Re: M0131 drive on a //gs?

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

BLuRry <brendan.robert@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Jan 28, 6:31�am, schmidtd <schmi...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>> On Jan 28, 5:05�am, demp...@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson) wrote:
>>
>> > I don't know offhand if that model number is the 400K or 800K drive.
>>
>> I like this site for drive references:http://www.vintagemacworld.com/drives.html
>
>Ah, it was definitely an 800k mac drive then, and certainly was
>controlled via the controller in the //e that was sitting there.
>While tempting to pick up the //e for the controller, my focus is
>primarily on non-disk application development and the only reason I'd
>have a 3.5 is to have the //gs boot into GSOS for a change.   Since
>the drive isn't compatible with the //gs, it would be a bicycle for my
>fish.  

    My Macintosh 128 (with 512e motherboard) was bundled with
one of these drives. The only way to use it on an Apple IIgs, or
any other Apple II for the matter, is with newer revision of the 
VTech Universal Disk Controller card (the shorter card, with the 
surface mount IC at the center of the PCB).

    I wouldn't recommend it, besides wasting a slot on your IIgs,
there is no manual eject button. Ejection has to be done entirely
through software control.

>Now if only I had an ADB mouse for the //gs -- the whole reason
>for the trip anyway.

    I thought these were still common to find. I still see them at
recycling centers and thrift shops. If you're still stuck I'll see if
I can pick one up for you next time I spot one.

    I'm impressed you're still seeing Apple II's in circulation. I haven't
seen one in thrift shops for probably close to a decade now! I did
see a DuoDisk 5.25 and Kraft IBM/Apple joystick floating around
some months ago, but that's it. I was lucky enough to find a pair
of Apple IIc's recently--one at being recycled and the other in a
pile of 286 and 386 notebooks at a laptop store.

>If I find anything more exotic in the hardware department next time
>I'll probably pick it up.  Until I get the //gs booting into GSOS, I
>don't necessarily have a need for a memory expansion card.  

    Do you at least have a 1 MB Apple card installed? I imagine
those are still inexpensive and enough to run native Apple IIgs
software.

>Other interesting things there was a huge stack of close to a dozen
>dreamcast consoles, a stella 2600 (video cable chopped off, cartridge
>slot looked off-center possibly damaged?), a TI-99a computer covered
>in dust, time and disinterest

    Never heard of a "Stella 2600", other than it being the development
codename of the console and the name of an emulator. I'd probably be
the one person to grab up the TI-99a, it was the first home computer
I ever used and got me interested in the Apple II. :)

Mitchell Spector