Re: What sort of Apple user are you?

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

Bettablue wrote:

> Currently, the monochrome display has an issue with the power supply 
> though. When we powered it up, the display worked for a few seconds and 
> blew a fuse. I replaced the fuse with an inline fuse holder, but that 
> didn't work.  It blew the new fuse immediately.  I think the transformer 
> is shorted out.  So right now I am looking for a replacement display.  I 
> am hoping to get an original color display, but if I can find a 
> monochrome display locally, I'll go for that.  (Anyone living in the Las 
> Vegas area who ???)

A shorted transformer would be a very unusual fault--I'd look for
something much simpler to fix.

Two things that come immediately to mind are 1) a shorted line-bypass
capacitor (right across the line just after the fuse, if this
monitor has one), and 2) a shorted bridge rectifier just after the
transformer.

If it's the capacitor, you can temporarily remove it and the monitor
will work find (after replacing the fuse).  (BTW, you can replace
the fuse in the internal fuse holder, cleaning up your power cord.)

If a bridge diode is shorted, it may mean that something later is
shorted, causing the diode(s) to fail.  The electrolytic capacitor(s)
just after the bridge are prime suspects, but a VOM will help in
locating any short.  (Sometimes it's just a line transient that kills
a bridge diode, and not a further fault.)

>  The Apple does not have much in the way of upgrades 
> installed.  It does have a Duo-Disk and the ability to use a color 
> display.  But, it also has only 128Kb of memory. That is going to be 
> changing quite soon though.  I have a deal where I am getting 2 more of 
> these old Apple's.  One is a lle and the other a llc.  The owner only 
> wants $50.00 for the 2 computers and all of the upgrades he has. I will 
> be able to upgrade my lle to 1 Meg of RAM, a six pack expansion card, 
> mouse and associated controller, printer port, 2 serial ports, and 
> network adapter.

Well, 128KB is the "standard" //e, and very few applications will
use any more memory than that (Copy II Plus and Appleworks, for
example).  Any additional memory is generally useful only as a
RAM disk.

Oh, and *every* Apple II has composite color video capability--that
was one of the distinctions of the Apple II from day one.  RGB video
is another matter--it requires an add-on card and an RGB monitor and
produces sharp video which seriously distorts many color game graphics
(since they were designed to be viewed on a composite color monitor).

-michael

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Home page:  http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon/

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