exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

Very cool love prince of Persia

This is a handy card if you can find it apple ast multi io


Tom

rubber_jonnie wrote: 03 Sep 2021 16:27

lilwashu wrote: 27 Aug 2021 15:30 An easy way of checking if you can do double hi res is to run Prince of Persia (which will also test the extra RAM).

So, Prince of Persia runs just fine, so I guess I have double hi-res :) Doesn't kind of match with what I've read, but it is a European Apple ][e and I've heard there are variances.

Excellent - yours has black lettering on the keys like mine so I'd be surprised if it was a rev A unless someone has swapped some parts around.

rubber_jonnie wrote: 03 Sep 2021 16:27
RAM module is very cool, you can choose from 5 options:

1. 64Kb
2. 512Kb
3. 1Mb
4. 4Mb
5. 8Mb

Plus you can store the configuration you want to use in NV memory so that it always starts the RAM in your desired configuration.

What can you do with the extra RAM? I seem to recall you could use some of the period RAM expansions as a disk but can't figure out what use that would have except in productivity apps.

@lilwashu There is a lot of conflicting evidence as to why it could be a REV B. For example, the Bs supposedly had the chips soldered, mine are socketed and the part number points to it being an A. However it has the black key lettering and Apple also did go back to calling the boards REV A later on. All very confusing. Also I heard that European models could be different again, but just can't find the info to bear it out.

In terms of the RAM, I have Petscii Robots and that uses 128kb definitely, but not sure what might use 8Mb.

The thing is, it was the same price to get the modern 8Mb card as an original 64kb card, so modern card it was.

I'll just leave it set to use the max memory until I hit incompatibility problems and adjust as required.

rubber_jonnie wrote: 04 Sep 2021 12:28 @lilwashu There is a lot of conflicting evidence as to why it could be a REV B. For example, the Bs supposedly had the chips soldered, mine are socketed and the part number points to it being an A. However it has the black key lettering and Apple also did go back to calling the boards REV A later on. All very confusing. Also I heard that European models could be different again, but just can't find the info to bear it out.

Yes, PAL IIe info is definitely thin on the ground. Here's my model number etc. for reference (socketed chips also):

lilwashu wrote: 04 Sep 2021 20:15

rubber_jonnie wrote: 04 Sep 2021 12:28 @lilwashu There is a lot of conflicting evidence as to why it could be a REV B. For example, the Bs supposedly had the chips soldered, mine are socketed and the part number points to it being an A. However it has the black key lettering and Apple also did go back to calling the boards REV A later on. All very confusing. Also I heard that European models could be different again, but just can't find the info to bear it out.

Yes, PAL IIe info is definitely thin on the ground. Here's my model number etc. for reference (socketed chips also):

IMG_0551.jpeg

Identical markings to my mainboard.

So there isn't a great deal I can say about the Floppyemu, it just works!!

It's the usual system of cassette like forward/back/stop buttons and a small screen that allows you to navigate up and down the directory tree on the included SD card to select/de-select the image you want to boot from.

It is also quite neat that it can emulate two 5 1/4" floppy drives so you can have 2 drives inserted at once :)

At £103 delivered, it cost me almost as much as the Apple ][, but given it will work with several different types of apple machine and can emulate 140kb, 800kb and hard disks, I'd say definitely worth the money.

My next purchase floppy wise off eBay for £30 was this:


The drive itself seems to be in overall great physical condition, bar some yellowing. The case is very solidly built and was made in 1983 by VTL. Serial number is 110060. As usual for something from this era, shielding is completely over the top!!

The DIN plug is 5 pin and seems to be factory fit. 5v & 12V can be found at the socket when connected to my Apple ][e. I suspect if you had it connected to a machine that didn't provide power via the floppy controller (Is there such a thing in the world of Apple?), it would act as a power in connector.

Mechanism is manufactured by Sankyo. The belt seems to be in good condition, not slimy or melting, but dry and nicely tensioned.

If I connect it to port 1 of the FDD controller, it tries to boot, though I don't have a suitable boot disk. I did try to copy a disk from my Floppyemu to a blank unformatted 5 1/4" disk, but it kept showing write fails. A disk speed test also came out very odd, but these problems could be simple to solve since there is very little on the PCB, just 6 ICs 2 of which are 74LS series. Also, I'm still trying to work out what I'm doing having owned the machine for about a month and the FDD since yesterday :)

The Apple floppy controllers I've seen on-line all seem to use standard Shugart (edge connector) cables.

stephen_usher wrote: 06 Sep 2021 15:51 The Apple floppy controllers I've seen on-line all seem to use standard Shugart (edge connector) cables.

Not this one!!

It is a super simple mechanism, stepper seems to work and the disk spins, but it won't init a disk (write fails) and RPM is not good, so I will start there.

Really nice drive in terms of construction though. The 20 pin IDC connector fits the homebrew FDD controller just fine and the drive gets 5v/12v no problem, just not working properly.

Once I figure it out I can write or copy a disk and see if I can boot from it.

This is my controller:


The diag software I have shows both disks present, and this appears as an Apple Disk II card.

Well.

The ironic thing for me is that I ordered the drive emulator, thinking it would take forever to get her but it's turning up today. It's ironic because I won't have the Apple IIe till today either.

PhilC wrote: 07 Sep 2021 09:33 Well.

The ironic thing for me is that I ordered the drive emulator, thinking it would take forever to get her but it's turning up today. It's ironic because I won't have the Apple IIe till today either.

Lol, well that's annoying!!

Trust me, you won't be disappointed in the Floppyemu, and it'll work with more than just the Apple II as well.

BTW, which version did you order? I got the full kit with case and accessories. The case is a bit of a faff as you need 3 hands to hold the bits whilst you assemble it, and there aren't any instructions. Works well enough when you get it done though.