Expanding your Apple
By Grant Kwai
Copyright (c) 1990 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
One of the great advantages of any of the Apple // range is its expandability. Most noticeably the //gs, //e and //+. To a slightly lesser extend we have the //c due to its lack of slots the other //'s possess. However, the //c has ports in which you can attach your extra devices and companies such as Applied Engineering have developed many internal devices for this machine.
So, what can I add to my Apple //? One of the first items people generally add is a second disk drive. This is almost an essential item and I sometimes wonder how I managed to get along without the disk drive for so long. Whether it is a 5.25" (13cm) or the newer 3.5"(9cm) disk drive, you'll find it an indispensable addition for your apple. To buy a genuine Apple disk drive will set you back a pretty penny ($495.00 and $545.00 for a 5.25" or 3.5" respectively), while a compatible disk drive (5.25") will cost about $269.00 depending on the brand. Due to the price difference, I purchased a compatible disk drive. I find that it is not 100% write compatible in all instances, i.e. copying the information onto the disk. However, this is only a problem for making legal backups of copy-protected software. Normal disks it will write to without trouble. The disk drive is 100% read compatible though. To alleviate this, I simply let drive 2 (the compatible drive) read the disk and allow my genuine disk drive to write the information.
If you elect for a 3.5" disk drive, then you'll have about 800k (Kilobytes) of storage space on disk (A 5.25" can store 140k). Therefore it can hold about 5-6 standard 5.25" disks. This means less disk swapping and you can have most, if not all of your main programs, or data to remain on the single disk.
When you purchase a second disk drive, make sure that it will fit your machine. By that I am referring to the specific Apple // which you have. The //+ and some of the older //e's generally have a disk drive controller card in which the disk drive connector plug must be attached to. These are generally for the full height drives, not the uni drives. If however, you possess a newer uni-drive (the half height disk drive), look at the back of it and you should see a adapter space on the top right. If you do, then you need to 'daisy chain' the second disk drive. i.e. add the second disk drive cable to your existing disk drive. If you possess a //c, then check before you buy, that it will be capable of fitting that particular machine.
For even more mass storage, you may consider a hard disk. This is a device which acts like many floppy disks. A standard hard disk will hold about 20 or 40 megabytes (1 megabyte = 1024 kilobytes) of information. That is, roughly 20,000 and 40,000 kilobytes respectively (1k is 1024 characters). That's a lot of storage space! Of course, this comes at a price. For an internal hard drive you are looking
at $1050 for a 20meg HD (Hard Drive) and for a 40 meg HD, $1350. Applied Engineering and Applied Ingenuity have in the last couple of years produced these internal hard drive (Applied Ingenuity has now gone out of business though). I have not personally seen one, but basically what it does is allow you to have the hard drive inside the machine rather than externally. To fit in your Apple // (excluding the //c), it replaces the power supply as it comes with one of its own.
The price of a hard drive has dropped over the years along with the access time (time to find and read the information). Now, for your average Apple SCSI
(Small Computer System Interface) hard drive, the access time is around 25 milliseconds, which is very fast indeed.
Ramcards are another alternative to those who don't want to spend all that money on a hard drive. Ramcards are available for all of the apple // range. Current ram cards have somewhere between 64k minimum to 17megs! Of course, to have 17megs you might have to sell your car to pay for it!
There are two main types of ram cards. You have your temporary storage ramcards and you have the more permanent type. A temporary storage ram card is one in which all of your information on it is lost once the power is turned off. Cards of this type include the Ramworks III for the //e, Zram ultra for the //c and for the //gs, there is GS Ram (all three products made by Applied Engineering). The Zram card fits inside your //c while the remaining types of cards normally fit in the auxillary slot of your //e or //GS. This means that you will have to remove your current 80column/64k card in that slot. The Ramworks III has its own 80 column firmware on the card so you will still have this capability. The first 64k is taken from the memory of your ramcard. By itself, your apple doesn't notice the extra memory is there. That is why the card is normally packaged with some software. This allows you to 'patch' DOS to think that there are other disk drives available to you. You can have one mass storage disk drive or a number of smaller drives (in either 64k or 256k increments) depending of your ramcard size (memory wise). It will work with ProDOS, DOS 3.3, CP/M and quite possibly other operating system, though you will need re-patch if you change operating systems.
