 The Computer Chronicles) - YouTube 

 

Apple IIGS 1988 Christmas ad (ComputerLand San Francisco)

Apple IIGS & AppleWorks GS Christmas ad (1988)

ComputerLand — San Francisco Bay Area

Full page ad from Californian TV Guide

 


 

Apple IIGS launch advertisement Australia (1987) - published in magazines & as a fold-out brochure from Apple dealers (the brochure had at least one extra page listing the specs)

 

[scans courtesy of The Australian Apple Review © Gareth Powell / A.P.P.L.E.]

 

Did you know?!  "The Apple IIgs Software Directory" (84 pages, by Peter J. Lynden) was published in 1987 by Apple Computer Australia — view library citation

The Apple IIgs Software Directory by Peter J. Lynden (1987 Apple Computer Australia)

 

The Parthenon two-page Apple IIGS advertisement

Sports Illustrated (USA) — October 26, 1987

 

“The most powerful Apple II in history. And every other subject.”

 
 

  High-resolution scan of "The Parthenon" advertisement [16MB]

 

 

 

Brochures 1988 showing Woz edition Apple IIGS (6 pages)   & 1991 with ROM 3 IIGS (4 pages)

  I initially guessed this was from Canada, as it refers to the optional Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Card and uses international English spellings.  In Australia, the original IIGS came standard with a locally manufactured 256K memory card for a base configuration of 512K RAM.  Woz Limited Editions - first 50,000 shipping IIGS units emblazoned with Wozniak's autograph - were to be found in USA, Canada and Australia, but I'm uncertain about the UK, which sourced their IIGS's not from Singapore but Apple's factory in Cork, Ireland.  These Irish units do contain actual Irish components (e.g. 8 ohm internal loudspeaker) but the motherboards were largely (or exclusively?) supplied from Singapore.  Some later European IIGS's (e.g. French ROM 3) were assembled in their entirety in Singapore.  Singaporean ROM 01 IIGS for Europe does exist (A2S6000ZA) but is less common.  Apple IIGS production had officially ceased at Cork, Ireland by February 1992 - see Apple UK dealer memo.  But they were still being churned out in Singapore and System 6 was even bundled for good measure - see American ROM 3 IIGS "as new" boxed (1992).  The Apple IIGS was formally discontinued worldwide end-1992.

This ROM 3 brochure was definitely circulating in Australia, and is similarly worded to the earlier 1988 one

 

 UPDATE   I managed to source the original brochure   Hi-res scan (6 pages)

It originates from Australia and is dated May 1988.  The cover depicts a Woz Limited Edition, but it's unlikely these commemorative units were still available in 1988.  The single production run of Woz editions ceased sometime in early 1987.

 

Apple IIGS 220-240V assembled in Cork, Ireland

220-240V Apple IIGS assembled in Cork, Ireland (5th week of 1987)

Serial No. C7050CHA2S6000 (A2S6000W model family)

 

 Steve Wozniak presents Woz Limited Edition Apple IIGS to Douglas Adams  

Early French Apple IIGS assembled Cork, Ireland (49th week 1986)

Early French Apple IIGS assembled in Cork, Ireland (49th week of 1986) — as new in original box!

In France, Apple IIGS at launch came standard with 512K RAM (256K motherboard plus Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Card with 256K fitted, user-expandable to 1MB) see French press release

Apple IIGS with Serial No. C64906YA2F6000 (A2S6000W model family)

Model info is engraved in plastic on the underside of the case (with added sticker for serial number)

Comparatively, Apple IIGS units originating from Singapore are not embossed — model ID resides on a large printed adhesive label

 

Apple IIGS ROM 3 motherboard

Apple IIGS ROM 3 motherboard

 

(manufactured 39th week of 1989)

 

Model/Order Numbers for ROM 3 Apple IIGS — A0012X/A (Australia), A0012LL/A (USA), A0012C/A (Canada), A0012B/A (UK), A0012F/A (France) etc.

