Questions tagged [apple-ii]
For questions about the Apple II series of personal computers, and related software and hardware. For questions about Apple hardware in general, use the tag "apple"; for questions about the IIGS in particular, use the tag "apple-iigs".
155
questions
2
votes
2answers
45 views
Is it possible to swap the Apple //c's monochrome CRT tube for a color one?
I just love the Apple //c's snow white industrial design, especially when paired with its monitor //c. It is a classic design that doesn't show its age. I've even recently seen them setup in homes ...
9
votes
1answer
146 views
How can slot 1 of the Apple ][ replace the keyboard?
Nick Westgate posted a comment a few years back on a question about how slot 7 was unique stating that "Slot 1 on the //e is also unique - it can be used to replace the keyboard".
What was it about ...
2
votes
2answers
165 views
Could Apple II cards be used on any 6502 platform?
Looking over the Apple II expansion card pinout, it seems it's largely just the pins of the 6502 plus some +12V supplies and such.
Generally speaking, though, is there any reason any other 6502 ...
9
votes
2answers
265 views
Can a 1,44MB or 720K PC floppy drive be made to work with an Apple II family?
I am restoring a couple of Apple II machines. I would like to add an external 3.5" floppy drive, but they are prohibitively expensive. I have tons of older PC floppy drives and I wonder if they could ...
7
votes
1answer
285 views
In the 1970s, had there been a way that a home computer using a TV as monitor could get FCC approval for Apple II style slots without cheating?
I’m reading the book “Atari Inc.: Business is Fun” by Curt Vendel and Marty Goldberg. (By the way, it’s a fun read, highly recommended.) It states that when the Atari engineers had been developing the ...
8
votes
2answers
190 views
In an Apple IIc, how is memory beyond 128K addressed?
I always thought than in a memory-expanded Apple IIc fitted with firmware version 3 or 4 and an Apple-built memory expansion, the extra memory above and beyond the first 128K is connected in a way ...
4
votes
2answers
95 views
Apple IIe auxiliary RAM bank select register address — C073 or C07X?
On the Apple IIe system, an "auxiliary RAM" card may be present which expands the built-in 64 kB RAM.
When using an aux RAM card which has more than 64 kB, the auxiliary RAM bank in use can be ...
9
votes
2answers
288 views
Were expansion slots fundamentally incompatible with FCC regulations?
The Apple II provided the ability to connect to your TV (as opposed to purchasing a dedicated monitor). However, at that time, the FCC criterion for applying stringent RF emission limits was 'device ...
2
votes
1answer
131 views
How can I make an external PSU for an Apple IIc?
I purchased an Apple IIc from an auction site, but it came without the
external power supply unit. While this question and its
answers describe how to open up the IIc and use alligator clips to
power ...
1
vote
3answers
200 views
Using Integer Basic on Apple II Plus without a Language Card?
Was it possible to load integer basic and use it without a language card or were the addresses fixed to rom?
EDIT: Sorry, I meant Apple II+ (I had an europlus) so I wrongly put IIe.
7
votes
1answer
246 views
Importance of obeying Apple II IRQ priority
In the Apple II, DMA and IRQ priority is determined by a daisy-chain system, in which a card may only assert an IRQ or perform DMA when all higher-priority cards allow it.
I understand the importance ...
3
votes
2answers
168 views
What is the name/type of the Apple IIc case screws?
My Apple IIc is what appears to be the first US model: A2S4000 with
version 255 ROMs. The upper half of the case is held to the base with
six Phillips drive button-head 2 cm screws with a very wide ...
6
votes
0answers
116 views
How do I clean/refurbish an Apple IIc Keyboard?
My Apple IIc is what appears to be the first US model: A2S4000 with
version 255 ROMs. The keyboard PCB is marked 820 0108 03 ©1983, and
the keyswitches are the "cross" type as seen below, without any
...
2
votes
1answer
107 views
What are the differences between the various HxC Floppy Emulator hardware options when used with an Apple II?
I have an Apple IIc for which I would like an FDD emulator and I am
considering buying an HxC Floppy Emulator to use with it. The Slim
model does work with the Apple II, as demonstrated in this
video.
...
11
votes
2answers
822 views
What are my modern options for loading programs and data files on the Apple IIc?
I've recently acquired an Apple IIc. The internal 5.25" drive does
seem to make appropriate noises at boot, but I do not (at least not
yet) have any floppy disks, with software or otherwise. It's an
...
7
votes
2answers
175 views
What are the most common Apple II disk image formats and what hardware disk drive emulators can use them?
