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[no subject]
It may be that your best bet for getting a good BatRAM replacement
battery is All Electronics (800-826-5432; http://www.allcorp.com ).
Their last catalog lists two 3.6V 2.5AH Lithium batteries with wire
leads which should fit well in a ROM-01 GS for $3.50 each. They also
offer a 3.6V "AA size Lithium battery" ($3.50) which looks good for
computers with AA size holders.
If you like, you can always solder, crimp, etc. insulated leads
going to some plug or socket which matches the connector of a particular
battery you'd like to use. For connecting bare leads, Duncan Entwisle
suggested using the springy connectors from a Radio Shack electronics
experimenter kit to connect a new battery's leads. Another way is to
use "wire nuts". Should you do any soldering to the cut-off leads, try
to avoid long heat exposure-- you do not want to melt the connection at
the motherboard.
Make sure that the new battery's "+" lead connects to the "+" lead
on the motherboard. Since, possibly, you will be joining bare leads to
bare leads, you could end up with more bare wire than you are
comfortable with. Check that the bare leads do not touch anything they
should not. Bend the leads as required and position the new battery so
that nothing will bump into the Power Supply when it is replaced.
The usual recommendation for this kind of work is that the computer
be OFF. This reduces the risk of damage should a bit of solder, a wire,
etc. fall onto the motherboard.
GS users are sometimes shocked to discover that a replacement
battery may cost $8 to $13. This has led to suggestions that 2-3
standard 1.5V cells in a holder be used. While any number of lower-cost
replacement setups can work, this is pretty close to a classic 'you get
what you pay for' situation. Regular 1.5V cell combos reportedly crater
in about a year. A 3.6V 1.2AH Lithium battery is routinely good for at
least 5 years.
Our old Nite Owl battery is going on year 7 or 8. That's a lot of
years without having to worry about burst and leaking cells or needing
to pull the Power Supply and mess with swapping-in replacement cells.
----------------------------
008- Is there a program to record my Control Panel, etc. settings
and restore them after the GS BatRAM battery is replaced?
Reference: FAQs Resource file R007BATRAMM.SHK
Yes. A number of users have created programs to Save and Restore
BatRAM values. The one included as a FAQs Resources file is named
"BATRAMMER". It is in file R007BATRAMM.SHK. Use ShrinkIt or GS-ShrinkIt
to unpack the file.
____________________________
From: Adalbert Goertz
009- How can safely clean out dust from my Apple II's
motherboard, case, and expansion cards?
I use a Dustbuster. Block one exit vent and aim the other vent as a
blower into the computer. That Dustbuster has strong lungs!
____________________________
From: George Rentovich
010- I'm afraid that oxidation on pins may be causing bad
contacts and memory problems. How can I remove the
oxidation without resorting to sand paper?
Tarn-X works great for removing oxididation from chip pins without
a lot of work or risk in harming the chips.
Soak the chips in a shot glass until all black oxidation is gone;
then, remove the chips and put them in another shot glass with alcohol
to rinse. I use a third shot glass with alchol again to be sure and,
then, take out the chips and let dry.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
011- Recently I was using my GS and smoke started coming from the
inside. Now my ADB peripherals (KB and mouse) don't work! It
looks like the smoke came from an 8-legged module in the upper
leftmost corner right behind the composite video connector and
ADB jack. What's wrong? How can I fix my GS?
The module you are talking about is L2 "D-15C". This is an 8-pin
thing containing four inductors (coils). Three inductors are used. They
are in series with the ADB Desktop connector. Evidently, one of the
inductors burned out. This would explain the smoke and the loss of ADB
functioning.
The three inductors run ...
pin 1 to pin 8
pin 2 to pin 7
pin 3 to pin 6
You can use an Ohm meter to detect which one is open. (Example: the
correct reading from pin 2 to pin 7 would, probably, be less than an
Ohm.) Since the pin2-pin7 inductor connects to +5V on the pin7 side, it
is the best candidate for a burn out should pin2 some how have been
shorted to ground.
Note: Jon Christopher reported that when his L2 module bombed it was due
to a short in a spliced-on KB cable. It turned out that the resulting
burn out fused some of the inductors together inside the module. So, if
you detect any break after such a burn out, it is probably best to just
remove the module and replace all three inductors.
Replacing the inductors should be fairly easy, although it will
probably be necessary to remove the motherboard. The value of the
inductors is not critical, so 15-20 turns of small wire-- like wirewrap
wire-- wrapped on a pencil or screwdriver shaft will make a small coil
you can use. Make three coils.
