Just got an Apple IIe off of eBay. It seems to be working fine, I am able to boot disks, etc. etc.
However, when I am at the command prompt, I can't get either SHIFT key to have any affect.
If I turn the CAPS LOCK on, all my letters are capitalised. But, that doesn't help with making quotes, etc. I also got the additional external keypad, and that is able to generate *, +, etc.
So, I am not sure what is up. Seems like the computer is fine, just both SHIFT keys aren't working. Stumped....
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
--Chris.
I have some more information on the issue.
The computer is an Apple IIe, but it doesn't appear to have the enhanced roms (It says, "Apple ][" at startup).
Also, the DELETE seems to work oddly. When you press it, you just get a square (cursor-like) character that displays. It doesn't delete the previous character. Odd.
Not sure what is up. Could the SHIFT and DEL key issues simply be an issue with the ROM version?
--Chris.
The delete key is behaving correctly. I can't remember if delete actually works in later ROM versions.
Hi,
The Delete key is working as intended from the autostart monitor for the //e. Software such as Appleworks might take advantage of the Delete key in a more modern manner, but in the shell O/S (DOS/Applesoft/Monitor) the Delete key prints a ASCII 255 aka the square you see as a cursor.
Your computer is an early //e - denoted by the "Apple ][" on boot. Later revisions of the //e would display "Apple //"
As for your shift key issue, try repeatedly tapping both shift keys with moderate pressure. The keyswitches in some of these old //e's seem to go "bad" from not being used. If that doesn't clear it up, unplug the additional hardware you have for making the other shift-characters and see if it's related to that.
Best of luck, keep us posted.
later,
Craig
I disconnected everything, tried taping quite a bit, still no dice. The weird thing is that all of the keys feel good. Doesn't seem like they have had too much wear. It also seems odd that both SHIFT keys would go out.
I wonder if something is up with the ROMs that are installed. Also, the only thing I can boot now is a ProDos 8 disk (it is the disk that was in the drive). Not sure if that is applicable at all. I will be getting some more disks on Monday.
Man, it is really hard to write BASIC programs without the shifted characters...
--Chris.
I figured it out. It was the Keyboard Controller chip (AY-5-3600-PRO). I bought another IIe (which has its own issues, sigh). But, by swapping the chip, the shift functions now work perfectly.
Anyone know of a cheap source for this chip? As far as I can tell, it is cheaper to buy another IIe than find this chip (I saw them at one place for $39).
--Chris.