Archive.org has plenty of Apple II disk images, such as this DOS 3.3 image which is a .dsk file. I also see .nib and .d13 files, e.g. in this ASIMOV LISP collection. There seem to be further formats ...
7
votes
2answers
351 views
What's the best way to hook up an external power supply to the Apple IIc without a 7-pin female DIN plug?
As seems to be typical with Apple IIc purchases these days, mine came
without the external power supply. I have ordered some 7-pin female
DIN plugs and other adapters that will let me plug a modern ...
6
votes
1answer
245 views
Did the CPU test on the Apple //e Diagnostics utility do anything?
After reading about the Apple //e diagnostics card, I noticed on the screenshot below that it reports a CPU test and that the microprocessor is OK:
So I'm curious did the PROCESSOR TEST actually do ...
5
votes
3answers
412 views
How to use HGR2 (or HGR) on an Apple II
I am a big fan of the TV show lost, and I was trying to make the Dharma Initiative logo.
But at certain point I couldn't add new lines of code and the final part of the logo was cut off. I tried to ...
7
votes
1answer
278 views
What Apple System Monitor/Integer BASIC ROM features were removed in the Applesoft II/Autostart ROM?
In spring of 1978, Apple took the updated 6502 BASIC from Microsoft,
fixed some bugs and added some new commands, and released it as
Applesoft II. This was soon released as a ROM set (shipped
standard ...
12
votes
1answer
852 views
On what Apple II and II+ keyboards can the ']' character be generated?
It had long been my impression that while brackets [ and ] could
be displayed by the Apple II, the standard Apple II keyboard was not
capable of generating them.
Some time ago I noticed that on this ...
14
votes
12answers
4k views
Late 1970s and 6502 chip facilities for operating systems
I'm quite unfamiliar with how operating systems used to be written but its clear to me that operating systems were clearly written for these systems. I'm particularly interested in how operating ...
3
votes
0answers
245 views
What's the first use of the term, “1977 Trinity”?
The term "1977 trinity" has been used, here on Retrocomputing
SE and elsewhere, to refer to a set of three computers that
started shipping in mid- to late-1977: the Apple II, the TRS-80 Model
I and ...
2
votes
1answer
104 views
What are the screen editor commands for MIT LOGO for the Apple II?
I'm playing with MIT LOGO for the Apple II (1981). When I
type TO GREET :NAME and hit ENTER it drops me into the "MIT LOGO
screen editor." What are the commands I can use here to edit, save,
etc.?
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Small RAM 4 KB on the early Apple II?
Most of the reference material for the Apple II that I have seen refers to the 4116 RAM chip which held 16x1 kbit. This provided 16, 32 or 48 KB in banks of 8 chips. The Apple II motherboard layout ...
5
votes
2answers
369 views
Build a hardware clone or emulator of Apple II?
These days we are constantly seeing low-cost boards that have huge power (raspberry pi, various arduino-like microcontrollers.)
I am hoping I could make, or get, a clone or emulation of an Apple II ...
6
votes
2answers
440 views
Where can I find the Applesoft line-drawing algorithm?
I’m trying to make some graphics in Processing that look just like what I’d get on an Apple //e. I think the info I seek is in the ROM disassembly but I can’t find anything by googling. I'm also ...
3
votes
0answers
261 views
How do Apple II BASIC compilers compare? [closed]
Programs like The Beagle Compiler allow AppleSoft BASIC or other Apple II BASIC variants to be compiled. How do the compilers compare in terms of speed, compatibility, and features?
1
vote
1answer
171 views
What word processing software was used by the Apple //e outside of Australia? [closed]
I did enjoy the software that schools provided with the Apple //e in the late 1980's. My memory of word processing software was:
Zardax
Multiscribe
I was in the Australian school system. So other ...
27
votes
5answers
7k views
Why did the Apple IIe make a hideous noise if you inserted the disk upside down?
When I began high school in 1987 all the computers in the lab were Apple IIe desktop computers. A question has haunted me since then:
if you inserted a floppy disk "upside down" the Apple IIe would ...
3
votes
3answers
274 views
Is there any tool to convert .DSK to mp3 file?
I was looking into the Apple II disk server (See below for background information) and curious if there is a tool that can actually convert .DSK image to .MP3 file, as the underlying c2t only supports ...
7
votes
2answers
169 views
What combinations of modifier keys can you detect on an Apple II?
Apple II computers other than the IIgs (which uses ADB) have a hardwired keyboard combined with the paddle/joystick ports for input. What combinations of modifier keys can you detect? I know that the ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
Why does this Apple //e drops into system monitor when booting?
I recently purchased an Apple //e online as well as a BMOW Floppy Emu in order to emulate some disk images. After working with it successfully for awhile, this monitor consistently appeared in lieu of ...
