Good morning. I purchased an original ImageWriter for my Apple IIe, and of course it came with no cables. I figure I need to buy a serial cable and interface card of some sort, but I’m stuck as to what exactly to buy. My IIe is pretty empty on the inside, with only the standard stuff and no serial port apart from the controller port. What should I buy to get up and running?
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[quote=machan1985]
What should I buy to get up and running?
[/quote]
A Super Serial Card. This card was developped by Apple and also widely copied as clones from Taiwan.
Regards
Ralf
Ralf is correct, the Super Serial Card is by far the most commonly used with this printer. And as he notes there are numerous clones and cards that are compatible. The direct copies usually came from Taiwan or Hong Kong, but a number of American companies also made compatible cards, most using the same 6551 chip that Apple used. Brands like Practical Peripherals, Apricorn, etc. It is pretty easy to find an SSC or a clone for sale on eBay, etc. Apple made millions of these cards and and clones were nearly as numerous. For the cable the SSC and most clones of it normally use a DB25, which is also what is on the printer, so the basic DB25->DB25 serial printer cable should be what is needed.
There are lots of other serial interfaces that will work, 6850 based cards like the Apple Communications Card, CCS 7710 and clones and compatibles of those can be made to work, although cabling requirements may vary and software support may not be quite as universal as the SSC.
This article may help a little:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_serial_cards
I would suggest getting an Apple Super Serial Card. If you have any trouble, people on the internet will be most familiar with it. You will be most likely to get help for it than some oddball, off brand card. Also, software support, cables, etc. will be the most common of all options. This is one time when popular, common and widely available works out really well.
Thank you folks for the help. I Believe I have found what I need. Cheers.