After removing the damaged L2 module, use an Ohm meter to check for
a short to ground at pins 1, 2, and 3. (If, as in the case of a short in
a spliced-on KB cable, you know where the short is/was, you can skip
this check.) Eliminate the short before continuing.
Solder your home-brew coils in place (pin 1 to pin 8 for the first
coil, etc.), put everything together, and your GS should be as good as
new.
----------------------------
012- My ROM-01 GS has an odd postage stamp size circuit board
tacked onto the motherboard near the front edge. What is the
board for?
The circuit on the mini-board is a low-gain 1-transistor amplifier
which seems intended mainly as a buffer/voltage-level shifter between
the 'old Apple' sound output of the Mega Chip and Op Amps which drive
the Speaker and Sound jack.
On the underside of the motherboard, beneath the boardlette, a
surface-mounted resistor (SR1) has been scratched out. Leads from the
mini-board run to SR1's connection points as well as Ground and a +12V
supply point near Op Amp UM12.
The circuit does not appear in the GS 'Hardware Reference ROM-01
schematics; but, it is shown in ROM-03 schematics. Some ROM-01 GS's do
not have the mini board; so, it seems likely that the circuit was
included on-motherboard in later ROM-01's and all ROM-03's. By the way,
the circuit was certainly installed at the time of manufacture and was
not part of the standard ROM-00 to ROM-01 upgrade.
----------------------------
013- I have 256kB on my 1MB Apple IIgs Memory Expansion Card.
How do I add more memory and set the jumpers?
The standard Apple IIgs 1MB Memory Expansion Card can be usefully
configured for 256kB, 512kB, and 1MB.
For 256kB, the top left 8 sockets (i.e. the left half of the top
row) should be filled. No jumpers should be placed on the pins near the
lower right end of the board.
XXXXXXXX--------
----------------
O O (no Jumpers)
0 0
For 512kB, the entire top row of sockets should be filled. The
bottom
pair of pins should be jumpered.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
----------------
O O
0-0 Jumper bottom pair
For 1MB, all sockets should be filled. The top and bottom pairs of
pins should be jumpered.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
O-O Jumper top and bottom pairs
O-O
To get the full IIgs mem card upgrade to 1MB you can order a kit of
24 256k x 1 41256 DRAM mem IC's from Alltech (760-724-2404) for
$24.00.
____________________________
From: SuperTimer
014- I've heard that some have moved their IIgs's to PC tower cases.
Is this hard to do?
It is not hard to do at all...
I mounted the motherboard with the expansion cards going horizontal
in relation to the ground (you need to drill some extra holes in the
tower case because the GS has different mounting holes than the PC). The
cards are light enough that they stay put this way. The only time this
could be a problem is with unusually heavy cards, like the Focus or
MicroDrive units...
The cards don't line up with the openings on the case, but that's
not a problem because Apple cards, unlike PC cards, have ribbon cable
extended DB connectors that can be mounted on the openings at the back
of the case...
For the power supply, I rewired a PC power supply to feed the GS.
The voltages are the same, so simply match +5V with +5V, +12V with +12V,
-5V with -5V, -12V with -12V, and the grounds and your GS will be ready
to run!
The PC power supply (250 watts) and fans have a benefit...my GS is
more stable now than it was in its native case. I recommend this
upgrade for those who feel up to it. Use a full tower case for the best
results and most room to work with.
----------------------------
015- I recently picked up a spare GS from a flea market and
would like to convert it into a portable. Has anyone done this?
Yes. Tony Diaz has an article describing a couple conversions on
his web site at
http://www.apple2.org/AppleIIgsPortables.html .
____________________________
From: Erick Wagner
016- Where can I get Robot kits to use with my Apple II?
If you have a an RS-232 interface (2400 or 9600bps) you might
consider a kit from Lynxmotion ( http://www.lynxmotion.com ). They sell
various robot and robotic arm kits that utilize hobby R/C servo motors.
Scott Edwards Electronics and several other companies sell devices that
allow you to control up to 8 servos per board.
You'll have to write all of the software yourself (sending commands
to identify a servo and a position value).
----------------------------
From: Rubywand
A good source of current information on robot making, Parallax
BASIC stamp programming, and related projects is Nuts & Volts Magazine
(800-783-4624; http://www.nutsvolts.com ).
___________________________
From: Dick Pirong
017- Where can I get the chips to expand my AE GS-RAM III memory
Expansion card to 4MB?