10
votes
3answers
911 views
Did Apple bundle a specific monitor with the Apple II+ for schools?
Sometime in 1980 (or maybe 1981) my school district purchased its first batch of Apple II+ computers. I remember vividly they had absolutely no idea what to do with them, and so the machines were ...
21
votes
1answer
2k views
Why was it possible to cause an Apple //e to shut down with SHIFT and paddle button 2?
Looking at the MAME driver for the Apple //e, I noticed an interesting comment:
NOTE: On real IIe and IIe enhanced h/w, pressing SHIFT and paddle button 2 will short out the power supply and cause ...
9
votes
1answer
436 views
How did the Zip Chip and RocketChip accelerators work for the Apple II?
Though there is already a similar question on the site, this one is more specific to these chips and their technical implementation.
There were two accelerators for the Apple II series that were drop-...
6
votes
1answer
179 views
Why does the Apple IIgs FPI chip buffer the A14 address signal to the ROM?
In the Apple IIgs computer, the address and data buses of the 65C816 CPU connect directly to the onboard ROM, except for A14, which, according to the schematic, is routed through the FPI ASIC. There's ...
9
votes
1answer
596 views
Why wasn't the Z6 version of the Infocom Z-machine ported to the IIgs?
Infocom ported their Z-machine to nearly every viable platform in the 70s and 80s. Zork runs on around 18 different 8/16 bit platforms using earlier versions of the Z-machine. Why was Z6 the graphical ...
6
votes
2answers
526 views
Why did the Apple IIc perform badly in the market?
The Apple IIc was a compact version of the Apple II that eschewed internal expansion slots in favor of having the popular expansion options already built in, and saving cost and weight. Apple expected ...
5
votes
2answers
112 views
Does the Apple IIgs FPI assert /CROMSEL for *write* accesses to the extended ROM space?
The FPI (fast processor interface) ASIC in the Apple IIgs generates the /CROMSEL chip-select signal, which is used to select a ROM in the memory expansion slot. Obviously the /CROMSEL signal must be ...
3
votes
1answer
236 views
How much RAM did the first version of Oregon Trail on the Apple II require?
The later iterations of the series could have hundreds of kilobytes of RAM, but the original Apple II had 4K in the minimum configuration and 48K maximum (the latter using 16kbit chips which were ...
4
votes
0answers
149 views
What would happen if the DHR jumper was enabled on a Rev A Apple //e?
The Apple //e originally did not support Double HiRes graphics (DHR). The engineers realized they could double their hires and lores X resolution shortly after the introduction of the machine, so the ...
2
votes
1answer
181 views
How to transfer file from one disk to another in Apple //e (Applewin)
For the nostalgia, I'm going through Apple Pascal - A Hands-on Approach using AppleWin.
There are four disks, pascal0 through pascal3, and for some reason pascal0 is missing a file called SYSTEM....
12
votes
1answer
795 views
Was the Spartan by Mimic Systems a real product?
I was flipping through an old copy of RUN magazine and came across an advertisement for a product called "The Spartan" produced by Mimic Systems. I had forgotten about this product completely, but I ...
22
votes
2answers
678 views
Why did Apple remove booting from external drives in later IIc ROM versions?
Apple II computers don't come with DOS in ROM, but rather need to boot from a floppy disk to make the disk drives usable. The IIc was the first Apple II that came with a built-in disk drive, so ...
4
votes
1answer
222 views
A game where you could sell body parts for cash
Ages ago I played a scifi game on the Apple IIgs where you could sell body parts for cash. The game involved travel between planets and selling parts of yourself was a last ditch option to raise money ...
3
votes
2answers
264 views
Why not make more use of the video generation logic?
The Apple II is famously built around its video generator. Conveniently, addresses are generated which scan all of the video memory and somehow spits the contents onto the screen.
Its occurred to me ...
44
votes
13answers
16k views
How was it back then in 1984, when the Apple II had color, and the new Macintosh didn't?
I imagine it being a huge downgrade for some, not to have color on the Macintosh. Macintosh games were black and white in the beginning, while Apple II had color.
I'm especially interested in ...
19
votes
2answers
2k views
Why did the original Apple //e have two sets of inverse video characters?
According to Apple II Technical notes Mouse #6, updated January 1989,
In unenhanced Apple IIe computers, the alternate character set contained two sets of inverse uppercase characters. In the ...
7
votes
2answers
533 views
Did any Apple II games use a “timing resistor”?
A science-lab program for the Apple II (I forget the name) had a board that plugged into the joystick port and included a "timing resistor". While I don't know what the program actually did with the ...