A more permanent ramcard is on in which the information on it is not lost when the power is turned off. This is achieved through a battery backup device. Typically, the memory of one of these cards can remain for as long as 3 months without use. The battery is recharged when you use your machine. A card of this type is the Ramfactor (Ramkeeper for the gs) from Applied Engineering. This means that you can have your main programs loaded onto the card and once you turn your computer on, it will automatically boot up. The time saved is dramatic. This type of card costs fractionally more than a temporary storage card, but if time is a crucial factor, then this may be of interest to you.
No matter what type of card, you will see a dramatic increase in speed. A program which is loaded and run from a ramcard will fly. The speed is faster than even a hard drive in both reading and writing of data (although Apple's High Speed SCSI card and a fast drive such as a Quantam will perform better than a Ramcard on a //GS). Programs such as Appleworks once loaded onto a ramcard require no disk accessing. This means no more waiting for Appleworks while it reads information from a disk. An unpopulated Ramworks III (ie 0k) cost $240 while a 1 meg Ramworks III cost $399. For //GS owners, a similar card for them with 1 meg of memory would cost $270. To expand the memory capacity of your ramcard, you can do so with either, 64k, 256k or 1 meg chips (depending on the particular card). The cost of an extra 256k of ram chips is $28.
One of the main problems with the apple is its 1Mhz CPU speed. For quite a while now, Applied Engineering has produced a card called the 'Transwarp I'. This gave your Apple //e a 4Mhz CPU meaning in theory, your machine could run 4 times faster. Recently, the Zip Chip emerged with a 4Mhz then a 8Mhz chip. This device was different from the Transwarp in that it didn't require a slot. It simply replaced your existing 6502 or 65c02 chip. However, there have been many reported problems with this chip which has led to many people returning them for a refund. Even more recently, Applied Engineering have released the Transwarp II and Transwarp III. The both have now been stopped due to a legal case concerning the makers of the Zip chip (See July Applecations; 'To be or not to be'. The price of the Transwarp I is $192.00.
Printers would be something to think about getting as well. A printer will allow you to obtain a hard copy (ie on paper) of your data. This allows you to write letters or essays, print pictures and the likes from your Apple. Like everything else, there are many and varied types of printers. For your entry level printer, you can purchase a dot matrix 9 pin printer. Quality of this type is quite readable in Near Letter Quality (NLQ) printing. The printer does this by going over the letters (made up of dots, hence the name 'dot matrix' printer') twice. The average speed of this type of printer these days is around 180cps (Characters per second) in draft mode. A printer of that description can be bought new for around $350-$400 depending on where you shop.. If you want a more business quality output, then a dot matrix 24 pin printer might be of more benefit. This forms characters using 24 pins (dots) instead of 9. Quality from these printers is excellent. Their average speed is around 180cps in draft mode.
The main brands of printers available are from Apple: Imagewriter // ($895), Epson: many types ($400+) and Star: many types ($450+). There are many other brands which will work fine on an Apple, but the ones above seem to be the main brands. (For those who want even higher quality, then an ink-jet or laser printer may be a better choice.) If you
want a printer, you will need to by a printer card as well (NB: the //c and //GS can use the printer port). The cost of a printer card is normally around $110. You could also get a 'Serial Pro' card or a 'Parallel Pro' card (Made by Applied Engineering) for $220 and $160 respectively. These cards have other capabilities as well, hence there higher price.
For what you get, the Imagewriter from apple is the most expensive, however some programs requires the Imagewriter to print as it will not print to anything else (e.g. Mousepaint). However, there is a device from an Australian company (Automatic Ice Co.) which allows you to make your printer compatible with the Imagewriter (Cost is $99). The disadvantage with buying an Imagewriter is that you can not use it on any other brand of computer system such as an IBM or Commodore so if you ever decide to buy another system (other than an Apple), you can not take your Imagewriter printer with you. That is where a compatible printer (e.g. Epson or Star) is of great benefit since you can use it with just about all computer systems.
