Re: Thorw away your 8 Bit shit and buy a PC

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Michael Spangler wrote:

>Besides, the question (at least in my case) is not whether to use an
>apple II or a PC, but whether to use the Apple II ($17 for 128 k IIe
>with SSC, duodisk, and monitor) or a Basic Stamp II starter kit ($140,
>2 K of Rom, 32 bytes ram.)
>
>I can get the Apple II AND Vernier's Better Mousetrap book, and the
>parts for a project or two for half of the cost of the Basic Stamp set
>up.

Good point, if space and portability are not an issue.
The //e is my preferred hardware hacking platform, too.

>On a related note, I've tried to build an IO card, but I haven't yet
>made one that worked.  I'm doing something wrong in the bus
>interfacing line.

It's a pretty easy-to-use bus.  Study some other cards--several
Apple cards are well-documented, with schematics and firmware.
And Steve Ciarcia wrote up several Apple card designs in Byte
in the 1980s (libraries often have Byte).

>If any of the card wizzes out there could come up
>wit a digital IO card, or an A/D card, or a D/A card that worked, I
>would probably buy it. I should have bought the Applied Engineering
>cards when they were available. What happened to those designs anyway.
>Who owns them now?

Don't know, but it's largely academic.  Most are still available on
eBay if you are patient.  ;-)

-michael

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