Re: Help with old Apple ][+

[shoppa@regulus.krl.caltech.edu (Tim Shoppa)]

In article <44pl8o$lu@gtenmo1.nmo.gtegsc.com>,
Greg Johnson <gjohnson@nmo.gtegsc.com> wrote:
>  Hi,  I've been lurking in group hoping my question might be covered
>in a FAQ or something but no such luck..
>
>  I've aquired an old Apple ][+ without any drives or anything else (hey, it
>was cheap).  I'm not too conversant with Apple ]['s and haven't touched
>one in over 10 years but I always did like the simplicity of the design.
>
>  Anyway this Apple has a DISK II controller (though no drives) and some
>sort of a VIDEX or VIDTEX board which has 2 RCA type jacks on the back with
>a single switch positioned between them.  Looking inside the cabinet shown
>a couple of jumpers from the keybard to a chip (a game chip??) -- I read
>somewhere that this was some patch or something....

This was the "shift key mod".  

>
>  I've hooked this up to a TV set and turned it on.  It beeps once but
>doesn't display anything.  Patching it through an old VCR where I could
>manually 'tune in' various channels I was able to get it to a point where
>it would display several squiggley vertical lines.  (Hows that for a
>description).

Your problem is that the video out of the back of the Apple is just
baseband video - it hasn't been run through a RF modulator for a particular
channel.  All you were probably doing when you were "tuning in" various
channels was picking up on RF noise leaking out of the Apple.

>
>  In any case, my questions are:
>
>  Is the Apple ][+ designed to connect to a TV set (via a converter) or
> does it require something else...  Is there some way to connect it to a
>CGA, EGA, or VGA monitor?

Yes, through a RF modulator you can connect it to a TV set.  If you have
a TV or VCR that has a baseband "video in" connector, you ought to be
able to get something through that.

>  What is a VIDEX (or VIDTEX)? Any documentation?  The RCA jacks make it 
>look like some sort of Video board.   But 2 jacks?  What is the purpose of
>the switch?  


It was a good 80-column board.  One of the jacks was "video in"
and the other was "video out".  The "video in" allowed you to superimpose
the Apple graphics over some external source.

Tim. (shoppa@altair.krl.caltech.edu)