• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Rev 2 Apple II value opinion

falter

falter

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Messages
6,580
Location
Vancouver, BC
Hey guys,

I posted this on cctalk but thought I'd solicit as many opinions as possible (with thanks to those who have already given theirs). I'm mulling over the purchase of a not-so-great condition Rev 02 Apple II, which we know is pretty rare. The keyboard is non functional at the moment (Corey explained the repair procedure, which I have used to some success on my Rev 4), there is visible rust on chip legs, etc. The operating condition is not known (he's plugged it in but gotten nothing) and the roms currently are Applesoft. The serial number is in the late 16000s. He is asking $2000 for it.

Is that about right in your mind? Would you pay that? And is a non-working Rev 02 worth $500 more than a working Rev 03 that just sold on ebay ($1580 I think)? Is there anything special about Rev 2 over Rev 3? IIRC Rev 4 was where the memory jumper blocks were soldered in. I realize this is a subjective thing but I just want to see how other Apple people think. Initially I was like, oh heck, let's go for it.. but now I'm kind of like.. hmm.. do I really care about removable jumper blocks enough to spend that kind of money?

Just seeking opinions. It's a fair chunk of change, and I know my Rev 04 would cover some of it.. just not sure if it's worth it or if I should just hold my fire and wade into the big money when the next Rev 0 comes up someday.
 
$2000 seems pretty steep since you describe several condition issues, it may be repairable but it will likely take quite a bit of work. It's not without value, but $2000 is what I would expect for a working one of that age and rev. Now a ventless rev0, that might be worth $2000 trashed ;-)
 
I don't know. Seems like a gamble on a non-working machine. Rust could be easily removed with some cleaner, but if the chips are rusty, so are probably the sockets and who-knows what else (probably the power supply, connector ports, etc.) If you take the motherboard out, the bottom pan could be rusted to all hell, not to mention the underside of the motherboard :eek:. I would expect to replace everything on it... which, in the long run, may be worth it, but like RWallmow said, it'll be a lot of work.

If you could haggle down to something more reasonable like $500, then I'd say go for it. I would explain to the seller that because of the rust, you'll likely have to replace everything on the board. Since no one's time is free, it'll take you a couple weeks off and on to replace all the sockets, capacitors, clean the chips, etc., and that's worth at least a $1000 right there, not including buying period appropriate parts which will come at a premium.
 
I offered $1100 and he turned it down. Said 'Rev 2s don't come up very often'. Best he would do is $2k with shipping in. Here's a shot of one of the rusty chips that gave me pause:

s-l1600.jpg

I mean, he's correct -- I can't remember the last time I saw a Rev 02 anywhere. But I'm not sure that alone lifts it above all its problems. Or that it's so special vs. a working Rev 03 that is just a few serial numbers up from his that sold for less:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Ap...EWYSxPa6g8TvoKj7KJDGk%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Problem is, a quick perusal of ebay history shows several way out numbers.. non working 03s or even working 04s that some oddball plunked down $2000+ on. So that's what's sustaining his belief in his price. And he could well be right. If you wait long enough... :)
 
falter said:
I offered $1100 and he turned it down. Said 'Rev 2s don't come up very often'. Best he would do is $2k with shipping in.
Click to expand...
That's the point in a negotiation when I say, "you can keep it." Or, when someone outbids me... "it's all yours." If it's higher than I am willing to pay, I'm done. Saves a lot of fretting. (And money.)
 
Exactly. I think the point of my exercise here was to establish whether this guy was in or out of line. I've never seen a Rev 2 for sale before and thought it might be one of those ones that, yes, is worth $2k in iffy condition. And I'm not averse to paying that if that's what the market is bearing. But I had my doubts. I just looked at the serial numbers of this one and the rev 03 in my example link... they are only 24 serial numbers apart. Is the clearly worse off Rev 2 really worth $500 more than an excellent Rev 03 with original box just because it has a -02 on its part number? I'm thinking not.
 
As a side note -- with all these auctions I have been gathering info in the hope of filling in blanks for Apple II enthusiasts. I've found the lack of definitive information about when different Revisions of the A2S1 motherboard were used to be frustrating and confusing at times. The Rev 2 and Rev 3 I've posted about here, as examples, provide possible clues as to when Rev 2 and 3 productions ended and began, since these two machines are only 24 units apart. I can also refute with photos suggestions that Rev 02 never made it into production, which is something that was out there previously. Hopefully I can build a database and better inform myself and others.
 
Corroded metal is bad and makes it worth very, very little. It will literally fall apart when you try to clean it.

I have a Rev 4 like that and it's pretty much useless... The amount of work to resocket the board and find period-correct replacement TTL... forget it.

Sounds like you are too far apart on it.
 
Let him keep his rusty old Apple. You probably have better uses for $2000.
 
We ended up working out $1100 for his unit. I reasoned that the Rev 3s seem to be consistently around $1500-2500, and that if it was a junker there was some value in parts that could be recovered. So it's a gamble but not an insane gamble. Plus now I'm going to sell my Rev 04 and see what happens. Here's the auction we used to do the transfer with all the pics:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/221936755136?_trksid=p2057872.m2750.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I didn't clue into the Japanese characters on the front of the keys before. Wondering if that means the char gen rom or anything else operationally is different. He did try to get it to fire up, but in trying to change one of the ROMs a leg broke off (it's removed now, but yeah). So, kind of dicey, but I think at the end of the day not enough money will be lost here in a worst case scenario that I'm going to cry about it. And anyway, it's a Rev 02. When was the last time you saw one of those out there?

Definitely makes me curious about Apple's revision usage. Mine is just a few serial numbers ahead of a Rev 3 that just sold in serial numbers, and several hundred after a Rev 3 that sold recently also. Wondering if that Rev 03 was a replacement board unit or if maybe mine was. early Apple is really confusing.

BTW: If anyone has any 1978 Integer Basic ROMs they'd trade for my 1979 vintage ones (I have an extra set here).. so I can replace the Applesoft with correct year Integers, I'd be grateful.
 
Last edited:
Hello falter,

You will find information on the Apple II j-Plus here.
But some keys don't match the j-plus, especially the numerics.

It will be great if you could report here the state of the machine upon reception.
 
amauget said:
Hello falter,

You will find information on the Apple II j-Plus here.
But some keys don't match the j-plus, especially the numerics.

It will be great if you could report here the state of the machine upon reception.
Click to expand...

Yes.. he had an actual J-plus for sale with the Rev 02 and definitely there were some differences in key marking. It will be interesting to see how this II works compared to a J-plus. I'm wondering now if the power supply will be different too.
 
A few of the characters on those keys look as if they were painted on. The rest may have been transfers. I would expect someone did this to their own machine, or maybe a Japanese dealer did this to several.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top