I started out helping my father build a DSE Super-80 back in 1981 (Fore runner of the MicroBee) after it appeared in Electronics Australia. We mangled that thing through various iterations, including maxing out the RAM to 48k, adding the enhanced and then VDUEB video cards, ROM Basic (to save 10 minutes of your life each time you started it up from 300buad tape) and eventually adding S-100 printer cards, Speech synthesis, and dual floppy drives. At about that stage we were able to run CP/M and add bank switched RAM (128K I think), and my path along the direction of Z-80 based kit was set.
I used BBC's at school, and the odd Apple for Pascal. At one stage I even managed to get taken on as a school holidays computer camp tutor out at Canty Uni - mainly because we were able to link several school's worth of Beebs together. Dad brought home Osborne like luggables that also ran CP/M and I eventually splashed out and bought a V20 based Acer from DSE - which was a hybrid chip that could run in Z-80 and 8088 mode. I don't think I did anything other than run that as a PC. And it's been Intel/AMD ever since.
Anyway, the time has come for me to upgrade my really old smartphone, and although my wife and kids have long been fans of iPods, iPads and AppleTV I have managed to stay free of any Cupertino kit myself (the only exception I could find was that I once owned some Apple stock in my super fund). I really need to start in the beginning here, so I managed to beat out some fellow board users (Sorry Gavin etc) on a broken Platinum //e just before Xmas. That's early enough I reckon. Once it is going, I'll be able to have an iPhone.
Pretty broken, but not unrecoverable from what I can tell. I didn't realise how tricky it would be to track down D41464s and 65C02s over the year end break though
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
So far I've reseated all the socketed chips, replaced the electrolytic caps on the mainboard, and some of the ceramics, and removed the two RAM chips and put new sockets in. I've lengthened the speaker and US/UK switch leads to enable working on the board outside the case. New D41464-12s arrived today (but I suspect he 65C02 is the real culprit).
Anyway, I was pointed in this direction last year by another member, and hope to convince Gavin or Terry to part with the odd card or floppy drive in the near future from their extensive collections
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Wish list for now:
Apple Disk ][ (I have the interface card)
Super Serial card
Parallel printer card
CFFA-3000 (Yeah right!)
As for the kit I have, the Apple //e Platinum is there, along with a DEC DS-10 (but I don't think that counts as pre-'95 being a turn of the century device) and a salvaged Wyse-60 (or 2?) - Still regret binning my Sparc5 pizza box and 20" CRT, but it did take up a lot of bench space, and was only being used as a web server. And throwing out a bin full of 5.25" floppies for Apple/BBC and early PC stuff. I really need to have a clean out of the shed before I shift out for EQ repairs!
Cheers