Re: Apple /// resources?

[travis@cluracan.remove-this-part.org (Ward C. Travis)]

Thanks, Mitchell, for the update. I have some questions now!

- First Question

I have two Apple ///s. One seems to work fine, the other always hangs
during a disk boot from the same disks that the other /// 'likes'. I've
run the 'F6E6G' diagnostic on both and it goes on forever, never showing
me any inverse one digits. So I presume the memory on both of them is
fully operational. It 'sounds' like the one having troubles does some disk
seeks, just the same series of sounds as the working one does, then
there's a pause. It's like the system jumps out of the boot ROM into the
loaded system and .. locks. I swapped in a working Disk /// on the dead
system to be sure that the analog card wasn't trashing the data it was
reading and got the same results.

Anybody seen this? Is it something repairable, or a user error (mine)?

FWIW, the working system boots into the UCSD Pascal system and also
Business Basic, and all is well. I tried booting into the "System
Utilities Disk" and got bitten by the "SYSTEM FAILURE = $06" copy
protection evil; it was a hand-me-down disk.

- Second Question

Opening the cases, I find that both of the systems lack a chip in the
socket at B-3. The /// FAQ says that this is the real time clock. I did
notice that after setting the time on the working ///, the time never
changed. Both systems also have a mount on the PCB, or well really a place
for a mount on the PCB that should accept a coin-style battery. Are the
systems missing the chip, the battery, or both?


- Information for those with an interest

The systems are both 5v systems, serial numbers in the 106000 range, and
if I understand, this means they both have 256k (two full rows of 416's on
the card). Neither have any expansion cards complicating things. Both are
using the internal 5 1/4" drive. Both systems are in good physical shape;
both have a little rust on the underside of the chassis, the dead one has
a little damaged paint in the pencil tray, and the working one looks
great, and once I get both working I'll part with one or the other... you
can take that as a motivation if you like :-) Also, the two systems appear
to have different revisions on the motherboard (different wire fixes -
ECOs or FCOs - diffferent wire-wrap fixes). I'll post the ROM part codes
if you'll tell me which ones are of interest (C-3? etc.).

THANKS, GURUS AND WIZARDS OF THE A/// ... thanks for reading, and as
usual, double-thanks for replying.

(E-mail responses will need to edit my return address... sorry...)

-- 
Ward C. Travis -- you must edit my address to reply by mail, sorry!