Thread

Apple//e

68kMLA · Software · 14 posts · Feb 10, 2010 — Feb 13, 2010 View original thread ↗

#1 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 22:05 68kMLA

Today's rescue is a //e from about 1985 with a couple of Teac 1/2 height floppies (all labels in Japanese), a couple of mystery cards in slots 1 & 5, and an Apple RAM expansion card in slot 4. The RAM card is one I'm not familiar with. It looks like it would hold 1MB fully populated, but it goes in a regular slot, not slot 0. Is this a RAM disk? The machine is not yet cleaned up and powered up. I'm guessing the slot 1 card is a serial interface (no label, 2xDB25F connectors) and the one in slot 5 is some kind of proprietary network interface. Anyways, it may provide a host for my Alpha Syntauri, which I want to get running again and record some samples of its music.

#2 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 22:06 68kMLA

Nice! I have a ][e Enhanced from 86

#3 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 22:16 68kMLA

I have a bit of alphaSyntauri software posted on my site... it's been a couple of years since I've played about with mine, but it really is a fun rig to noodle with.

#4 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 22:22 68kMLA

The RAM card is probably of the Slinky-type, meaning that it feeds out bytes one a time, in sequential order, just like a tape drive. It is probably less desirable than a RamWorks-style, bank-switched RAM card which goes in the Aux slot.

#5 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 22:44 68kMLA

Luddite, I'm going to have to explore your site. I have both 3-voice and 9-voice ALF cards, the 12-voice AE copy of ALF, a Decillionix card, and of course the Mountain Computer cards which go with the Alpha Syntauri. You may have some stuff I don't, and I may have some for you. I need to figure out how to get stuff from DOS 3.3 to the web and vice-versa. It's easier to get from ProDOS to MacOS, but I never switched from DOS to ProDOS.

#6 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 22:54 68kMLA

after looking over that site I could have sworn that back in grade school one of our teachers had a sound blaster hooked up to her IIe

it was nearly identical to the echo II but it was in a clear coated steel box with red silkscreen

course that was eons ago, it could have been just an echo II in a metal box, I don't recall if it played samples or not

#7 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 23:01 68kMLA

Hmm, for you guys with the all the cool sounds cards for the old II's...

Any chance ANYONE has a lead on the Passport Turbo-Trax software for the SoundChaser IIE keyboard setup. It was like the Alpha Syntauri, but used the MX-5 single board Synth card. I have the full setup and original floppy for it, but alas it was DOA when I got it a few years back floppy wise. The chord ear-training software which seems even more rare than the actual free play sequencer works find though and I have multiple orig floppies for that. I can only handle so much ear training however.

Anyone have this? I'm willing to trade something for sure to finally get this system complete.

#8 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 - 23:30 68kMLA

Any chance ANYONE has a lead on the Passport Turbo-Trax software for the SoundChaser IIE keyboard setup.

I might just have that... but it will take a bit of spelunking to find out. In the meantime, there are one or two things I desperately need, so I'm going to start a new thread to that end.

#9 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 - 01:04 68kMLA

Update: It's a //e Enhanced, dead power supply, otherwise functional. The cards are slot 0, 128K/80 Col; Slot 1 no-name serial card with R6551 ACIA sans ROM, so it must require a driver; Slot 4 Apple Memory Expansion 512K of 1M installed; Slot 5 3.5" disk controller; Slot 6 Floppy controller + 2 Teac drives. Cosmetically nice, not yellowed, not scratched or scarred. Not bad for $15.

#10 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 - 06:07 68kMLA

The 3.5" controller card is very nice to have... I'd say that more than makes up for a duff PSU.

#11 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 - 07:15 68kMLA

I need to figure out how to get stuff from DOS 3.3 to the web and vice-versa. It's easier to get from ProDOS to MacOS, but I never switched from DOS to ProDOS.

The easiest way is to use ProDOS Shrinkit II to create .SDK archives. If you already have a method for ProDOS to MacOS transfer then you're set.

Shrinkit II doesn't handle .DSK files (which is mostly what you'll find on the web), but DiskMaker 8 does and will run on an enhanced IIe. Both are available from Chebucto Community Net

#12 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 - 10:33 68kMLA

A fellow synth-nerd described the Alpha Syntauri as the best synth he'd ever heard. No doubt his memory of the experience was relative to the times.

#13 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 - 01:08 68kMLA

Bunsen, I'd say the Alpha Syntauri was the the most advanced synth to run on an 8-bit personal computer, but even in it's day it was only a poor man's Prophet (Profit?) Five. The Mountain Computer cards make other sounds than square waves a'la ALF and C-64, but the wave tables consist of 256 8-bit samples each, so they are pretty gritty. Given musical talent like Herbie Hancock, it would make wonderful noise. HH owned and played one, and in fact he noodled around on mine once. I'm hoping some archaeology will uncover that floppy.

It seems all A][ to Mac programs are for ProDOS. My hard disks and 800K disks are all DOS, and can't be converted without copying first file-by-file to 5" floppies which ProDOS can read. The Syntauri disks are copy-protected DOS 3.3. ProDOS Convert utility won't work on them. Is there any way other than serial transfer to get from DOS 3.3 to Mac? Otherwise, everything has to be converted to / from ProDOS on 800K floppies which a Mac can read under System 7 or 8. Is there a Mac XModem program which runs on a modern USB-equipped Mac? Is there AppleTalk for DOS?

The RAM Disk card is indeed a Slinky. I think it will be a useful addition to my setup, and the "new" //e is all cleaned up and running with a new PSU. Here's hoping the synth hardware which has been on a shelf in the garage for 20 years is salvageable, too.

#14 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 - 23:41 68kMLA

The RAM Disk card is indeed a Slinky.

I'll qualify my earlier remark about desirability with the fact that AFAIK, one can't execute instructions from a Slinky card.
But if you need a big RAM disk or extra AppleWorks memory, then it's great!