Re: Looking for A2 printed circuit boards / interface cards

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

JUNGKURTH writes ...
> 
> I am looking for A2 interface cards - blank printed circuit boards - prefer to
> get breadboard type - also trying to find a good source for A/D converter cards
> to develop real world interfacing experiments (check temp, monitor ground water
> depth, etc.) - Any thoughts?

     You may be able to find an 'Apple II prototyping board' for a Slot card
project from a surplus parts seller; but, it's not very likely. A pretty good
substitute is a PC ISA-8 ("PC XT") Slot proto board.

     An ISA-8 board has 31 contacts per side spaced the same as an A2 card. From
the edge facing the front of the computer, you will need to count down and trim
away 6 contacts (per side). It's best to use a real A2 board as a guide to
determine pin centering and to decide what to slice off for a good fit in an Apple
II Slot. A Dremel tool with a sand wheel is good for this sort of slicing.

     The best deal I've found on proto boards for Apple II Slot card projects is
the 9003 PB from Marlin P. Jones ( http://www.mpja.com/list.asp?dept=58 ).  It's a
good length for most applications (5.6") and costs $7.95. The 9003 PB is 4.25"
high; so, you will need to cut off about 1.5" from the top to get a fit in most
Apple II's.

     Quite a few simple tasks-- like monitoring temperature, checking soil
moisture, ...-- can be handled by hooking up sensors to the Game port PDL (paddle)
inputs.

     For ready-made Apple II A/D converter cards, you could check Vernier at
http://www.vernier.com/ . They may still sell cards for the Apple II. Depending
upon how smart the hardware needs to be, you could be interested in the BASIC Stamp
approach ( http://www.parallaxinc.com/ ).



Rubywand