Re: Unknown card in //e...

[nparker@cie.uoregon.edu (Neil Parker)]

In article <1po0gsINN5m0@fmsrl7.srl.ford.com> krouth@slee01.srl.ford.com
(Kevin Routh) writes:
>I have an Apple //e which has a card of unknown purpose/function in
>it.  Maybe someone can tell me what it is:
>
>On the card, it says "PPC-100 Tackler S rev 2"
>
>A ROM on the card has the label "Tackler-E-1.1 Copyright 1982, Tymac
>Controls, Franklin, NJ"
>
>The card has 7 empty DIP sockets randomly placed on the board (not in
>rows like memory).

That's a parallel printer interface card.  The row of pins at the rear of
the card is for a ribbon cable.

I believe the empty sockets were for an upgrade that added
graphics-printing software to the card.  (You can still print graphics
through the un-upgraded card, but you need extra software to do it.)

Actually, this card might not be compable with the //e.  Way back in the
Olden Days my family had a ][+ with a Tymac PPC-100 in it...when we
upgraded to a //e, we discovered that the card wasn't compatible because it
made an "undocumented" ROM call that worked on the ][+ but not the //e.

>I also have two "controls" which are boxes on the end of cords which
>contain a button and a potentiometer.  These have the letters "TG" on
>them. The cords merge at the end into a 16 pin DIP plug.
>
>What are these things and are they useful?  Thanks.

Those sound like game paddles.  They were used as controls by some very old
games.  Electronically they're the same as a joystick (paddle 0 corresponds
to the X-axis of a joystick, and paddle 1 corresponds to the Y-axis), but
it's really hard to control a joystick game with the paddles.

The 16-pin connector plugs into the empty 16-pin socket (labelled "GAME IO")
on the motherboard.

               - Neil Parker
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