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//c as a hobbyist machine (Was: "Now what?")

Call-151

Experienced Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
75
Location
Canada
Alright, so since aquiring the //c, ive aquired a //e mouse, cracked them open, cleaned the internals, deyellowed the cases, and the computer is looking brand new and working (got the original MOUSEPAINT with the //e mouse, abeit the mouse arrow is very slow with this machine). Now im looking into making a null modem cable to hook up to my PC laptop, and hopefully start enjoying this relic. Besides enjoying the programs that i can get for it, and learn and write programs (basic, machine) what kind of hardware hacking can i do with this machine? I know its not a //e, //gs but would like to know if there was any product made for this machine to add peripheral cards to it just like the laser 128, or is there a homebrew DIY (link or website) to make a board slot + other things that i can make/purchase to connect it to the smartport of the //c? Or should i just get rid of the //c and look for a //e, //gs to suit my plans?
 
The //c is excellent for software work due to its small size and integrated-everything; but for hardware hacking, yeah, you'll want a //e.
 
I haven't done much but the //e was pretty hacker friendly which was why IMO did so well. It encouraged people to hack and create things with it and schematics and documentation were fairly open. The IIc while cool and a nice compact unit for your portable(ish) coding and playing needs they 180'd their stance and you voided the warranty if you opened the case. Pretty lame and hacking was discouraged, thus the IIe outlived it's successor.
 
Thanks to all that had replied, it puts things into perspective with what i plan on doing with the //c. I just checked out the ROM on this //c, from typing in the peek (64447) it outputted '255', as well as 'check disk drive' when PR#7 is inputted. Although the //c is limited, i think i'll learn alot from it while i search for a //e or //gs.

Looking at the ADTpro website, i do have a question regarding the cabling. while my PC laptop does not have a 9 pin input it only has usb. I have found a cable that may do it but am unsure if its the correct one, its called 'Usb to Serial converter', which has a male db9 connector on one end, it says on the package for use with fast data transfer. Is this an appropriate cable to use in conjunction with a Db9 female to 5 pin male MIDI connector i will have to make? In regards to the db9 connection, is it recommended to use a 'Null Modem cable' with db9 connection and splice in a 5 pin midi connection, or can i just get a old 5 pin midi cable and use a female DB9 connector/housing? (yes im confused, but dont want to fry the //c with wrong cabling).

this is what confused me:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/1EE0DD8AF67922FA86256F720071DECF

thanks.
 
Search a2central.com for apple //c and apple iic and you'll find links to 2 virtual hard drive projects, an FPGA interface and other fun stuff.
 
I have found a cable that may do it but am unsure if its the correct one, its called 'Usb to Serial converter', which has a male db9 connector on one end, it says on the package for use with fast data transfer.
Yes, as long as you have a driver for it, that'll work.

In regards to the db9 connection, is it recommended to use a 'Null Modem cable' with db9 connection and splice in a 5 pin midi connection, or can i just get a old 5 pin midi cable and use a female DB9 connector/housing?
Don't worry, just follow the instructions on the ADTPro site. You want to wire up a null modem cable with a female DE9 and male 5-pin DIN plugs on the ends.
 
thanks David. I've made my cable and transferred successfuly Prodos and ADTpro. The only thing i am finding is that with the //c, the fastest and reliable speed setup with adtpro is 9600 baud and a pace of 100. anything under 100 and the //c throws up garbage. Is this the problem with rom 0 machines?
 
thanks David. I've made my cable and transferred successfuly Prodos and ADTpro.
Good deal!
Call-151 said:
The only thing i am finding is that with the //c, the fastest and reliable speed setup with adtpro is 9600 baud and a pace of 100. anything under 100 and the //c throws up garbage. Is this the problem with rom 0 machines?
No, that's very typical with 1MHz Apples of all stripes for bootstrapping operations. All of them should be able to handle 9600/100 for bootstrapping. Once that's done, though, normal transfer operations should be able to run at 115.2kbps. Even your ROM 0.
 
Hi David, i ran into a problem hope you can give me some direction on this. While i am successful in transferring Prodos and Adtpro to the //c, i can Format the floppy successfully, but when it comes time actually writing ADTpro to disk (pressing R for recieve) it will give me the filename prompt, and enter what you have put in your Utube vid (Filename: ADTPRO-V.R.M.DSK) after hitting return, it will then say 'Waiting for host to reply, hit esc to cancel' and seems to stall there (i can hit esc to get back to the main menu though). Any thoughts on this? thanks.
 
The YouTube video is showing a generic name for the image name - it's really based on the version you downloaded. Right now (April 2011) the current version is 1.1.8, so the image you're going to want to transfer is actually called ADTPRO-1.1.8.DSK.

But be that as it may... if it's stalling at any receive operation, 2-way communications are not working correctly. I suggest you try the 'D' for Directory command first, to see if you get a reply to a directory request.

And it sounds like you've been fooling with the speed settings - they should all be left to defaults, as they will agree with one another. But if you've changed them, you need to switch them all back to agree - make sure both the client and the server are set to the same thing. The client will default to 115.2k, so if you think you set the server to 9600, you'll need to change the client to match it.
 
thanks again david. reset to default config. and success! thanks again for a great program!
 
So my first disk image that i wanted to try was Geos. I have successfully transferred them to disks and would like to know if someone can direct me to where i can find any online manuals on how to use this program?

thanks for any help provided!
 
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