Re: SOME QUESTIONS! * *!! ** !! ** !! ** !! ** !!***

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article itsme <quantum@telis.org> writes...

>Did AE ever release the 16 megabyte expander for Ram Works III?  if so,
>where could I get one

    No, just a 2 MB expansion daughterboard if I remember right, which
is quite rare to find today. Usually the largest amount of memory you'll
see in an Apple IIe is 1 MB, and with the above mentioned card, 3 MB in
rare cases. I personally find a 512K board inside my Apple IIe is more
than enough, at least for my needs.

>Where can I get a UDC repaired?

    You might want to contact Harold H. (the hardware guru on Genie and
Delphi). He's one of the few knowledgable Apple II persons I know who can
replace surface-mounted chips and knows the hardware often better than the
people who designed it.

>how much memory can an AST RAMSTAK plus hold?

    Going from memory (which may be fuzzy), I think it held 1 or 1.5 MB
of RAM and wasn't expandable beyond that. Unless you can find the DRAMs
to populate it free or very inexpensively, it would make better sense to
replace it with a current 4 MB card.

>Do you know where I can get ahold of an Apple II workstation card?

    comp.sys.apple2.marketplace, but don't hold your breath, these
boards are fairly rare. Some remarketing vendors may come across a
card or two if your lucky, you may want to inquire with them.

>What kind of non volatile ram/rom cards are available and where? (like
>battery backup, static ram)

    One I can think of was the Applied Engineering RamKeeper, which
could piggyback up to two regular Apple IIgs memory boards and keep
data intact by use of a power-adapter (with backup battery unit). This
allowed you to keep a ROM Disk of sorts (it was permanent RAM Disk).
I had one once long ago, but stop using it when I heard these boards
had a habit of randomly shorting out and catching fire. ;)

    The other would be MDIdeas' OctoRam ESP. It was a piggyback board
that plugged into the OctoRam SIMM memory board and used up to 512K of
static RAM, with a lithium battery to keep a ROM Disk active. David
Empson has one of these I believe.

    My opinion are both these boards are obsolite today, considering how
inexpensive and fast hardrives have become. Heh, I chuckle everytime I
see the old ad from Checkmate Technologies (oh, they too made a board
similar to the AE RamKeeper) which had a caption, "Zero to Finder in
15 seconds". Consider the fact I can shift-boot into the Finder in
5 seconds with my SCSI hardisk setup. :)

>Where can I get software to drive my Apple Video Overlay card?  I don't
>even have the software that came with it.  Can you direct me where to get
>the software that came with it and/or commercial titles that use the card.

    Apple's FTP site may be a place to start, and if you use IIgs System
6.0.1 you should find some basic tools for using the VOC card (there is an
NDA application on one of the Tools disks I think, launch the Installer and
you should see it). The only commercial software title to use it was Seven
Hill's SuperConvert 3.x. There is also a freeware demo that displays 320x400
images on screen, using interlacing with the VOC (it should be on the Ground
and Caltech FTP site, under than name "vocdemo.shk" or something close to
that). Not much software development was ever done for the VOC, which is a
shame.

>Does anyone have a card that will control home appliances?  I believe they
>were called BSR controllers?  I'd like to get one of them.

    X-10 Powerhouse. You'll have to search csa2.marketplace.

>What is the best video digitizer for IIGs?

    The Vision Plus Enhanced card (formely the Visionary GS, and before
than the AST Vision Plus). Alltech Electronics still sells this card,
one of the few things you can still purchase new from the above list.
The ImageWorks II is countless times better, but the images it saves
are only viewable with the card installed and cannot be imported into
other Apple II programs (it doesn't use Apple II graphic modes).

>Can IIgs play any type of movies?  Where can I get one?

    Just *.DL and *.FLI animation files, but I'd hardly consider those
movie video format. The closest thing to movies would be PaintWorks
animation files, but they're a GS specific format (just several SHR
images shown one after another quickly, like flipping pages of a book).

    Steve Chiang and Ronald Mercer were working on a combined audio/
video format (DreamVision and Mini-Movie) for the IIgs, but those
never got beyond some demos. You cannot play QuickTime or AVI movies
on the IIgs at present, but someone _is_ working on writing a player
(limited though, you'll have to view video in 4-bit greyscale with
no sound, and it only supports non-compressed QT format). Don't even
ask about MPEG. ;)

>What is the best sound digitizer for IIgs?  Where can I get one?

    Some will say the FutureSound, others will argue the AE Audio
Animator. Both are high quality though, as they use their own ADC
to sample sound (the AA may have an edge since the ADC sits in a
sheilded box _outside_ the computer rather than on a card that is
exposed to noise :). The MDIdeas Digitizer Pro board is yet another
digitizer to utilitize it's own ADC, but I've not heard much about
these boards.

    None of these are sold today, but the Audio Animator is much
more common than the other two digitizers (I found one last summer
on comp.sys.apple2.marketplace to replace the mediocre MDIdeas
SuperSonic Digitizer I had then). If you don't mind using the ADC
built-in to the Ensoniq, the HyperStudio slotless digitizer is
supposed to be quite good I hear. There are other "ok" options
too, but nothing great.

>Where can I get a vcr controller interface board for an apple II?

    Again, try comp.sys.apple2.marketplace. I do know at least one
exists, and in fact I can even picture the magazine article in which
it had a write up on it, but I have no idea which magazine it was
in or even what year (so I can't help you with a name ;). 

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca