Apple II

The Apple II: CH03 - The Apple IIc, Apple IIgs and the Apple II's Legacy

Entering the mid-eighties, 8-bit Micros, such as the Apple II were becoming a little out-moded.So what could Apple do, to keep the Apple II range fresh?

Well, hows about two very different machines?One which re-invented the Apple II as a mobile powerhouse, for office and home.Whilst the IIgs, literally re-invented the Apple II as a new 16-bit computer,to go into battle with the Atari ST and Amiga computers, which had set the home micro scene on fire.

I've unfortunately purchased a "slightly" incomplete RFI ketboard (beige backed PCB). It was without encoder, as there are a few new replacement options for those. However it was expected that the keyswitches/snap-action arrays would all be intact. I should have known something was up when I noticed a missing screw (as the plastic thread in the keboard frame directly below was broken apart) when removing the pcb for cleaning.

Hi all,

as an old Apple//e enthusiast, I'm happy to join this forum I've been looking at for months. Now that I just bought a machine a few weeks ago (at last! a PAL version)...it fails. Symptoms are :

- Power LED on, no beep (some random cracks sometimes), random characters on full screen (when RAM installed) or complete solid white screen (if RAM pulled out).

After reading as many posts as possible in this forum, here's what I did already following "Sams Computerfacts troubleshooting guide" :

- PSU seems ok (recapped RIFA) : +5.2V, -5V, +11.85V, -11.5V

In this video I explore the origins of the Apple II, its first iteration and why it makes such a great choice for a retro computer collection.

In 1977 a trio of computers were launched in the USA and they kicked-off the micro computing revolution. Of the three, the Apple II proved to have more longevity than anyone would have expected.

It became a home computing favourite and in time it would grow into a family of micros that helped pioneer professional video game development.