Re: II+ vs IIe (was Re: Apple IIe working?)

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

David Empson writes ...
> 
> Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote:
> 
> > Given the "Apple ][" display, this sounds like the normal startup for a II+.
> 
> Haven't we had this discussion recently?  An Apple ][+ has a boot
> heading of "APPLE ][".
>

??? That appears to be what I said.

 
> If it is mixed case, then it must be a IIe, and this is what the
> original poster indicated he was looking to buy.
>

    Well, yes. However, the "Apple ][" comes from a description by the user of
the startup screen of a currently owned machine.

  
> > Try pressing RESET. This should stop the drive and leave you in Applesoft
> > BASIC. (If the machine is a IIe, you would press Control-RESET-- hold down
> > the Control key and press and release RESET; then release Control.)
> 
> The ][+ also needs CTRL-RESET.  Only early original Apple ][ machines
> were able to be reset with RESET by itself.
>

     Our 1981 II+ and every other II+ I've seen came with a plain Reset. Possibly
the Control-Reset feature was added towards the end of the II+ production cycle.

 
> At some point, Apple added a switch on the underside of the keyboard to
> select whether Control also needed to be pressed, and it was on by
> default.

     Sounds reasonable. I think I remember seeing a place for such a switch on
our II+ keyboard circuit board. But, there was no switch installed.

     Eventually, we replaced the KB with one from a terminal and added a home
brew KB circuit based upon SMC's KR2376 ST. The new KB plus a minor $F8 ROM mod
gives us u/l case, non-mechanical Shift-lock, and auto-repeat. Since, on the II+,
Reset is such a useful key (and because it works well for add-on special key
sequences) we pretty much left it alone-- except for adding a latch circuit to
let software toggle On a Control-Reset option.


> I don't recall whether it was made permanent at any point
> prior to the IIe.  None of the references I have handy clarify this
> point.
> 
> I think there was a fair amount of user annoyance at accidentally
> resetting the machine instead of pressing the Return key
 ....

     No kidding!  Some users were doing weird things, like removing the Reset key
cap or putting foam under the key cap to make it hard to press. Having someone
'accidently' hit Reset during a few games of Santa Paravia is what led us to
install a Control-Reset soft switch.



Rubywand