Re: Apple IIe - dead or alive?

["Bender MX" <no@morespam.com>]

"mario" <gianmarioRE.scottiMO@nokiaVE.com> wrote in message
news:C%nQc.21998$k4.429831@news1.nokia.com...

> As for your great tip, Craig, of creating these boot floppies, I would
love
> to do it if I had a Super Serial Card. I guess I will have to get one from
> eBay. Is there any other hardware I should need, to create these floppies?

Hi Mario,

For sure! - The SSC II cards come up on ebay all the time.  And dirt cheap
too.  About a week ago, there was one for $2.32 from User ID: JTME_auctions
on ebay.  I neither endorse not am associated with JTME, except I did buy
a System Disk manual from him some time ago.

What you will need to create a floppy from a disk image on the net is as
follows:

1) an Apple IIe :)
2) a disk II or 5.25 disk controller card and appropriate disk drive.
3) a Super Serial II Card in your IIe
4) another computer connected to the internet to acquire ADT and DSK images
5) a cable to connect between the Apple SSC II card and the host internet
PC.
6) enthusiasm for 8-bit computing - as it truly is an astonishing site to
see the
     Apple receiving ADT and DOS 3.3 at 300 baud! :)

Basically, point 5 above is usually the most confusing for the average
internet
surfer.  ADT does cover it in great detail however, so read and re-read the
txt manual that comes included with the ADT zipfile.  What it boils down to
(if your using a PC) is to get a cable that will connect between your PC via
a
COM port (any available COM port 1 thru 4) and the Apple's SSC II port.
The PC COM port should be a DB9F and the other end of the cable needs
to connect to the Apple IIe Super Serial Card II which should be a DB25M.
Just a straight through cable, no fancy Null-Modem cable or anything.

Ensure both computers are OFF prior to hooking the cable up - so nothing
gets fried on either end.

Now once you've got that established - ensure the SSC II card (dip-switches)
settings are set to 300 baud 8-N-1.  Match those specs in Windows
Hyperterminal
and have it point to the COM port you connected the Apple to.  Turn the
Apple II on, and type IN#2 (which means Input from Slot 2 - which should be
where your Super Serial Card gets installed.)  Or if you install the SSC II
to
 a different slot IN#S   where S=the slot number.  Don't worry, the slots
are
labelled on the motherboard - you'll know which slot it's in! :)

Now connect with Hyperterm, and type a few things to test it ... you should
see what you type being echoed on the Apple IIe screen.  If not, double
check everything.  If so, you're ready to send the Dos 3.3 dump over to the
Apple
to be able to initialize your first 5.25" Apple IIe disk.  All you have to
do to
accomplish this, is using Hyperterminal, select "send text file" and select
DOS33.DMP from the ADT directory.  If Hyperterm won't let you send a
*.DMP file, just rename the extension to TXT and you'll be fine.

At this point, you should see it "typing" itself into the Apple II on the
screen.
If you get any beeps or bells from the Apple, something is wrong, recheck
all settings (300 baud 8-N-1) on both sides of the connection and try again.

Once the transfer of DOS33.DMP  is done, insert a blank 5.25" floppy
(Double Sided/Double Density or SS/DD) into your apple IIe disk drive
and immediately type the following:

] NEW
] INIT HELLO

] 10 TEXT : HOME
] 20 PRINT CHR$(4) ; "CATALOG"
] 30 END
] SAVE HELLO

Voila you should now have a bootable 5.25" floppy disk for the Apple IIe.
Next up is to send ADT over to the Apple.  Do it much the same as you did
for DOS33.DMP.  Once ADT is on the Apple-side Floppy, you can
access (and in most cases create copies to the Apple) a heck of a lot
of software at ASIMOV FTP for the Apple IIe.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here ... Get the SSC II card, try this
out and post your results! - Next lesson, we'll learn to send an entire
Apple II DSK image disk from the PC host to the Apple II Floppy
via ADT and the COM / Super Serial Connection!

> Once again, thank you for the help, and I shall ask more questions, hoping
> not to annoy you.

By All means! - Ask away, hardly annoying.   It's what makes the Apple II
community so much fun to be in - the enthusiasm for an 8-Bit Micro shared
by many of it's users! :)

Enjoy your Apple!

later,
Craig