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Well look what the cat dragged in, APPLE IIc!!

likemyorbs

likemyorbs

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 20, 2008
1,956
5
NJ
so thanks to craigslist, today i acquired this apple IIc system, with a printer, joystick/mouse or whatever the hell thats supposed to be, about 50 floppy disks, some original apple disks, and user manuals. all for $25. the printer even came with extra paper!! im amazed and so happy, its crazy, anyone have any idea what year this beast is from?
 

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Nice, I remember as a child, one of my best friends family had one of the original Apple II's
 
Nice find. The IIc was my first computer, back in 1984. ProDOS operating system. I used to sneak down at night to get on the computer and practice BASIC. Or to play "Wizardry." My mother used to force my sister and I to practice our typing on it with some typing game program, the name of which escapes me right now.

The IIc ran fine except that ours developed an annoying habit of throwing the little rubber fanbelt off the disk drive flywheel. Every once in a while I'd have to open it up and put it back on.

Good times. Enjoy your new acquisition.
 
Nice buy, just a question why does all the older apple products go all yellow after a while? I suppose its something in the chemicals
 
Apple II software

Just so you know, you're not limited to the floppies that came with the system - you can download disk images from online archives such as Asimov and write them to Apple II-readable 5.25" disks.

The program used for this is called ADTPro. It's a Java app (so it will run on any modern computer with a Java runtime environment - PC, Mac, various UNIX/Linux) that transfers the disk images to/from the Apple II using a serial connection. It's an extremely well-written utility that's been worked on for several years; I've been using it mostly to create images of disks that were not already on Asimov, in the interest of preservation. Considering the number of disks that you got with your system, it may be worthwhile to see if you have anything that hasn't already been archived.

If this sounds like something that would interest you, here is how to set up the cabling for your //c and here is how to actually get ADTPro going. The initial setup is a bit of work, but once that's done, it's really the easiest thing in the world to send disk images back and forth.

Enjoy your //c! "Apple II Forever"! ;)
 
Roderick Usher said:
Just so you know, you're not limited to the floppies that came with the system - you can download disk images from online archives such as Asimov and write them to Apple II-readable 5.25" disks.

The program used for this is called ADTPro. It's a Java app (so it will run on any modern computer with a Java runtime environment - PC, Mac, various UNIX/Linux) that transfers the disk images to/from the Apple II using a serial connection. It's an extremely well-written utility that's been worked on for several years; I've been using it mostly to create images of disks that were not already on Asimov, in the interest of preservation. Considering the number of disks that you got with your system, it may be worthwhile to see if you have anything that hasn't already been archived.

If this sounds like something that would interest you, here is how to set up the cabling for your //c and here is how to actually get ADTPro going. The initial setup is a bit of work, but once that's done, it's really the easiest thing in the world to send disk images back and forth.

Enjoy your //c! "Apple II Forever"! ;)
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Sounds like a lot of work, not sure if its worthwhile for me, i already have the original intro disk, appleworks, and a whole plethora of games. Lately though, it hasnt always started up when i wanted it to and ive had to leave it unplugged for a few minutes and then replug it and then it starts up. this is starting to concern me, i hope its not the start of a bigger problem because i really want to preserve this thing. is it better to leave it unplugged at all times when not in use? any other suggestions?
 
toolbox said:
Nice buy, just a question why does all the older apple products go all yellow after a while? I suppose its something in the chemicals
Click to expand...

thats a very good question, and i really have no idea. but the weird thing is that i watched an unboxing of a IIc on youtube thats been sitting in its box for 25 years, and its not yellowed at all, it looks brand new. i thinking the yellowing is dirt that needs to be thoroughly cleaned, im gonna have to figure out how cuz it would be nice to have it all clean
 
likemyorbs said:
thats a very good question, and i really have no idea. but the weird thing is that i watched an unboxing of a IIc on youtube thats been sitting in its box for 25 years, and its not yellowed at all, it looks brand new. i thinking the yellowing is dirt that needs to be thoroughly cleaned, im gonna have to figure out how cuz it would be nice to have it all clean
Click to expand...

I believe some Apple collectors use a weak peroxide solution and allow to soak for several hours.

Of course, having not done this, be well researched before you attempt it. I also have concerns about labels and metal parts that are not removable. of course, this means stripping the machine to it's bare plastic parts. That poses it's own problems for some models where the plastic becomes brittle and without extreme care, re-assembly can break plastic parts when re-fitting screws. :eek:

Good Luck!
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design host
 
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likemyorbs said:
Sounds like a lot of work, not sure if its worthwhile for me, i already have the original intro disk, appleworks, and a whole plethora of games. Lately though, it hasnt always started up when i wanted it to and ive had to leave it unplugged for a few minutes and then replug it and then it starts up. this is starting to concern me, i hope its not the start of a bigger problem because i really want to preserve this thing. is it better to leave it unplugged at all times when not in use? any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Possibly an issue with the external power brick? Thankfully, those aren't too hard to replace as they pop up on eBay from time to time.

I'd suggest asking at comp.sys.apple2 - it's full of hardcore Apple II experts that are always willing to help.

(And, honestly, getting ADTPro set up isn't that difficult - if nothing else, you should consider it in case you happen to have stuff that hasn't already been archived online.)
 
Roderick Usher said:
Possibly an issue with the external power brick? Thankfully, those aren't too hard to replace as they pop up on eBay from time to time.
Click to expand...

Actually, it sounds more like a bad capacitor in the internal switchmode power supply. IIRC the external supply is just a transformer and not much goes wrong with those (not intermittently anyhow).

The internal power supply is a large silver box that plugs into an edge connector on the motherboard.

Just one question, if you leave the IIc itself and the AC brick disconnected from the mains power for a day or two, does it still refuse to power on first time? If so, then a bad cap is almost certainly the cause.
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GM Ultra Engine
 
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MacTech68 said:
Just one question, if you leave the IIc itself and the AC brick disconnected from the mains power for a day or two, does it still refuse to power on first time? If so, then a bad cap is almost certainly the cause.
Click to expand...

It doesn't always refuse to power on the first time, its very random... are bad caps easily replaceable on 25 year electronics?
 
likemyorbs said:
It doesn't always refuse to power on the first time, its very random... are bad caps easily replaceable on 25 year electronics?
Click to expand...

Yes indeed. They sure are. Just make sure you buy ones that are 105 degree C and are physically the same size or smaller (some replacements might be too big to fit).

Any TV/Video tech who knows switch mode power supplies could do it for you if you take the silver box into them and ask to replace all the electrolytic capacitors. Actually, looks like some may not have the silver box but an open air type as shown in this picture on the right hand side.

Just remember, this could be a bad cap on the motherboard or just a cracked solder joint somewhere. Bit hard to tell at this distance. :rolleyes:
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Mercedes-Benz W463 picture
 
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