On Sun, 25 Aug 2002, Tony Duell wrote:
> > I'm comparing it to the Apple ][. Pop the lid, stuff in the card, put the
> > lid back.
>
> Yes, and I remember having to extract the mainboard or the keyboard from
> an Apple ][ for repairs. Not totally trivial. I also well remember the
> entertainment of repairing an Apple ][ PSU (darn marginal thing!).
Oh, come on, Tony!
Let's compare:
I. Installing a serial card
Apple ][:
1. Pop lid
2. Insert card
3. Run tail out back portal
4. Replace lid
TRS-80 Model III:
1. Remove screw on back
2. Remove 8 screws on bottom
3. Carefully lift top part of assembly making sure not to damage CRT neck
4. Remove 6 screws securing shield around motherboard
5. Remove 8 screws securing motherboard
6. Disconnect 4 cables connected to motherboard
6. Remove motherboard
7. Insert serial card
8. Screw into place (4 screws)
9. Run power cable from power supply to serial board
10. Replace motherboard
11. Re-connect cables
12. Replace motherboard screws
13. Re-fit shield and its screws
14. Carefully place top assembly making sure the CRT neck does not tangle
with the ground wires near the top of the motherboard
15. Replace 8 screws for top lid and one screw for back lid
Ok, 4 steps vs. 15.
Now, if you need to remove the motherboard from an Apple ][, you remove
the 7-8 screws on the bottom, lift the cover off, and now the entire
motherboard is exposed. Maybe 5-6 screws hold the motherboard in place.
Disconnect the power connector, the speaker, and the keyboard, and lift
the motherboard out.
Not totally trivial? You're much more capable than that, Tony.
> To be fair, just about all consumer-grade microcomputers have some
> less-than-ideal design featuers, and to single one machine out because of
> the number of screws that hold the CPU board in place is rather unfair...
No it's not. If it takes 23 screws to insert an option then that's a shit
design. At least with the Atari or C64, to add a peripheral you simply
plugged it into the serial chain. More consumer friendly.
Again, I am guessing this is why Radio Shack wanted you to bring your
computer into a service center to upgrade it. It was not meant for casual
consumer hacking.
> > > You have a full 6809 expansion bus on the side of the machine. What more
> > > do you want?
> >
> > A composite video output ;)
>
> And I've already told you where to find this. At least Radio Shack sold
Um, let me qualify that then: a compositve video output already built-in
so I don't have to hack one into it.
> proper technical manuals (with full schematics) for a sane price (I think
> I paid \pounds 0.99 for the CoCo one, off the shelf in the local Tandy
> shop). Which is more than many manufactueres ever did...
Hello? Apple included full technical specs and schematics with every
Apple ][ sold. It wasn't until the Apple //e that they got greedy and
made you buy a separate volume for that, but it was still available.
Ditto for the Commodore 64 and I imagine the Atari 800.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Sat Aug 24 2002 - 21:04:01 BST