Re: Bell & Howell questions

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Simon Williams wrote:

>Finally my part-time high school janitor gig pays off... today I managed
>to walk out with a nice Bell & Howell II+ with the A/V interface and a
>pair of matching drives. ;-P

Bingo!  Although highly prized by collectors for its low production
numbers, the computer is really just a ][+ with a paint job.  ;-)

>Well, the unit looks to be in quite good shape, but since I know next to
>nothing about this model, I'm having some problems getting it up and
>running.
>
>Question 1: Video Output
>The back of the add-on unit has two video outputs with archaic-looking
>jacks (kind of like something you might see on an old CB antenna). Are
>these composite video outs or RF?

Those are BNC connectors--still widely used--and the outputs are
composite video.  These were to be used in schools to output
to a monitor and control slide projector(s).

>Question 2: Massive 80-column card
>There is a full-size 80-column card in slot 4 (???) that has its own
>video output (no branding on card, just a hand-written sticker
>identifying it as 80-column). If I hook up a monitor to this it works as
>expected after typing PR#4, however if I boot the disk drive (PR#6) it
>stops outputting to the video monitor (though it seems that the program
>on the disk is running regardless). Should this card be in slot 3? Can
>it be replaced with the smaller 80-column card from a //e?

It is generally in slot 3 (most software will expect it there).  It is
not interchangeable with a //e 80-column card in any way.

>Question 3: Ram card?
>Slot 0 has what looks like a RAM expansion card. It is full-sized and
>has a small ribbon cable that connects to the top-right ram socket on
>the motherboard. It has only a gold sticker with the word "MEGA" on it.
>Is this likely to be the 16KB language card?

Exactly.

Remember that it is a ][+, and therefore has only upper-case.

-michael

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