SSC II and ADTPro not working

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SSC II and ADTPro not working

As I was going through a lot of Apple stuff I bought from one seller, I found an Apple Super Serial II Card among the pile. I had previously been using my Apple III to write Apple II disks but I think it is going flaky (like sometimes it will 'remember' things you typed at various prompts in ADTPRO and then repeat them at another prompt, or the drive writes the first couple disks ok and then starts coming up with 'bad sectors').

So I have my Platinum IIe all fired up here. When I tried to just bootstrap it and send the speediboot, I get the SSC prompt up, type in 14B, get the regular prompt back.. but sending the speediboot produces nothing. No acknowledgement from the IIe.

So then I got clever and found my ADTPro boot disk and decided to fire it up under serial mode. It sees the card (at least, in configuration, it always knows what slot its in.. I've moved the card around a couple times). But again, trying to receive.. nothing.. says no reply.

I know for sure my ADTPro server rig is good, I switched it back over to the Apple III for a quick test and all was good. I've tried the card in both my platinum and regular IIe, but same deal. Bad card maybe?

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Re: SSC II and ADTPro not working

I had previously been using my Apple III to write Apple II disks but I think it is going flaky (like sometimes it will 'remember' things you typed at various prompts in ADTPRO and then repeat them at another prompt,

This particular bit is, unfortunately, "normal." I haven't been able to figure out how to clear the input buffer of the keyboard device driver in SOS.

I know for sure my ADTPro server rig is good, I switched it back over to the Apple III for a quick test and all was good. I've tried the card in both my platinum and regular IIe, but same deal. Bad card maybe?

Possible, but not probable. If you have a serial cable that works on your ///, that means it is wired as a null modem. That also means the jumper block on the SSC must have the arrow pointing up, towards the word "Modem." Is it?
http://adtpro.sourceforge.net/connectionsserial.html#Super_Serial_cabling

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Re: SSC II and ADTPro not working

Yeah I think thats my problem, thanks!! I had been following the instructions off the adtpro website and they had me point it down. I found the bit about terminal vs modem mode a bit confusing. Thanks for this!

BTW.. I've been trying a bit, via audio, to write some disk images. I find most work on my IIe, but seldom on my A2S1. I tried a couple of older ones like Castle Wolfenstein, Global War, etc. None seem to boot (obviously on an A2S1 I have to invoke the slot number and ctrl-p to make it attempt to boot). I've tried BRUN after loading DOS 3.3, etc. In one case, Castle Wolfenstein, that got it to load but it quit back to prompt after choosing input method. Wondering if I don't have enough RAM (for the A2S1 I have all banks full with 4116s), or if somwthing else is going on ie. Not so great images. The older IIs dont seem to like most of what I have.

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Re: SSC II and ADTPro not working

I had been following the instructions off the adtpro website and they had me point it down. I found the bit about terminal vs modem mode a bit confusing. Thanks for this!

Sure thing. What did you find confusing about it? Did you not know that your cable was a null modem vs. being wired straight through? If I can make it clearer, I'm all ears. I basically copied the text from the ADTPro site in my earlier response, but this time it clicked for you.

BTW.. I've been trying a bit, via audio, to write some disk images.

You are a patient soul. Fortunately you got here after the era of unreliable audio transport (1.2.5 and earlier). Waiting a long time is one thing, but waiting only to have it fail inexplicably in the middle of things was maddening.

I find most work on my IIe, but seldom on my A2S1. I tried a couple of older ones like Castle Wolfenstein, Global War, etc. None seem to boot (obviously on an A2S1 I have to invoke the slot number and ctrl-p to make it attempt to boot). I've tried BRUN after loading DOS 3.3, etc. In one case, Castle Wolfenstein, that got it to load but it quit back to prompt after choosing input method. Wondering if I don't have enough RAM (for the A2S1 I have all banks full with 4116s), or if somwthing else is going on ie. Not so great images. The older IIs dont seem to like most of what I have.

Most early games should run fine on a 48k A2S1. Obviously nothing ProDOS-related will. But if things don't run or crash, it may be down to flaky memory.

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Re: SSC II and ADTPro not working

I had read in the Apple II user guide and just for some reason wasn't 100% clear on what the setting needed to be for null modem. Just read it wrong, I think. So then I went to the ADTpro page here:

http://adtpro.sourceforge.net/connectionsserial.html#Super_Serial_cabling

And followed the jumpering a little ways down, but also followed the instruction for setting the jumper block without cluing in that the cable they had attached in the pic below was regular serial cable, not null.

As far as I can tell the RAM is ok.. I have managed to run a very few games on it (like Lode Runner), but nothing else. I was trying to get Carmen Sandiego going -- that was the one I played as a kid, but it'll only load on the IIe. I ran Apple 2 diags with repeat mem tests and nothing came up as abnormal.. is that to be trusted?

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Re: SSC II and ADTPro not working

I had read in the Apple II user guide and just for some reason wasn't 100% clear on what the setting needed to be for null modem.

Ah. I wasn't consulted for editing, so I can't vouch for anything there.

As far as I can tell the RAM is ok.. I have managed to run a very few games on it (like Lode Runner), but nothing else. I was trying to get Carmen Sandiego going -- that was the one I played as a kid, but it'll only load on the IIe.

Carmen came along later in the II's life... it is likely it requires the IIe with 65c02 opcodes, 80 columns, or whatever else.

I ran Apple 2 diags with repeat mem tests and nothing came up as abnormal.. is that to be trusted?

Yep. I think you're just getting overly ambitious with the games. I'd suggest games from just a few years earlier - Gorgon, Taxman, Threshold, Space Eggs, to name a tiny fraction.

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Re: SSC II and ADTPro not working

Funny enough.. Carmen will only run on my IIc+. Won't run on the IIe s at all. I've got the 'cracked by datawiz' version. On the other apples it loads the title ok but then when you flip the disk and hit a key, it just goes blank. But on the IIc+ it works great. I wonder if the IIc+ s blinding 4mhz (i have it running at full speed) maybe overwhlems the problem. Wink

And after switiching thr jumper block to point to modem *and* replacing the connector cable.. transfers are now zipping along and i can leave the Apple III alone. Thanks again!!

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