Can anyone help me identify this ][E clone machine (][E is what it shows on screen)

[Troy]

Hi everyone. I used to be a regular on here a few years ago, but have since lost access to my old email, and couldn't remember my username, password, so just made up a new account.

Anyway, my brother was given what he thought was an Apple II, but he couldn't tell what it was because it has no label. He currently has almost no internet access, and very little spare time anyway, so he gave it to me to see if I could find out more about it.

Straight away, I could tell it was a clone from a glance at the keyboard.

I plugged it into the TV today, and here's what I was greeted with:


Here are some other pictures:




Any and all help would be appreciated. I can take more photos and video if it's any help, but I don't have any disks to test with.

From what I've been able to find from my extensive searching over the last few days is that it's most likely a Redstone //e (not enhanced //e or platnium //e) clone. It has copyright 1986 on the main board.

Also, some help in identifying some of the expansion cards would be appreciated, particularly any information on the SAM Lingo card it has.

Thanks in advance.

Troy.

 

[david__schmidt]

Also, some help in identifying some of the expansion cards would be appreciated,

Pictures of the cards would help. But the leftmost is a Super Serial card, and second-from-right is a Disk II card. (Either could be clones; would need pictures to be sure.)

 

[Troy]

Pictures of the cards would help. But the leftmost is a Super Serial card, and second-from-right is a Disk II card. (Either could be clones; would need pictures to be sure.)

No worries, I have identified most of them, the 64K/80 Column card, a PAL Color graphics card, a Apple Super Serial Card II, a Disk ][ interface card, that SAM Lingo 1983 card (picture below), and one other card, which I'll get a photo of when my phone decides it wants to take pictures without resetting itself, GRRR...



I'll put up more pics as I can, I'm particularly keen for any information on the SAM Lingo card (as seen above), and the big card in the middle, which has lots of socketed chips on it, 4 dip switches, an LED, what looks to be an EEPROM and the only text on the board itself (other then identifying the sockets, from U1 to U17, says "CARD", hahaha.

 

[Troy]

The mystery expansion from in the middle:


A close up of the other side of the SAM Lingo board:


And the PAL encoder card (obviously a Redstone clone board):

 

[Troy]

Any more help or information would be appreciated very much. Thank you.

 

[david__schmidt]

The mystery expansion from in the middle:

That's an MS Softcard Z80 clone.

A close up of the other side of the SAM Lingo board:

That looks like a Software Automatic Mouth sound board. SAM was able to do speech synthesis in software alone on the C64; the Apple often had some hardware to help (i.e. the Echo speech synthesis board). I think this is along those same lines.

 

[david__schmidt]

Any more help or information would be appreciated very much. Thank you.

Hit Ctrl-Reset to get to the BASIC prompt...

 

[Troy]

Hit Ctrl-Reset to get to the BASIC prompt...

Beautiful, thank you. Would I be right in assuming it would be pretty much compatible with anything that works on a real Apple II, II+ and //e, but not an Enhanced //e or Platinum //e?

 

[Troy]

That's an MS Softcard Z80 clone.


That looks like a Software Automatic Mouth sound board. SAM was able to do speech synthesis in software alone on the C64; the Apple often had some hardware to help (i.e. the Echo speech synthesis board). I think this is along those same lines.

Ahh, ok, so with the correct disks, it's quite a useful system then? Are either of those boards in any way rare? And is there any way of using basic to find out more about the machine?

Thanks so much for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[barythrin]

Is that z80 the card that would compliment the CP/M software that jrehmer posted recently on the bay? (just hinting)

 

[jrehmer]

Is that z80 the card that would compliment the CP/M software that jrehmer posted recently on the bay? (just hinting)

I don't think that's the right card. From the research I did last night CP/M Plus was designed specifically for "The CP/M Card" by Advanced Logic Systems which was codeveloped by Digital Research. I couldn't find anything definitive whether it would work with other CP/M cards or not.

 

[david__schmidt]

Would I be right in assuming it would be pretty much compatible with anything that works on a real Apple II, II+ and //e, but not an Enhanced //e or Platinum //e?

Probably so. You probably won't get DHGR out of it, for example.

Ahh, ok, so with the correct disks, it's quite a useful system then?

Yep, it looks quite functional. Here's a pointer to the SAM manual:
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/documentation/hardware/sound/s.a.m.pdf
And the software:
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/sound/S.A.M.dsk
It might be interesting to try it out and see if it really matches the card or not. The doc seems to indicate that the card is required to be in slot 4.

Edit - I see the SAM disk actually works without the board. So I'm not sure what is going on there.

Are either of those boards [Z80 clone, SAM IoLingo] in any way rare? And is there any way of using basic to find out more about the machine?

Rare? A Z80 clone? No, that's the very definition of common. I've not seen the DtoA card myself before, so that's one minor data point. But let's not confuse rarity with value. ;-)

Using BASIC to find out more? Not really, except to get to machine language to interrogate the hardware. Systems diagnostics disks might do things like read the ROM to understand what kind of machine it is talking to, but since this is a clone - your guess is as good as mine as to their accuracy.

 

[canadianviper]

Looks like the "Circle" clone I have in my collection.