Re: Any Idea What These Cards are ?

[salfter@salfter.dyndns.org (Scott Alfter)]

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In article <3ACBA885.AD2F797E@darkstar64.freeserve.co.uk>,
David Williams  <Dave@darkstar64.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>Just aquired an Apple II europlus fully packed with expansion cards. I
>know what most of them are but these two are a bit of a mystery. Any
>ideas?
>
>http://www.darkstar64.freeserve.co.uk/unknown1.jpg
>(Connects to 5 pin DIN plug)

With that kind of plug, there's a fair chance that it's a MIDI controller,
but it's hard to say without more details.  (Since I've never used one, I
don't even know that I'd be able to positively identify it as such.  MIDI is
the only thing that comes to mind that uses a DIN-5 connector, though.)

>http://www.darkstar64.freeserve.co.uk/unknown2.jpg
>(Labelled 'Dark Star Systems Snapshot')

I found an ad for this in an old issue (winter '84, pages 28-29) of Orchard
Computing.  The ad copy identifies it as a board that would let you freeze a
running program and then do various things with it.  Add-on software would
let you dump the memory image to disk (for debugging or for backup of
copy-protected software), provide task-switching between multiple programs
(have both AppleWorks and ProTERM running at once, for instance...one runs
while the other is suspended to add-on RAM), or dump the screen contents to
your printer.  It sounds like an interesting gadget, though you'll need the
software that came with it to make any use of it.

The odd thing, though, is that the line drawing of the card in the ad
doesn't look at all like the card in your photo.  Still, the name on the
card is clear enough, and I suppose a card that generates an NMI wouldn't
need to be particularly complex.  The company appears to be out of business;
AltaVista turned up http://www.darkstar.co.uk as a company having the same
name and located in the same country, but the website is for a company based
in London that specializes in hardware and software for OS/2.  The Orchard
Computing ad gives this address and phone number, which probably aren't any
good anymore:

78 Robin Hood Way
Greenford, Middlesex UB6 7QW
phone 01 900 0104

HTH...

  _/_
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(IIGS(  Scott Alfter (remove Voyager's hull number for email address)
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