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Hi Everyone,
I'm a new member of the Apple 1 club. I'm building a Mimeo 1, and having a blast. Just thought I would introduce myself. Here's where I'm at at the moment. I have the chips for the video part installed, but ran into some bad 2504v like others have (from what I've read here). I ended up buying the Unicorn kit because it seemed like it would be cheaper in the long run, and I also figured it would take me forever to find all the various parts.
I'm waiting on some new 2504s, but looking forward to continuing on with the build.
I'm curious what others have done for cases/enclosures. I like the transparent one that Mike did, but I also like the stained wood case like the one in the Smithsonian.
What are folks's views on the best case to build if I'm shooting for an early homebrew apple 1 look and feel? What's your favorite apple 1 case?
Pete
Welcome Peter!
Steven
Welcome Peter.
For the computer museum here in New Jersey, forum member Corey Cohen built an Apple II-style clear plastic case. Later we removed the case and simply mounted the computer onto a piece of wood, because that's a lot more period-correct (and we got tired of visitors saying, "Cool! A see-through Apple II!")...
Hi Peter,
Looking good so far. A number of original Apple 1's were fitted into briefcases and if you like the wooden case of the Smithsonian Apple 1, you could always go for a wooden briefcase. That's what I did for my Apple 1 replica...
[IMG]http://www.devilishdesign.co.uk/offsite/apple_1_complete.jpg[/IMG]
Cheers,
Dave
Wow I love your briefcase, the wood handle and the brown looks awesome.... Is that a vintage briecase?
I keep a Mimeo in a briefcase to, mine's a cheap $25 ebay one with a plywood sides. I used additional plywood to make stronger mounts for the keyboard and the transformers. I use this setup for demonstrations and for troubleshooting....
I'm not sure about age but I'd guess maybe 20-30 years old. Was £20 inc P&P from Ebay.
That Datanetics keyboard looks really nice
That is beautiful! I hadn't even considered a briefcase.
Did you make your briefcase? If not, where did you find one?
I like this briefcase as well. You guys have actually made my choices harder now because now I have to add various briefcase styles to my choices!
Did you build a reproduction keyboard? or did you find a vintage one somewhere?
There are a lot of keyboard options out there.
Just please don't take an Apple II+ keyboard. They are starting to get rare. I'm guilty of this as well in the past, but all those Apple II+ carcasses have started to turn me into an Apple II Keyboard Vegan.
My suggestion is to look for a TI silent 732/733 for the keyboard (it's the only model I know works) or grab a George Risk keyboard or something like that. FYI: I bought a spare TI Silent 745 to see if I can figure out how to make that work with an Apple-1, that's a project for the spring.
Any parallel keyboard can be made to work. Out of the last 5 real Apple-1 I have worked on, only 1 had a Datanetics. The others had keyboards from SWTPC, TI 733asr, George Risk and some surplus military keyboard. Remember there is no standard for the Apple-1, just that it's a parallel keyboard and even that can be worked around.
At one point I was messing about with my Scelbi UART adapter and wired up a cable to make it work with a serial keyboard to the Apple-1 parallel keyboard interface. I was troubleshooting and a Mimeo was easier to work with than the Scelbi which at the time didn't have a boot loader in EPROM yet.
One comment on the briefcase, buy a vintage one. Mine is not and now I really want a vintage briefcase from the picture in this thread.
Cheers,
Corey
Seriously. That's a beautiful wooden briefcase enclosure, Moonferret!
I have a clear plexiglass case I made, but after seeing those briefcase setups, I may have to build another replica just to join the cool kids. Whatever choice you make, being sure the Apple 1 MB is in full view during operation is very important, IMHO. It is a great discussion point with the younger generation.
Dave...