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Slot 3 on an Apple IIe - The Useless Slot?

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Great Hierophant

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When an 80-column card is inserted into the auxillary slot of an Apple IIe, it overrides just about any card in slot 3. If for some reason, you do not install the card, slot 3 is available for whatever you want. Is there absolutely no card that will work in that slot when an 80-column card is installed in the auxillary slot? I think that would make this slot more useless than even the IBM PC XT's Slot 8.
 
Well, the IIGS is the same way... most of the slots are mapped to built-in ports and controllers, making those slots useless unless you disable the correponding built-in features.

As for the IIe, maybe there was some aftermarket Slot 3 card which combined the functionality of the 80-column card with some other feature(s), thus making it possible to do what you're asking?
 
A (contemporary) card that has its own full address decoding can be used in any slot. Also if the access to such card is not mapped within apple's standard "softswitches" address space this card would not interfere with card in any other slot.
 
I have a Transwarp Card in Slot3... far from useless. You can try to use other cards as well. Worst that can happen is ... it does not work.

-Jonas
 
stynx said:
I have a Transwarp Card in Slot3... far from useless. You can try to use other cards as well. Worst that can happen is ... it does not work.

-Jonas
Click to expand...

These accelerators nowadays are useless to me. What would you achieve by accelerating an ancient 1MHz computer several times and when almost all of its software is tuned to work under its original speed? Any emulator today would give you much more acceleration if need be.
 
I have a Fingerprint card that is designed specifically to work in that slot with an 80 column card. Allows you to dump any screen directly to the printer. :)

Great Hierophant said:
When an 80-column card is inserted into the auxillary slot of an Apple IIe, it overrides just about any card in slot 3. If for some reason, you do not install the card, slot 3 is available for whatever you want. Is there absolutely no card that will work in that slot when an 80-column card is installed in the auxillary slot? I think that would make this slot more useless than even the IBM PC XT's Slot 8.
Click to expand...
 
SWYFT cards are designed to work ONLY in slot 3 of an Apple IIe

regards,
Mike W.
 
Can you start a list? I have a few and would like to use one in slot 3 if possible. Does a Zip Chip make slot 3 use more complicated? Thanks!

JB
 
Great Hierophant said:
Is there absolutely no card that will work in that slot when an 80-column card is installed in the auxillary slot?
Click to expand...
Any card that doesn't need ROM will work. I use the Uthernet card in mine. I've also used a LanceGS card in slot 3. Others mentioned accelerators (already dismissed by you). So, no it's not the case that "absolutely no card that will work in that slot" as you say. It's just that most cards do in fact take advantage of onboard ROM, which will not work in slot 3.
 
Both AppleWin and GSport emulate an Uthernet card in slot 3. Also any video related card has to go into slot 3 since it has extra signals present that aren't in the other 6 slots (the exception is the ROM 3 IIgs, you can use those cards in slots 1-6 there).

Requires Slot 3:
Apple II Video Overlay Card
Second Sight
 
njroadfan said:
Both AppleWin and GSport emulate an Uthernet card in slot 3. Also any video related card has to go into slot 3 since it has extra signals present that aren't in the other 6 slots (the exception is the ROM 3 IIgs, you can use those cards in slots 1-6 there).

Requires Slot 3:
Apple II Video Overlay Card
Second Sight
Click to expand...
Really, would you tell the names of these "extra signals" on the 50-pin slot #3 of //e?
 
Last edited:
Note that applies to the IIgs only, The IIe doesn't have any additional signals on Slot 3. The IIgs has "M2B0" on pin 35 of slot 3 (ROM 3 machines have it on slots 1-6).

Details here (also notes why the VOC needs that signal): https://archive.org/details/IIgs_2523068_Expansion_Card_Design

For the most part, any card that does not use a ROM (at $C300-$C3FF) can be used in slot 3. On my IIgs, I have a Transwarp GS in that slot, and have used it for a Fingerprint GSi in the past.
 
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