Is anyone making clones of Apple II disk controller cards?

14 posts / 0 new
Last post
CheshireNoir's picture
Offline
Last seen: 18 hours 14 min ago
Joined: Dec 28 2019 - 05:20
Posts: 181
Is anyone making clones of Apple II disk controller cards?

Hey All,

Is anyone making new "clones" of any of the Apple II disk controller cards, in particular the Disk II Controller card (The one with two sets of pin headers for the original Apple Disk Drives) or the 5.25 Controller Card (the one with the 19 pin D connector attached)?

Rather than buying something of unknown vintage, I'd prefer to buy a recreation, if anyone is making them. 

I'm aware of Yellowstone and the ReActive Micro cards. Both seem overkill for what I need.

(I have a set of Disk II Drives and a DuoDisk with nary a controller card between them)

 

Cheers

 

Chesh

macnoyd's picture
Offline
Last seen: 6 hours 34 sec ago
Joined: Oct 15 2012 - 08:59
Posts: 836
WHen searching eBay...

WHen searching eBay for "Apple Disk II", over 20 of these pop up with prices ranging around $25.

There are still a lot of these available.  I do see one seller with bare boards, but for the price, it's just not worth collecting the parts to build one from scratch.  Not yet at least.

CheshireNoir's picture
Offline
Last seen: 18 hours 14 min ago
Joined: Dec 28 2019 - 05:20
Posts: 181
Cheers!One of the reasons

Cheers!

One of the reasons recreations may be worth getting is I'm in Australia.

If it's a whole kit, it's most likely to have a long product lifespan.

If it's kitform, I can source components cheaply locally (with free shipping most of the time)

EBay purchased second hand components cost twice as much in shipping (and if they don't work, I just gotta eat the cost as it's not worth the cost to ship it back for a refund) so it's not as simple as "just buy second hand".

 

Chesh

Offline
Last seen: 1 year 11 months ago
Joined: Mar 31 2020 - 19:55
Posts: 848
CheshireNoir wrote:Cheers!One
CheshireNoir wrote:

Cheers!

One of the reasons recreations may be worth getting is I'm in Australia.

If it's a whole kit, it's most likely to have a long product lifespan.

If it's kitform, I can source components cheaply locally (with free shipping most of the time)

EBay purchased second hand components cost twice as much in shipping (and if they don't work, I just gotta eat the cost as it'

 

These cards are so absurdly common, that no-one in their right mind would clone them. The only components that ever fail are cheap 74 series chips.

 

If someone did re-pop them, the PCB price, just to have them made, would exceed the value of the card. You should not need to pay more than £5 for one. People on the forum have them. 

 

If your present card does not function, and you describe the issues, we can likely tell you the cause. The only remotely custom ICs on the board are the two PROMs. 

Offline
Last seen: 1 year 11 months ago
Joined: Mar 31 2020 - 19:55
Posts: 848
macnoyd wrote:WHen searching
macnoyd wrote:

WHen searching eBay for "Apple Disk II", over 20 of these pop up with prices ranging around $25.

There are still a lot of these available.  I do see one seller with bare boards, but for the price, it's just not worth collecting the parts to build one from scratch.  Not yet at least.

 

Never will be. There are more Disk ][ and UniDisk cards in circulation, than there are systems. Every Apple II owner had one of these cards, and many of us had more than one. I have a stack of them, as do most other Apple ][ users, as spares. 

 

You can buiild one on a perf board with the edge connector in 30 minutes, although the prototyping PCB will cost you half the price of a card, and fixing existing cards is easy. There will never be a need to reporduce them. In fact, I would expect that some users who have shifted to solid state media no longer use their Disk ][ cards.

macnoyd's picture
Offline
Last seen: 6 hours 34 sec ago
Joined: Oct 15 2012 - 08:59
Posts: 836
Never say never Timelord ...

Who would have guessed that an old Apple ][ sells for over $2000 today.  LOL!

I was told to sell my Tesla Stock when it hit $375/share, less than a year ago.  Now it's at $1375 a share.  I hate looking back ... :-(

Never say "never"....  :-D  Some day, when folks have destroyed all their drives and tossed all their drive cards, you'll see prices go up.

CheshireNoir's picture
Offline
Last seen: 18 hours 14 min ago
Joined: Dec 28 2019 - 05:20
Posts: 181
Whoah people!

We all need to chill out here!

Telling me that my actual experience is wrong is not a welcoming move.  While you can buy things cheaply with cheap shipping where you are located, doesn't mean I can buy things cheaply with cheap shipping where I am.

A simple "No-one that I am aware of is making repro cards" would be enough :-D

 

Guess I'll have to go back to the drawing board. Maybe I can get a bulk lot somewhere along the way.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Chesh

 

 

 

Offline
Last seen: 1 year 11 months ago
Joined: Mar 31 2020 - 19:55
Posts: 848
CheshireNoir wrote:We all
CheshireNoir wrote:

We all need to chill out here!

Telling me that my actual experience is wrong is not a welcoming move.  While you can buy things cheaply with cheap shipping where you are located, doesn't mean I can buy things cheaply with cheap shipping where I am.

A simple "No-one that I am aware of is making repro cards" would be enough

 

What I said is:

You should not need to pay more than £5 for one. People on the forum have them. 

 

Post in the WTB subforum here. I know at least one member here with a stockpile of them who sells them bloody cheap. 

 

The freight on a card isn't going to differ much to the freight on a bare PCB. In fact, all of your costs are effectively freight, so, ordering four of them fom a forum member is your most logical choice, IMHO; and if needed, you could flip one or two on eBay.com.au to cover your freight costs.

drakepirate's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 month 2 weeks ago
Joined: Feb 17 2018 - 11:03
Posts: 35
Hi, How many do you need? 

Hi, 

How many do you need?

 

CheshireNoir's picture
Offline
Last seen: 18 hours 14 min ago
Joined: Dec 28 2019 - 05:20
Posts: 181
One of each :-)

One of the Disk II Controller card (The one with two sets of pin headers for the original Apple Disk Drives) and one of the 5.25 Controller Card (the one with the 19 pin D connector attached).

 

I have 2 Disk IIs and a DuoDisk. 

Yes, I have managed to end up with more drives than I have controllers :-)

Spectre's picture
Offline
Last seen: 7 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Aug 17 2018 - 23:26
Posts: 47
Where abouts in Oz are you? I

Where abouts in Oz are you? I'm in Sicktoria, might be able to help you out, just watch out for the covid ;)

A

CheshireNoir's picture
Offline
Last seen: 18 hours 14 min ago
Joined: Dec 28 2019 - 05:20
Posts: 181
Not in Sicktoria

Hadn't heard that one before :-)

I'm in Perth, where our Premier's hardline "overreaction" to border control suddenly doesn't seem such an overreaction.

Stay safe over there! It's getting scary.

 

Chesh

Spectre's picture
Offline
Last seen: 7 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Aug 17 2018 - 23:26
Posts: 47
To be sure, to be sure

I've sent you a PM..

drakepirate's picture
Offline
Last seen: 1 month 2 weeks ago
Joined: Feb 17 2018 - 11:03
Posts: 35
CheshireNoir wrote:One of the
CheshireNoir wrote:

One of the Disk II Controller card (The one with two sets of pin headers for the original Apple Disk Drives) and one of the 5.25 Controller Card (the one with the 19 pin D connector attached).

 

I have 2 Disk IIs and a DuoDisk. 

Yes, I have managed to end up with more drives than I have controllers :-)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/143623176012

Log in or register to post comments