All in one reply since it's offtopic...
Tracy:
> I am so glad that my obsession and overwhelming desire to hoard any
> Mac/Apple stuff that I can find has finally come in handy for someone
> other than myself!
Hit thrift stores, especially, for lack of proper term, the "surplus"
locations. The local Goodwill chain has a surplus store which is literally
a warehouse with piles of junk to dig through. A2 and other older
computers are probably likely to wind up there (favoring Pentium and
better PCs and an occasional Mac for their regular stores.)
Once in a while a wave of A2 hardware will show up as schools dump them
for more modern systems...also I suppose because Mastery Development, who
ran a network system on the A2 (allowed email and such between remote
systems,) closed up shop and more or less left these systems stranded (MD
ran the central server.)
If you see any of these, GRAB IT!
- RAMWorks boards (RAM expansion)
- Transwarp boards (accelerator)
- High Speed SCSI card (SCSI adapter (duh) and if you don't use it, it'll
fetch a nice price and net you come cash for buying more junk. =^)
Actually anything other than these are probably worth picking up (if
they're cheap):
- Parallel printer interface cards
- 80 column cards
- Extended 80 column cards
- Disk controller cards
These 4 types are dime a dozen, though the latter two are essential
to running 99% of the 8 bit software.
Apple //'s are also notable, to sell if you don't plan to use them.
People pay a decent amount for that one. A bit less for the //plus,
and you have to practically pay people to take //e's off your hands.
(For actual use, look to the IIGS and //e, the //plus and // are more for
"doing it in style".)
Shane:
> Yep... A color monitor should work fine. You can hook up up to a TV
> (though you won't get the same quality you would from an RGB monitor)
> with an RF converter from an Atari or NES system, or pick one up at
> RatShack for pretty cheap.
Not quite like that. The Apple// outputs composite video, not RF. You
can connect it to anything that'll accept composite video, so if you run
it through the TV or VCR, use the A/V inputs, not the antenna input.
Apple made a few color monitors (my friend had the //c one which he also
used as a TV screen which I thought was the coolest thing at the time.)
A number of 3rd parties made them too, and the Commodore ones are very
nice too, 1084, 2002(?) I'll note however that when you use a color
monitor, colored fringes appear when a graphic window is turned on and
renders 80 Column text nearly unreadable. But the Apple monitor mentioned
earlier in this thread:
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2062739285>
has a switch that toggles it between monochrome (B&W) and color modes.
The prior intended for text reading.
...if you have the video system for your Mac, that'll work too. Run it
side by side with an emulator. =^)
To connect an A2 (except the //c) through RF you'll need a separate RF
adapter which plugs into a 4 pin connector on the motherboard. Not sure
about the GS, but on the other models, it should be near the right side of
the board, about 1/4 to 1/3 the way from the back. I doubt Radio Shack
sells them (but you never know, I think you an still order Atari 2600
games from them.) The "converter" Shane mentions is just a switchbox, it
doesn't do any RF conversion.
Ian:
> I think the IIc has an RGB monitor port on the back (I know the GS
> does).
I'm not entirely sure, but it's not an RGB port, rather a special
video-out port. Or maybe it is an RGB. There's an adapter that converts
the port's signal to RF.
> Weren't all Apple CComputers Color?
Yep, and for a time offered the greatest resolution and colors for the
amount of RAM used. 280x192x8 "colors" (more effectively 6 colors and some
limitations,) squeezed into about 8k.
And if you pick up a non Apple monitor and notice an audio input, you
won't be able to use it with the A2, they only output sound to their
internal speakers. Unless you're handy with a soldering iron and can wire
up an audio jack to the speaker connector. (The //c and GS are
exceptions, having headphone jacks.)
ok, I think I've rambled enough.
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