Re: IIc LCD display (was: Can a IIgs monitor...)

[hmag@ozemail.com.au (Terry Allen)]

In article <12AUG199800052564@vax2.concordia.ca>, spec@vax2.concordia.ca
(Mitchell Spector) wrote:

> In article rkaumeier@ten.knilhtrae writes...
> >SirThomas wrote:
> > 
> >> That depends on your definition of "reasonable."  ;)  I saw one
advertised in
> >> csa2.marketplace for $200 a while a go.
> > 
> >$200! =:O  Yikes!  I was thinking more along the lines of $50 or so...
> 
>     Actually that is roughly how much I paid for mine, and it even
> included an Apple IIc Plus with No-Slot-Clock, Apple IIc (ROM 0), 
> Disk IIc 5.25 and a IIc carrying case. :) (the IIc and LCD were
> damaged at the time, though I didn't hesistate as they're so rare 
> to find in _any_ condition).
> 
> >Was the LCD very popular during the time when IIc sales were in full
> >swing? I'm assuming that: a) it wasn't, b) it didn't hold up well, or c)
> >everyone who bought an LCD is hanging on to it. That's a pretty hefty
> >price for a vintage piece of hardware.
> 
>     Most of those above guesses are right. When Apple introduced the 
> Apple Flat Panel Display for the IIc, it wasn't exactly popular due 
> to its high 3 digit price tag, not to mention its terribly poor 
> quality display. It gave a squashed looking image with extremely low 
> contrast, and to make matters worse, wasn't backlit. It was also not 
> the most portable display, it just used a pair of fold-out plastic 
> feet that fit in the vertical groves atop the IIc case (it didn't fold 
> over, and it would almost certainly fall off if you moved your IIc). 
> Needless to say, it never really caught on and was discontinued after
> a short period of time.
> 
>     There was also a third party alternative called the "C-Vue" LCD,
> which looked and functioned very much like the Apple product, except 
> that it had a slightly larger screen with supposedly better contrast 
> and viewable. However, it too suffered from a high price tag, less 
> than perfect portability and worst of all, again, very poor contrast 
> (probably a side affect of being a non-backlit display, like Apple's).
> I own one and to tell you the truth, without a strong light source
> behind it, it is utterely useless (even then most people used to
> active and passive LCD screens will question its usability).
> 
> >I've recently started to collect the systems I owned in the 80s, along
> >with others that interested me. There are some fantastic thrift shop
> >bargains out there right now - $2.50 for clean C64s and Apple IIcs,
> >$5.00 for external drives....
> 
>     Definitely. In the last couple of weeks I picked up a C64 and
> 1541 floppy drive for under $5, and a second C64 for under $1 (too
> bad neither seem to function). I also picked up a Tandy CoCo 3 for
> under $1 and memory expandable IIc for under $2. The only problem
> is finding a place to store all these machines. ;-)
> 
> Mitchell Spector
> spec@vax2.concordia.ca

I had the opportunity of buying one of these displays for a couple of
dollars a while back, but plugged it into my //c at the time & thought it
was terrible. I remember reading a review of it (remembering these were not
backlit like today's LCD screens), mentioning that Apple should have
released it with a seeing eye dog & a white cane. Unfortunately true. They
may be a curiosity now, but they were terrible & overpriced equipment,
whereas the //c itself is still quite usable.

-- 
Bye For Now, Terry Allen

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