Re: Going to buy Apple IIe-Questions about output to TV, Disk Drives, Card Expansion, etc.

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

COGuy wrote:
> I have been searching eBay and am looking for an Apple IIe but have
> several questions.
>
> 1.  I collect vintage computers and like to share them all through a
> common TV so I don't have to get a monitor for each.  Does the
> AppleIIe support rf output to TV or would I have to look at another
> Apple II or an expansion card?

Not natively.  To output RF, you would need to add a modulator,
like the Sup'R'Mod (which was very common in the mid 1980s).
BTW, a modulator is not an expansion card, but a little box that
usually attached inside the computer case.

If you are at all concerned about video quality, you would do better
to avoid modulators and RF entirely, and feed composite video directly
into your monitor/TV (assuming it has a composite video input).  It
would be easy to use a composite video (and audio) selector switch
to switch the TV to the machine in use.

> 2.  I am going to likely get one of the Disk II drives and use that a
> lot but have been considering getting a Superdrive controller with a
> Apple FDHD 3.5" drive.  If I'm right does this mean I'd be able to
> download Apple software on my Mac and put on 3.5" disks to then use on
> my Apple IIe?  Or should I look for other drives to get?

Yes, if your Mac supports ProDOS-formatted disks.  (The later OS
versions don't.)  However, you may find it hard to locate a Superdrive
controller that is affordable...

BTW, a PC running CiderPress also supports ProDOS-formatted 1.44MB
disks, and so is another superdrive-based solution.  With a PC
flash card reader, CiderPress allows very easy data transfers to
and from a CompactFlash card for a CFFA.

If you are primarily interested in games, virtually all //e games
run from a 5.25" disk.  If you are interested in applications, then
you will soon find a hard disk or CFFA extremely useful (at a price
not much different from a Superdrive controller card).

> 3.  Super Serial Card-As another way to transfer software should I get
> a Super Serial Card?  I've heard you can use Serial to USB adapters to
> give the Apple IIe a USB port.

No, you use a *USB-to-serial* adapter to give your serial port-less
Mac a serial port.  It doesn't work the other way.

An SSC is very useful for moving data between an Apple II and a modern
machine (particularly if you don't (yet) have a hard-to-get Superdrive
controller and 3.5" Superdrive).

> 4.  I know there are options for cards for 80 characters and Memory
> Expansion.  Are any of these important?

Virtually essential.  You should have *at least* a 64K RAM + 80-column
card in a //e, and many find a larger RAM card in the AUX slot useful,
with 1MB being a common size.

Many //e's will come with a 64KB/80-column card.

> My first computer when I was in middle school was a Apple IIe.  I
> collect others such as an Atari ST, soon an Amiga 500, Commodore 64,
> etc.  I just like to have them to use with basic games, programs, etc.
> from that era.

I think you'll enjoy the Apple //e a great deal.  It was truly
a "workhorse" computer with thousands of applications--and it
was very easy to work with and fun to use.

> I haven't done any heavy work though with a Apple IIe.  How many cards
> does it hold and are most of these expansion cards as simple as buying
> one and plugging it in or does it require more to get them to work?

The //e has 8 slots--7 "general purpose" slots and one AUX slot for
memory expansion and 80-column support.

Some cards are supported "automatically", like most printer cards,
serial cards, and disk controllers; but more specialized cards (like
a Z-80 coprocessor or a MIDI controller) usually require supporting
software.

-michael

NadaPong: Network game demo for Apple II computers!
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."