The Applied Engineering GS-RAM III uses 20-pin "Zip" package 1M x 4
DRAMs (NEC D424400V-80 or OKI H5144024-70). Mike Morton led me to a
supplier in the Computer Shopper magazine and I stuffed my card. (Thanks
Mike.) Unfortunately, a recent check shows that this supplier is no
longer in business; but, Computer Shopper still looks like a good place
to search.
____________________________
From: Bill Whitson
Related FAQs Resource: R022TRKSTAR.TXT (text file)
018- What is a TrackStar? Does it need special software?
A TrackStar is a single board Apple 2 computer that plugs into an
expansion slot in a PC Clone. With this board (and an A2 disk drive) a
PC can run Apple II software. See the FAQs Resource file R022TRKSTAR.TXT
for details.
----------------------------
From: me@here.com
Yes, TrackStar does need some software. Yes, TrackStar does need
some software. (You can find driver files and information at
http://www.grin.net/~cturley/USA2WUG/TrackStar/ .)
____________________________
From: Rubywand
019- Could someone please post a resistor color code chart?
Color Digit Multiplier (when 3rd band) Example
Black 0 x1 -- Red Red Black = 22 Ohms
Brown 1 x10 -- Blue Grey Brown = 680 Ohms
Red 2 x100 -- Orange White Red = 3900 Ohms
Orange 3 x1000 -- Yellow Violet Orange = 47k Ohms
Yellow 4 x10000 -- Red Green Yellow = 250k Ohms
Green 5 x100000 -- Orange Orange Green = 3.3M Ohms
Blue 6 x1000000 -- Red Yellow Blue = 24M Ohms
Violet 7 x10000000 -- ...
Grey 8 x100000000
White 9 x1000000000
Gold - x 0.1 -- Brown Brown Gold = 1.1 Ohms
Silver - x 0.01 -- Orange White Silver = 0.39 Ohms
Tolerance (4th band)
Red is <5% (courtesy of Edhel Iaur)
Gold is 5%
Silver is 10%
no color is 20%
Example: Grey Red Orange Gold is 82k Ohms +/- 5%
Example: Brown Black Green Silver is 1M Ohms +/- 10%
Note: carbon resistors almost always err on the high side.
____________________________
From: Mitchell Spector
020- What advantages does the ROM 3 GS offer vs. the ROM-01 GS?
The ROM 3 Apple IIgs offers many minor enhancements vs. the ROM-01
which make the machine more functional and pleasant to use:
- You get a machine that is about 5-10% faster for GUI, floppy disk
loading and RAM Disk operations (due to updated smartport firmware
and System 5 tools being in ROM).
- A machine that is more flexible when working with AppleTalk and
slots (you don't have to give up an extra slot and you can stick a
card in slot 4 and still use the mouse in GS/OS).
- A nicer text Control Panel that lets you resize RAM Disk with a
warm-boot and a cleaner way to size it too (no min/max size junk).
Also a 'Mouse' menu and other existing things cleaned up and made
better.
- A just over 1 megabyte of RAM built-in to start off with; so, you
can have 5 MB of DMA compatible memory in total.
- The MB0 signal provided in slots 1 through 6, so you can stick
in a Video Overlay Card _and_ Second Sight in together, and not
worry about having to reserve slot 3.
- Hardware shadowing of text page 2 with Alternative Display Mode
(no slowing down your system to a crawl when you see a screen full
of 2's running 8-bit software).
- A newer ADB keyboard microcontroller with built-in sticky keys,
keyboard mouse and compatibility with the indicator LEDs
on extended keyboards.
- A removable Lithum battery (in a snap case. Just pop the old one
out when your clock and Control Panel settings stop working).
- Less power consumption and electrical noise from the motherboard,
- A set of pins (location 'S1') on the motherboard to make the text
Control Panel disappear, making your GS settings tamper proof where
young children are around
There are even a couple of more goodies, like the Step/Trace
commands in Monitor or the improved disassembler. Even if you are not a
programmer, they're handy for peeking at SHR graphics still in memory
(from Monitor hit 'S' and then the return key).
Things like sticky keys and mouse keyboard come in handy too-- like
if you are eating or drinking with one hand, you can still reset the
computer using the other.
The down side is that some old GS games and demos won't run. However
many of the more worthwhile ones have been patched.
____________________________
From: Scott G
021- How can my ROM 3 GS + 8MB Sirius card do large file copying?
An error in the Sirius manual (a 1 page paper) recommends that ROM
3 users remove one of the SIMM modules since the ROM 3 has 1MB and 8MB
is max. When I did this, the GS reported 8MB, but copying large groups
of files or large files (>800k) failed. When I put the missing SIMM
back, the GS still reported 8MB, but the file copy problems vanished.
