Well after gathering all the "outside" parts like a keyboard and making a few buying mistakes (rule 1 learned, never just buy old parts, buy whole systems for parts), My 11 year old an I began the adventure of building a working Apple I recreation.
We started by learning to solder last week. I had him create an Apple II plus to Apple I adapter and also create a Velleman kit from Radio Shack.
This week we actually tackled part of the Mimeo... The Apple Cassette Interface (ACI). Next week we start the motherboard, unless he gets his homework done early and we will do some in the week. We won't get work done every week, but hopefully we will finish the board by the new year!!!
Nice Job : ). It's great that new generation learn about Apple 1. It's history.
Thats so cool! I wish I'd had an awesome dad like that. Mine is more the type to email links.
Corey,
I think that its a fine thing that your son has taken an interest.
I wanted my dad to teach me when I was eleven, but he was in EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) in the Air Force and Nuclear Weapons Qualified, so if he would have taught me, he would have had to shoot me afterwards. LOL!!
I guess my Grandfather was my greatest influence. He was an Engineer on the B&O Railroad for twenty years. He was also a Tinkerer and got me interested in how things work and why.
And now the motherboard !!!!
So we had our first new to soldering mishap...
My son was trying to make the "Perfect" solder... he was doing the last batch of the 42 individual 16 pin sockets and if you are not careful with the Apple I, gravity sucks the solder through the hole and makes a the dip socket leg look a little weird. He was trying to use some unsoldering wick on it and leaned the iron on the socket next to it and melted it slightly... Nothing that we can't fix... But this is all new experience to him.... I told him just use the solder sucker next time from the other side and to keep the iron away from the sockets from now on.
He also just finishing reading iWoz this weekend and now wants to write Woz an email to ask about his practical jokes like the TV jammer... Hopefully he responds...
Amazing how quickly they get into something new, last year it was college lacrosse (Which he is still into)...