A modem can be another choice. This is a small box which allows you to communicate through the phone line to other modems (See 'More on Modems, Nov/Dec '89 Applecations). The advantage of one of these is that there are a host of programs available on various BBS's (bulletin board systems. The systems you ring with your modem). Any problems you have, you can leave a message, and most of the time you will get a reply within a couple of days. You can attach your modem to any Apple //. If you are attaching a modem to a computer which has slots (other than the gs), you will need to purchase a Super Serial card and cable. A super serial card from apple will cost $140. A cable may be supplied with the modem but if not, that will cost you an extra $30. For your standard speed modem (up to 2400 baud), you can buy one from an Australia company called Maestro for around $399-Maestro ZXR model. I believe this modem can be bought through the Apple Users Group. It is one of the cheapest and reliable modems available.
Mice. On a //gs, they come as standard. However, if you are one of those people who have otherwise, then you may consider purchasing one of these. A mouse is a small 'box' with a button which allows you to move a cursor along the screen to 'point and click'. It provides a more fluent and flexible way of using your computer as it does away with a majority of your keyboard work or your joystick. With programs such as Publish It!, Multiscribe, GEOS, Dazzle Draw and games such as Arkanoid, cursor control is done with ease. No more will you have to curse because you couldn't get the cursor over the specific command you wanted. For the mouse itself, you can purchase a compatible mouse for $70. If you own a //c or /gs, then it will be a simple matter of plugging it in. If however, you possess an Apple which uses cards, then you will have to purchase the mouse as well as a special mouse card. The complete system (mouse and card) will cost you $245 for the genuine apple //e version and
$130 for the //c (no card). I am unaware of any company still in existence which sells a mouse card by itself, though there may be one still out there.
Quite a few years ago now, there was another operating system which reigned supreme called CP/M. There were thousands of programs available for it. Your Apple can run most of these programs with the addition of a CP/M card. This card fits into one of the slots on your Apple, or if you have a //c, then once again, you will have to get an internal version for your machine. However, many CP/M cards seem not to be compatible with the //GS though they work with a //e. There was an article done about a year ago in Applecations showing some of the CP/M card brands which were, and were not compatible. A simple CP/M card will only cost about $60.
Enhancing your Apple's sound and speech output can also be achieved. Two of the main types of sound cards are the 'Phasor' and the 'Mockingboard'. Both provide better sound for your Apple (excluding the //c since they can't take cards) making games appear more realistic. I'm not sure whether or not the Mockingboard is still in production though. The //gs already has enhanced sound with its Ensoniq 5503 Digital Oscillator Chip (DOC) but you can enhance this even more with the Sonic Blaster card or Audio Animator. The price of this increased sound is $240 for the Phasor, $210 for the Sonic Blaster and $384 for the Audio Animator. As you can see, enhanced sound capabilities can be rather expensive.
With the release of ProDOS came file date stamping ability. You will notice that whenever you 'catalog' a disk, the 'date created' and 'modified' are printed for each file. Your apple can use a clock to record the time and date. Most Apples, except the //gs, don't come with a clock card as standard. This can cause a hassle. Of course, you can enter the time and date manually by patching it into ProDOS, but an easier method would be with the purchase of a clock card. Such a card, or chip, can be purchased from the AUG. It is a 'No Slot Clock' which means it fits beneath the 65c02 chip. It will cost you $99. Alternatively, you can purchase the clock facility on the Zram Ultra or the Serial Pro card.
There are hundreds of other add on's you can connect up to your Apple. In fact, there are some 250+ accessories which are available for the Apple // range. Briefly, some of the other significant things you could add but were not discussed in this article are a PC transporter (allows you to run IBM XT programs), cooling fan, Thunderscan or a MIDI interface. If any thing mentioned above seems to be of interest to you, go down to your local apple dealer and inquire about them. Only if we support the Apple //'s will they be able to keep afloat in this very competitive computing world.
The above prices were current at the time of writing. For more information about these products, contact:
Two Series Software - Applied Engineering distributor
(02) 606-9343
The Apple Information Centre
(008) 02-3612
Micro Educational
(049) 26-4122
Automatic Ice Co
(049) 63-3188

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