It appears that the Sirius needs eight 1MB SIMM modules for 8MB even on
a ROM 3.
____________________________
From: Charles T. Turley
Related FAQs Resource: R023PINOUTS.TXT (text file)
022- Where can I find a listing of Apple II socket, etc. pinouts?
See the FAQs Resource file R023PINOUTS.TXT.
____________________________
From: David Wilson
023- I have several different model Apple II computers ranging from
a II+ up through a IIgs. Does anyone know where I can get
diagrams for these machines?
I know of three books with Apple ][+ schematics:
Jim Sather's "Understanding the Apple ]["
"The Apple II Circuit Description" by Winston D. Gayler
published by Howard W. Sams & Co (ISBN 0-672-21959-X)
Apple II Reference Manual (1979)
----------------------------
From: Mike Westerfield
"Understanding the Apple II," by Jim Sather, has a complete set of
II+ schematics, as well as more information about putting them to use
than the official Apple manual.
It's available from Byte Works for $14.95. Check out our list of
software and books at www.hypermall.com/byteworks. And if you'd like a
printed copy of our catalog, just send me a snail-mail address.
----------------------------
From: Rubywand
The IIe Technical Reference 1986 edition includes diagrams and an
annotated firmware listing. Probably, the IIc and IIc/IIc+ Technical
Reference manuals are similar to the IIe Technical Reference-- not sure,
since I have not seen a IIc manual.
The Apple IIgs Hardware Reference has a good set of schematics. The
First Edition covers the ROM-01. The Second Edition covers ROM-01 and
ROM 3. Unfortunately, there is no firmware listing.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
024- I got a TrackStar E and plugged it into our old PC. It seems to
be booting a diskette okay from an attacked Disk ][ drive; but,
the composite video doesn't give any kind of display on a
monitor I know is good. Someone said I need to add a video
output adjustment. How do I do this?
Most likely, the video level from TrackStar's composite output is
too high. On an Apple II+, this would be no special problem because
there is a mini-pot to adjust the video output level. If either monitor
had an adjustment for video level input, it would not be a problem,
either.
A check of the TrackStar board revealed that composite video comes
from the emitter of a transistor connected to ground via a 75 Ohm
resistor. This output goes through a small RF choke to the RCA socket on
the back of the board.
The cure is to replace the 75 Ohm resistor with a pot. Here are
step-by-step directions for swapping in a Video Output adjustment ...
1. On the back of the board, find the trace going to the 75 Ohm resistor
and the choke. (The choke is close to the RCA socket. The 75 Ohm
resistor is near the choke.) Cut the portion of the trace going to the
choke.
2. De-solder and remove the 75 Ohm resistor. (You can snip it off if you
like.)
3. On a 200-300 Ohm potentiometer-- I used a, roughly, 250 Ohm
mini-pot-- connect three leads. (The length of the leads depends upon
whether you have some place on the back of the PC to mount the pot or
just plan to put some tape around the pot and let it flop around near
the board. I don't know how long the leads can be before noise pickup is
a problem. It seems like a good idea to keep length within about 8" or
so.)
Use three different color wires-- say White, Green, Black. Viewing the
pot from the back, connect White to the Left tab, Green to the middle
tab, and Black to the right tab. (Mainly, the Green wire needs to be on
the middle tab.)
4. Solder the Green wire to the end of the choke which used to be
connected to the 75 Ohm resistor-- i.e. the end _not_ going to the RCA
socket.
Solder the White wire to the place the 75 Ohm resistor used to be
connected which used to connect to the choke before the trace to the
choke was cut-- i.e. this is the point which goes to the emitter of a
nearby transistor.
Solder the Black wire to the other place the 75 Ohm resistor used to be
connected. This is the Ground end.
Note: Mixing up the White and Black leads is okay. The only reason for
connecting them a certain way is so that a clockwise turn of the pot =
increased Video Output.
The circuit you end up with looks like this ...
|----
Pot /
_______ White_____________/ emitter of transistor
Z
Z
Z <----- Green -----------UUUUUUUUU-------- to RCA socket center pin
Z Choke Composite Video Output
Z_______ Black____
|
_|_
Ground
5. Insert the board. Find some place safe to mount the pot or let it sit
so no leads or metal parts touch any circuit. Connect the monitor and
power up the computer. Start TrackStar and adjust the pot and monitor
for a good display.