Re: Number of known clones models (maybe?)

[Patrick Schaefer <PSchaefer@epost.de>]

Ernest schrieb:

> I was guessing that the number would have been closer to 200+, but now
> it's looking like my guess was high.

It depends on how to distinguish between the different clone types. E.g.
99,9% of the Apple II clones sold in Germany were based on two GTAC
("Generic Taiwanese Apple II Clone" types:

GTAC-1 is similar to the Apple II Rev 7 board with a 6502 cpu, 48k
RAM, eight slots and six 2716 or three 2732 EPROMs.

GTAC-2 has  6502 cpu, a built-in Z80 card, 64k RAM and seven slots.
Slot 0 and Slot 4 are missing due to the built-in language and Z80
cards, however, there is an additional slot at position 0 that holds the
ROM board. This solution has been chosen because there was not enough
space for the ROMs on the main board.

Both versions were sold under many different names and brands, e.g.
"Orange II", "MEWA-48", "Computer", "PineApple", etc. In Germany, you
could buy them as empty PCBs, as kits, as assembled boards and as
complete systems built into Apple II-like or PC-like cases in every
electronic-, computer-, or department store. These systems can use any
kind of Apple II ROM including IBS Forth. Using Applesoft BASIC was
popular but not legal.


If you count these systems as one each, your number will exceed 10.000.
If you count them as two basic designs, only a few dozens will remain.
Really interesting designs were the Laser 128 series, the Basis 108, the
IBS Space 8x series - these manufacturers did much more than just
cloning the Apple II circuit.


Patrick