For an overview of the ROM 3 see "What's Inside The "New" IIGS" in The Apple IIGS Buyer's Guide (Winter 1990)

 

 

  Article on Australian debut of Apple IIGS & Apple Australia data sheet IIe to IIGS Upgrade Kit (Applecations - Oct 1986 & Jan/Feb 1987)

 

 
 

  Colour scans of The IIGS Upgrade Kit cover story from A+ February 1987

 

 

 

Apple IIe to IIGS Upgrade (A2S6001)

Photos Apple IIe to IIGS Upgrade (A2S6001)

For Apple IIGS Upgrade pricing & options please see my scan   Apple Education & Government Confidential Price List (USA) - March 1987 

In Australia, the upgrade cost A$1195 see HERE

 

  

"Introducing the Apple IIGS" 20 page brochure (USA) - excerpts

Scan of complete brochure available from  Vectronic's Collections 

 

"Guess what" 6 page Apple IIGS brochure (1986 USA)

  

 

  High quality color scans of "Guess what" Apple IIGS brochure

 

 

 

"Apple Pays Half" double-sided Apple IIGS advertising postcard (1987 USA)

 

  High-resolution color scans of "Apple Pays Half" postcard

 

 

 

"System 6: The Future is Here" - The Apple II Guide (1992)

 

 

  "System 6: The Future is Here" (12 pages) - The Apple II Guide (1992)

 

 

 

   Apple IIgs Original Hardware Laptop by Benjamin J Heckendorn

 

Who owns this car?!


 

 

 

  1001 Things To Do With Your Apple IIGS (1987 TAB Books) - 194 pages complete scan  [102MB PDF file]

 

 

 

   HyperCard IIGS original box   

      

   PDF >> AppleWorks GS original box rear cover       

  

Rare Apple IIGS Glass Paperweight (1986)

 

Close-ups of my Apple IIGS Woz Limited Edition (Australia)

Model # A2S6000X (A2S6000W family)

   

Apple IIGS Woz Limited Edition Australia model A2S6000X (A2S6000W family) 

This unit was made in Singapore during the 50th week of 1986.  ROM 0 as shipped, but later upgraded by Apple for free to ROM 01.  Apple IIGS motherboards were the same the world over - just some defaults might be configured differently — keyboard/display language, 50 or 60Hz refresh for RGB & composite video (NTSC colour burst remains fixed at 3.58MHz and there is no provision for PAL colour via composite) (The retrofit Apple IIGS Upgrade motherboard for Apple //e will have extra connectors soldered on to accommodate a //e keyboard and external numeric keypad along with the proper connector for a //e power supply.)  By the way, see HERE for the rarely-encountered startup screen of a factory-original ROM 0 Apple IIGS.

 

Apple IIGS Woz Limited Edition 230V model motherboard & power supply  Apple IIGS Woz Limited Edition (230V Australian model)


    Apple IIGS 256kB Memory Expansion Card A2A6008 box spine 

 

[see HERE for photo of an "Assembled in Australia" Apple IIGS 1MB Memory Expansion Card and HERE for "Apple Computer Australia - Genuine Service Part" anti-static bag]

 

 

 

High-resolution photos of Apple IIGS original box — Australian Woz Limited Edition (1986) 

 

 

 

Genuine Apple II Dealer Service disks for Australia

 

  

Apple II Super Serial Card — assembled in Australia?

Apple 5.25 Controller — assembled & packaged in Australia

 

Apple IIGS 1986 Christmas promo (Computer Choice - Perth)   Computer Choice Apple dealer ad (Nov 1986)

Gift of Christmas  The new Apple IIGS from Computer Choice  (November 1986 Sunday Times)

 

I gave away the keyboard that was original to my Australian Woz edition around 1996 (the Australian IIGS keyboard is just the standard American one).  So when I started using an Apple IIGS again in late 2015, I found this replacement French Canadian keyboard with a standard QWERTY layout.  It too, may have come from a Woz edition GS, judging by the low serial number.  All the keys work fine - the Return key was a bit stiff at first but now fixed with the aid of CRC 5.56 lubricant spray:-

Apple IIGS French Canadian keyboard C658-4081 (top view)

     Apple Canada Warranty Card (French & English)

For comparison, HERE are photos of an AZERTY European French Apple IIGS keyboard (part # F658-4081)

And see HERE for photos of a Canadian Woz Limited Edition Apple IIGS (model # A2S6000C)  &  HERE for the USA version (model # A2S6000)

 

Apple IIc & IIe — Canadian flavours

 

A2S4000C (120V) & A2S2064C (120V) models

 

Canadian Apple IIc (A2S4000C) & Enhanced Apple IIe (A2S2064C)

 And HERE are photos of Enhanced Apple IIe with Western Spanish keyboard (model A2S2064E - 115V NTSC - circa 1985)

 

Some photos from my travels to a wintry Québec (February 2012)

This webpage was previously hosted at http://www.amnet.net.au/~cvxmelody/AppleUsersGroupSydneyAppleIIDiskCollection.htm