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

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

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