Subject: Re: New Mystery Boards
From: dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)
Date: Tue, Oct 27, 1998 5‚59(H
Message-id: <1dhl3dy.1p3y0sunjxvl4N@dempson.actrix.gen.nz>

Labelas Enoreth <labelas@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hey, don't mean to cut in, but I have some mystery card of my own...
> Listed chips on the board which caught my attention...

> *'Little Blue Limited' "PC Transporter" Applied Engineering

Well that isn't exactly a mystery - it tells you right on the card what
it is.  :-)

In effect it is a PC/XT clone, using an NEC V30 processor (80186
instruction set, faster than an 8088) running at 7.3 MHz (ish).

It can be used in an Apple II+, IIe or IIgs, with the appropriate
adaptor kit.

For the II+, you need:

- External IBM keyboard adaptor and keyboard
- Speaker passthrough cable
- Video override cable

For the IIe, you need:

- IIe keyboard intercept cable/circuit board
- Speaker passthrough cable
- Video override cable

For the IIgs, you need:

- ColorSwitch video card and cables

The IIe and IIgs also have the option of using a real IBM keyboard if
you have the adaptor cable.

All machines have the option of using a genuine CGA monitor with the
right adaptor cable, and you can connect an adapator cable which goes to
a D-19 connector for hooking up floppy drives (TransDrive 5.25",
TransDrive 3.5", or Apple 3.5 Drive).

The card also supports an optional 8087 maths coprocessor chip, and up
to 768K of RAM (preinstalled on the later version, can be added in 256K
multiples on the original version using ZIL RAM, if I remember right).
128K of the RAM is used up for system functions (including BIOS and
video memory), leaving you with 640K of usable RAM when in PC mode.

The main function of the card is to run PC software on the Apple II.  It
takes over the machine while running, borrowing Apple peripherals
(serial ports, mouse, keyboard, hard drive) for many activities.

It can also be used as a RAM disk and disk controller while the machine
is being used normally as an Apple II.

To do anything with it, you'll need the software (it has no ROM), which
comes on a single 3.5" disk or at least three 5.25" disks.  The main
component is a program called AEPC.SYSTEM, but there are a lot of
associated files including drivers for various Apple peripherals.

In theory, it is possible to connect any PC 360K 5.25" drive or 720K
3.5" drive to the card, but you need to wire the cable up correctly and
I don't have any information on this.  PC drives have to be powered
externally.

To get around these problems, Applied Engineering sold the "TransDrive",
which is an external enclosure holding one or two 5.25" or 3.5" drives
(also supplied by AE).

> *Apple Computer 1990 'Sandwich II'
> Some PROMs with serial numbers and APPLE89 on them
> NCR CP02764 8924A
> AMI 9002MAH C17656
> 25-pin female connector on back of computer.

This is an Apple High-Speed SCSI card, which can be used to connect SCSI
hard drives and a very limited range of SCSI CD-ROM drives to a IIgs or
enhanced IIe.  (It also supports Apple's 40MB tape drive and original
scanner, but software support for these is almost nonexistant.)

It uses DMA (direct memory access) to get much higher transfer rates
than older SCSI cards.  On the IIe, its maximum transfer rate is 500
kilobytes per second (it can go twice as fast as this if used in a
IIgs).

It isn't the fastest card around: the RamFast SCSI card is significantly
faster on a IIe or when running ProDOS-8 on a IIgs, due to its on-card
caching.  (It is also easier to set up, and supports a wider variety of
devices, though the Apple card is more compatible with recent SCSI hard
drives.)

> *ALS Z-card
> Z80B cpu, 10 socketed PRAMs, 4 DIP siwtches

Presumably a Z80 card for running CP/M.  Never really used these, so I
can't comment much.

> Any idea on these? I'm assuming the Z80 cards are for CP/M, since that's
> like the only good use for a Z80 in a IIe that I can think of...? But no
> software, so dunno what they do. (can I use a CP/M boot disk from, say,
> another CP/M card and have it work with them?)

In general, no.  Each CP/M card has its own unique way of interacting
with the Apple II, though I expect some of the later ones emulate
corresponding earlier ones.

> Oh, hey, got a mem board as well, 32 ILM41256AP-12 chips
> I saw 256, but there's no way that it is 8192kB for a IIe, right? What am
> I misreading...

256 kiloBITS not kiloBYTES per chip.  32 chips gives you 1 megabyte of
RAM.  Can you see a manufacturer's name anywhere on it, and which type
of slot does it fit into?

If it goes in a standard slot (50 pin connector), then it is probably an
Apple II Memory Expansion Card (from Apple) or a RamFactor (from Applied
Engineering).  There are some other clones of these.

If it goes in the IIe auxiliary slot (60 pin connector), then it is
probably an Applied Engineering RamWorks, of which there were at least
three major revisions (RamWorks, RamWorks II and RamWorks III), or a
similar card.

For a standard slot RAM card, you can just plug it in and ProDOS will
automatically recognise it as a RAM disk.  You can even boot off it if
the card is set up properly.  Some applications (e.g. AppleWorks 1.3 and
later) can use these cards for data storage.  The RamFactor also
supports DOS 3.3 through a patch mechanism.

For an auxiliary slot RAM card, you need to patch ProDOS to use it as a
RAM disk, and use special versions of applications (or patches) to
support the card.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand