Is there a guide to fitting an Apple IIGS (ROM 1) into an Apple IIe shell? Any sort of tutorial? I would like to do the IIGs Stealth conversion. I'm aware that Maceffects sells a clear case with a conversion kit (which I'm not sure what it's comprised of), but I'm not really interested in the clear case because I own an Apple IIe already and could use that. How hard is this project? Would I need to drill the screw holes myself? Would my Garret's Workshop RAM2GS II still work inside that shell?
Anonymous
User login
Please support the defense of Ukraine.
Direct or via Unclutter App
Active forum topics
Recent content
Navigation
No Ads.
No Trackers.
No Social Media.
All Content Locally Hosted.
Built on Free Software.
We have complied with zero government requests for information.
First does your motherboard have the //e keyboard connector soldered on? If not you should do that. Next the bottom and back are a different design. I think it would be very hard to make a new one without CNC machining. May not be possible to mod the //e metal to work.
I agree that there is really no good way to modify the //e metal to fit a IIgs motherboard. Anything is going to look extremely hackish and jerry rigged. Unless you can find one of the rare "stealth upgrade" kits, I don't know of any way to find the right base plate/back panel.
It can be done. The only issue is that this really only works well with the Apple IIe case with the keyboard that is held by three screws in the front instead of four. There's a spot on the motherboard for soldering the power connector, and another for a keyboard socket. It's all there on the ROM 1 motherboard. So hacking the baseplate it is.
iigs.jpg
It may be easier to find a IIgs that has a bad motherboard due to battery leakage damage. Those, sadly, are extremely common and normally you can buy one fairly cheap. Often include the keyboard, mouse, etc., so no need to solder in the //e keyboard and power connectors.
You can use the GS power cable in the //e case or change the connector out on a //e supply. I think the only connector that has to be soldered is the KB.
Good point, the screw holes on the GS PSU, I believe, match the IIe.
Correct. The screw holes do indeed match. A number of 3rd parties sold reaplcement power supplies that would fit either a //e or a IIgs and essentially differed only in the connector.
Here's the real problem... With a //e bottom/back you have this:
appleiie_back.png
And you need this to fit a IIgs motherboard:
IIe_to_IIGS_upgrade_ports.jpg
So the hard part is cutting out the holes to fit the DE9, DB19 and DB15. The hole for the composite out and ADB since they're round you could just drill a hole big enough. It might be easiest to just cut a slot all the way across. But anything you do is going to look hackish unless you're a talented metal worker, especcially because knock outs 6 & 9 on the //e back panel encroach into the area you need. The DE/DB holes could be made by drilling proper sized holes where the screw connetors go and then using something like a hand jigsaw with a sheet metal blade in it to cut the hole for the connector shell. Then maybe use a grinding bit in a dremel or something to clean things up. Someone who is really good could do it. But it is a lot of work.
Thank you for the helpful photos! To evacuate sufficient space for the IIGS headphone jack, the rectangular opening should be extended about 1/2 inch to the left. To clear enough space for IIGS ports (joystick, drives, RGB video, composite video, detached keyboard), the opening must be extended to the right by about 5-1/4 inch, toward the power supply.
Back-panel holes #6 and #9 are destroyed while extending the rectangle.
The backpanel metal is thin aluminum, which is easily hacked and smoothed. A single elongated 6-1/2 inch rectangular hole can be cut, but I'd leave in place two vertical pillars of metal at these positions: (a) between the joystick port and the drive port (below hole #4), and (b) between the drive port and the RGB port (below hole #7). I'll need to apply the hacksaw carefully so that the upper range of holes for interface card ports is preserved, including long holes #7 and #11. When hacking the openings for the IIGS ports, I'll need to allow space for two jacknuts next to each port.