Re: Can a GS with dead slots run a Zip or TWGS?

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

In article supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer) writes...

>I have a GS motherboard with dead slots.  The GS can't access
>cards in them.  Yes, the control panel is set to YOUR CARD, but
>still no go.  Nothing sees the cards in any slot except the memory
>expansion slot.  Rubywand pointed out some possible causes in a
>previous reply.  

    I can't imagine an Apple IIgs without _any_ functional slots
being very useful. This would mean having no hardrive, and as I
have said many times in the past, a GS without a hardrive is 
basically a glorified Apple IIe compatible.

>Assuming the problem is with the Slotmaker IC, will
>the slots still support a Zip or TWGS card?  There is still power at
>the slots because the LED lights on some cards light up when the
>power is switched on.  What kind of signals do the Zip or TWGS
>get from the slots?

    As far as I know, both accelerator boards use the slot only
as a source for power. All signals are sent through the ribbon
cable that plugs into the processor's 40-pin DIP socket. There
shouldn't be any problem then, assuming there is proper amounts
of power being feed to the slots.

    You could also adds a IIgs stereo/digitizer board in one of 
those slots, that is another card that only uses the slot for 
power (all I/O is sent through the Ensoniq molex connector on
the motherboard).

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca