{"id":6217,"date":"2023-06-19T13:46:11","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T12:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=6217"},"modified":"2024-03-01T09:19:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T08:19:29","slug":"on-retro-computing-apple-iic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=6217","title":{"rendered":"On retro-computing: Apple IIc"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been over 5 months since my last vintage computer<\/a> acquisition. In the meantime, I had a lot of fun with RecalBox 9<\/a>, emulating tons of oldies<\/a>. But now, we are back to hardware (not that there is anything wrong with emulators).<\/p>\n

I have been hunting for various vintage computers and accessories. A few leads, but no luck. Most of them were widely overpriced. Then, I came across an Apple IIc<\/a> offer. A pricey offer, but not<\/strong> insane, the price being justified by the sum of goodies it came with. I am now the proud owner of an Apple IIc<\/strong> !!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Since this was my very first Apple IIc, I wanted to try many things. This is quite a long blog post<\/strong>, so I have prepared a table of contents<\/strong> to jump right into the sections you prefer and skip the ones you don’t care for:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Introduction<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Sourcing an Apple IIc<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Unboxing<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. First tests<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Opening up the Apple IIc<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Cleaning the enclosure<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. The keyboard<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. The main PCB<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. The internal voltage converter<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. The floppy disk drive<\/a><\/li>\n
  11. Second round of tests<\/a><\/li>\n
  12. The Apple IIc mouse<\/a><\/li>\n
  13. The power brick<\/a><\/li>\n
  14. Sunbrighting the enclosure (part I)<\/a><\/li>\n
  15. Video outputs and video modes<\/a><\/li>\n
  16. Le Chat Mauve (RGB SCART adapter)<\/a><\/li>\n
  17. Software<\/a><\/li>\n
  18. Creating a null modem cable and using ADTPro<\/a><\/li>\n
  19. Further testings<\/a><\/li>\n
  20. Sunbrighting the enclosure (part II)<\/a><\/li>\n
  21. Opening the Apple IIc monitor<\/a><\/li>\n
  22. The monitor enclosure (part I)<\/a><\/li>\n
  23. Servicing the monitor<\/a><\/li>\n
  24. Labels and sleeves for floppy disks<\/a><\/li>\n
  25. Using a null modem to get access to the Internet<\/a><\/li>\n
  26. The monitor enclosure (part II)<\/a><\/li>\n
  27. Books and guides<\/a><\/li>\n
  28. Wrapping things up<\/a><\/li>\n
  29. Next steps<\/a><\/li>\n
  30. Acknowledgments and links<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Note<\/strong>: keep in mind that I went back and forth from one subject \/ task to another. The order of this table of contents is sometimes not<\/strong> the real chronological order, but it makes (hopefully) more sense this way for the reader.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Introduction<\/span><\/p>\n

    As you may know, I am a sucker<\/strong> for Apple devices. Still, I bought my first one very late, in 2003 if memory serves (a PowerBook G4<\/a>). The first Apple computer I ever touched was an Apple II+<\/a>, almost 40 years ago, at school. At the time, these computers were mythical<\/strong> !<\/p>\n

    The Apple II series of computers<\/a> holds a significant place in the history of personal computing. The Apple II series was introduced in April 1977 as the successor to the original Apple I<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    This line of computers included the following machines: Apple II, Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIc Plus and the Apple IIGS.<\/p>\n

    The Apple II<\/strong> was originally designed by Steve Wozniak<\/a>. Featuring a microprocessor, a keyboard, and a built-in BASIC programming language, the Apple II was one of the very first personal<\/strong> computers<\/strong>. It was an huge success, popular in both educational and business settings, contributing to the growth of the personal computer market.<\/p>\n

    The first Apple II<\/a> computers went on sale on June 1977, with a MOS Technology 6502<\/a> microprocessor running at 1.023 MHz, 4 KB of RAM, an audio cassette interface and the Integer BASIC programming language built into ROM. An external 5+<\/span>1<\/span>\u20444<\/span><\/span>-inch floppy disk drive (called Disk II<\/a>), attached via a controller card that plugged into one of the computer’s expansion slots (usually slot 6), could also be used for data storage [based on Wikipedia]:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Over the years, Apple introduced several enhancements to the Apple II series. The Apple II Plus<\/a>, released in 1979, featured more memory (16 KB, 32 KB or 48 KB of main RAM, expandable to 64 KB):<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    After the success of the first Apple II in the United States, Apple expanded its market to include Europe and the Far East, with the Apple II Europlus<\/b> (Europe) and the Apple II J-Plus<\/b> (Japan). In these models, Apple made the necessary hardware, software and firmware changes in order to comply with standards outside of the US and Canada. The power supply was modified to accept the local voltage, and in the European model the video output signal was changed from color NTSC<\/a> to monochrome PAL by changing some jumpers on the motherboard. An extra video card (which only worked in slot 7) was needed for color PAL<\/a> graphics, since the simple tricks used to generate a pseudo-NTSC signal with minimal hardware did not carry over to the more complex PAL system [based on Wikipedia].<\/p>\n

    The Apple IIe<\/a> was introduced in 1983. One of the most notable improvements of the Apple IIe is the addition of a full ASCII character set and keyboard. The most important addition is the ability to input and display lower-case letters. The machine came standard with 64 KB RAM and could be easily doubled to 128 KB RAM:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    In March 1985, the company replaced the original machine with a new revision called the Enhanced <\/strong>Apple IIe. In January 1987 came the final revision of the Apple IIe line, often referred to as the Platinum<\/strong>, due to the color change of its case to the light-grey color scheme. Changes to this revision were mostly cosmetic to modernize the look of the machine. Besides the color change, there was a new keyboard layout with built-in numeric keypad. <\/p>\n

    The Apple IIc, launched in 1984, was a “portable” version of the computer, featuring a built-in disk drive and a compact design. It introduced Apple’s Snow White design language<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Technically the Apple IIc was an Apple IIe in a smaller case, more portable and easier to use, but also less expandable. The IIc used the CMOS-based 65C02<\/a> microprocessor which added 27 new instructions to the 6502<\/p>\n

    The Apple IIc Plus<\/a> was introduced in 1988 and served as an upgrade to the original Apple IIc. The Apple IIc Plus featured several improvements and enhancements over its predecessor. Notable enhancements were a faster 65C02 processor running at 4MHz and the addition of a built-in 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, replacing the 5.25-inch disk drive of the Apple IIc:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Despite these enhancements, the Apple IIc Plus<\/strong> had a relatively short<\/strong> lifespan<\/strong>. It was discontinued in 1990.<\/p>\n

    The Apple IIGS<\/a>, introduced in 1986, was the most powerful model of the Apple II series. It offered advanced features like a 16-bit<\/strong> 65C816<\/a> processor, improved graphics and sound capabilities. While featuring a Macintosh<\/a> look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga<\/a> and Atari ST<\/a>, it remains compatible with earlier Apple II models. The “GS” in the name stands for “Graphics and Sound”, referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially its state-of-the-art audio.<\/p>\n

    Despite its technological advancements, the Apple IIGS faced internal competition from Apple’s own Macintosh line.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    In 1993, Apple officially discontinued the Apple II series, marking the end<\/strong> of an era for the influential line of personal computers.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Sourcing an Apple IIc<\/span><\/p>\n

    I have been looking for an Apple IIc for a long<\/strong> time. More than a year<\/strong> actually. As retro computing becomes more popular, prices are badly hiking<\/strong>, especially for Apple products…<\/p>\n

    About a month ago, I found a new offer on LeBonCoin<\/a> web site. Though a bit pricey – this is the highest price I paid for a vintage computer up to now -, it was (almost) reasonable considering the amount of hardware, software and books packed:<\/p>\n