My Apple II Recreation Project
See my restoration page for a description
of some of the work I've done to get my original 1977 vintage Apple II going.
After getting it going, I decided I also wanted to recreate a second version
of the system which is equivalent to my original system, only as I originally
purchased it. With this second system I'm less concerned about absolute accuracy
in components and more concerned with functionality. My Apple II, as
I originally purchased it, was a bare bones system, configured as follows:
- 4k Ram
- Integer Basic
- Super Mod - RF modulator used to connect to color TV
- Tape Drive - A Radio Shack CTR-39 (model 14-819) purchased seperately.
To recreate this system, I will start with the Apple II plus that I bought
previously for the keys needed to repair the original Apple II keyboard.
UPDATE
2/13/07
After getting a IIplus motherboard up and running with integer
basic and 4K of DRAM, I have decided to shelf this project to make room for
other activities.
Keyboard
I used many of the keys from the keyboard on my Apple II plus to restore
my original Apple II keyboard. I also sold the encoder module on ebay,
some time ago. I will need a replacement keyboard with encoder module.
I will probably get this by purchasing another Apple II plus. I
may modify the reset function of keyboard, to behave like an original Apple
II.
Tape Recorder
I have the original Radio Shack tape recorder, but it needs a bit
a work. The belt slips and the auto stop feature is not working, perhaps
because of the slipping belt. I also need a new 6v DC power supply
for this device. This machine was modified by me, so that that during
playback through the ear plug, some audio could be heard through the speaker.
Infomation on this machine is also on my restoration page.
RF Modulator
I still have the original Super Mod RF modulator. This is currently
not working, but since it is a fairly simple device, I should be able to repair
it. If worse comes to worse, I will replace it. Note that getting
a good picture on a TV with the RF modulator in the old days was problematic.
I can remember constantly tweaking the TV for the best picture and
never really being satisfied. Th RF modulator
issue is also noted on my restoration page.
4K Ram
I have already found some very inexpensive NOS (new, old stock) MK4027 Mostek
DRAMs on ebay. I'm expecting that they will be compatible with the
MK4096 DRAMs used on the original machine.
Integer Basic
I need Apple integer basic ROMs. The most likely source would be an
Apple Firmware Card with integer basic installed. I since I have existing
Roms, I suppose I could find a PROM burner and PROMs and burn copies, but
I will only do that as a last resort.
Apple II Label on Cover
An Apple II label to replace the Apple II plus label for the case would
be nice, but not manditory. I have seen these from time to time on
ebay. Note that I would never sell this machine as an original Apple
II, even if I replace the label.
Possible Mother Board Modifications
I am considering removing the color killer circuit and the high res 6 color
enhancement from the mother board. My original machine had neither
feature. The mother board that I currently own, has 16K RAM jumpers
soldered in. I haven't decided if I will find another motherboard or
just replace the 16K RAM jumpers with sockets. This will likely depend
on what happens in my search for a new keyboard. To find a keyboard,
I will likely end up with an entirely new machine and it could have sockets
instead of jumpers.