Re: Late-model Apple IIc trivia

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

In article shack@onyx.southwind.net (Randy Shackelford) writes...

>Mitchell Spector (spec@vax2.concordia.ca) wrote:
>:     I just added a late model Apple IIc to my collection, the one
>: with platinum keyboard and memory expandable motherboard (this one
>: has a ROM 3 chip).
>
>:     One interesting thing I noticed--which goes against what I
>: was originally told--there is an ID sticker present underneath
>: rather than all the information molded into the bottom of the
>: case (like the IIc Plus). I don't think this was an older IIc
>: upgraded by a dealer, considering it has a grey keyboard, grey
>: floppy drive latch and a memory expandable motherboard without
>: a Slinky RAM card installed (Apple would upgrade your board
>: free if you bought a card). The model number on the sticker is
>: 'A2S4100'. That would make it an official late model IIc, right?
>
>Well there's nothing saying it can't have been an earlier //c which
>had an upgrade to the memory expandable logic board and also had its
>keyboard replaced at one point as well. That'd be the most likely
>theory I could propose.

    If that is the case, then they changed the motherboard, keyboard
and internal 5.25 floppy drive (there's a grey latch on this drive).

>One way to check is to look really closely at the model
>number label. On my upgraded //c, the lettering on the original model
>number sticker is faintly visible through the new sticker. The dealer
>also wrote the original serial number on the new sticker in ink as the
>upgraded sticker had no number of course.

    I just made a close inspection of that. As best I can tell, the
sticker is the original one and there is nothing underneath it. If
they placed a new sticker on, they did a good job removing the old
one. The serial number is printed below a large (also printed) bar
code: "C6 3AL5 XX". It says it was assembled in Ireland.

    One thing I forgot to mention, this is a Canadian edition of
the Apple IIc, so the keyboard has some extra symbols printed on
certain keys (in blue print) and the keyboard, floppy and power
LEDs or switches have icons on the front of the case instead of
English wording. My guess is either non-American IIc's didn't
have ID modeled cases, or, very early ROM 3 IIc's used the old
cases (or maybe they did just up here in Canada?). Like I said,
this was manufactured the the same month memory expandable IIc
and IIgs came out.

>:     The motherboard was manufactured around September 1986, so
>: it was probably one of the very first grey-keyed IIc's released.
>: Still no "Running Man" in mousetext, though I doubt any IIc had
>: it considering my IIc Plus also lacks it (anyone have a ROM 4
>: IIc to check for certain?). I didn't get a powersupply brick,
>: but I assume they changed the DIN and plug connector to grey
>: to match? Besides the lack of case molding, I accidentally
>: discovered the lettering on the case is well painted on and
>: not silk screened (I managed to slightly fade the "//c" logo
>: using rubbing alcohol to clean it :/). The keyboard is nice
>: and clicky--actually I like it better than my IIc Plus. All in
>: all, not a bad deal for $2.50 Cdn, and it filled in one of the
>: few remaining gaps in my collection (just need a platinum IIe,
>: black B&H II Plus and maybe a ROM 4 chip for this IIc  :)
>
>I have a real grey key //c as well. It has the version 3 chip and the
>model number is molded.

    Well for the time being, I'd consider this an official memory
expandable IIc and not an upgrade. I wonder if there isn't any way
I could tell 100% for sure though.

>That's not a bad haul but the $10 Quadra 700 I read about someone getting
>elsewhere is the best I've heard of in a long time.

    Did I mention the platinum Macintosh Plus with 2.5 MB RAM and
internal 20 MB SCSI drive I picked up for $5 the week before? :)
Admittely not the most exciting Mac to start off with, but I'd
imagine the hacked internal HD makes it a kind of interesting
collectable (now I just need to get the System 7 disks and a torx
screwdriver before I can start playing with it).

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca