Unknown Apple 2 cards

From: Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk_at_yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Thu Jun 5 16:08:00 2003

> Is that Mitac computer an Apple II clone?

I hope to find out in the next few days :-} I believe I was given it about 6-7
years ago and it's been on the list of things to look at someday ever since!!
It was next to the box of cards in the room where most of my comps are stored,
so I fished it out with the hope of trying to see if it works sometime over the
next few days.

It almost certainly appears to be a Japanese Apple 2 clone though, with
built-in disk interface, 80-column output, RF output (unsure whether that's
NTSC or PAL or even something else yet), joystick interfaces etc. all on two
boards within the machine - there's even a Z80 CPU in there but I'm not sure if
it behaves like a 'proper' CP/M card or if it's just there to control some of
the machine's hardware. Pretty loaded-up little beast anyway.

I've got both 120V and 220V power supplies for it; why someone would have had
both I'm not sure but there you go. I've also got two of the units that connect
to the expansion socket at the back of the machine and provide standard
(assuming it is a clone!) A2 bus connectors - again I have no idea why I have
two, not like I can use more than one at once anyway!

My Apple 2 disk drives and any kind of suitable monitor are all too far buried
at the moment for me to get at them, but I'll check the machine over for
obvious probs before trying to hook it up to my TV sometime in the next few
days.

I couldn't find any information on the machine on the 'net, but then I suppose
in the Apple 2's heyday there were an awful lot of clone machines around.

cheers

Jules
Received on Thu Jun 05 2003 - 16:08:00 BST