New Zealand Vintage Computer Forums

Hi all, here we are on my first project - an Apple IIe Platinum.

It doesn't go.

Here is a description of what happens from the powerup, and also links to the screen as it stands today (21 sept 2012)

When the machine is powered on, immediately without any beep or hestitation, we get a screen full of random looking characters with HGR lines and dots moving onscreen.


Here is a closeup:


After a short period of time (2 minutes) it settles down into this (screen isn't moving around):


I have tried:
- Pulling out the 80 col card
- Pulling out the Disk Controller
- Disconnecting the keyboard
- Using the Apple-Opt Power on to see if diagnostics run - nothing.

I don't have any diag tools yet, but my first port of all is the CPU, the machine doesn't even register a beep or anything but the screenshots above - no matter what I do. I know that I probably need a scope to do this properly...

Anyone got a spare 65C02?



What do we all think?

I bought bunch of 65c02s a while back, you can get them on ebay fairly cheap.
I'll look at prices when I get home.
It looks the same as when my 2 plus cpu was dead.

The CPU would be a good place to start. But, yes a scope and a logic probe would be useful tools to get if you intent to maintain a collection of computers. You have a multimeter? You could check if the CPU is getting the right voltage, and if the reset pin is working etc.

matsondawson wrote:I bought bunch of 65c02s a while back, you can get them on ebay fairly cheap.
I'll look at prices when I get home.
It looks the same as when my 2 plus cpu was dead.

Cool, Which 65C02 works and which doesn't? Do you have to get the *exact* same CPU, or are the Rockwell 4MHz versions OK?

tezza wrote:The CPU would be a good place to start. But, yes a scope and a logic probe would be useful tools to get if you intent to maintain a collection of computers. You have a multimeter? You could check if the CPU is getting the right voltage, and if the reset pin is working etc.

I'm off to find a good shop for test gear tomorrow. Already tried locating a 6502 in NZ - huh! Can anyone in Auckland spare a dude a 65C02 and around tomorrow? I'll pay of course!

The IIe is only 1Mhz, so I imagine any 65c02 would work, including the R65c02.

I see you ended up buying the other Apple IIe as well. I really hope the guy is not as much of a clown as his question responses indicate.

Assuming for a second that it goes and is an "enhanced", the 65C02, if gently levered out very gently (and evenly.) would provide at least a useful test. Actually even a 6502B would provide useful information. It'll fail to boot due to firmware problems, but it might answer the dead-cpu question.

Gibsaw wrote:I see you ended up buying the other Apple IIe as well. I really hope the guy is not as much of a clown as his question responses indicate.

Assuming for a second that it goes and is an "enhanced", the 65C02, if gently levered out very gently (and evenly.) would provide at least a useful test. Actually even a 6502B would provide useful information. It'll fail to boot due to firmware problems, but it might answer the dead-cpu question.

I have to now get that machine from Timaru, could be fun. I also have 5x 65C02s coming from overseas. They should be here next week. At the moment, I used an IC extractor to pull all the socketed chips off the board, and the board has been cleaned with circuit board cleaner. Looking nice!

The base plate has been cleaned off, and I'll be applying rust treatment to the surface tomorrow.

Nice little update...

I've ordered 5x 65C02 processors which should be here next week. I probably only need one or two, so if anyone needs one - sing out.

It looks like the auction I won last week ended up having 5+ Apple II computers with screens and floppy drives in it - the seller is clearing out a 12 bay shed and told me that anything which has an Apple on it will come along in the crate. Hopefully I didn't just buy a box of duds! It will be very interesting - I'll let you all know of the outcome of that one.

mrad01 wrote:Nice little update...

I've ordered 5x 65C02 processors which should be here next week. I probably only need one or two, so if anyone needs one - sing out.

I would like a spare. I'll send you a PM about this.

mrad01 wrote:It looks like the auction I won last week ended up having 5+ Apple II computers with screens and floppy drives in it - the seller is clearing out a 12 bay shed and told me that anything which has an Apple on it will come along in the crate. Hopefully I didn't just buy a box of duds! It will be very interesting - I'll let you all know of the outcome of that one.

Sounds like a real crop of apples if you'll forgive the pun. Should be a great source of spares. I'm on the hunt for a spare IIe keyboard driver IC too, so if that's also in a junk board somewhere I'd be interested.

Yeah, it'd be great to see what came out of that... and, if there was (ahem) a spare power supply around, I'd be willing to buy that too. (I had a blonde moment hastily demonstrating machines that culminated in a reasonably graphic illustration of the difference between 230v and a 110v. Surprisingly the machine got all the way to the DOS3.3 prompt before the power supply went bang. )

mrad01 wrote:...a screen full of random looking characters with HGR lines and dots moving onscreen....

My initial investigations were much the same as yours, however I had always assumed to me that the video output section (IOU / Char-ROM etc) was faulty. I had a suspicion that the CPU might also not be running because of the lack of a beep, but it never occurred to me that I might be looking at an uninitialised HGR screen.

Of course it makes perfect sense now. The softswitches will probably be inconsistent on power up before the firmware boots.

matsondawson wrote:It looks the same as when my 2 plus cpu was dead.

The IOU might be fine and the CPU might be the main fault.

Doesn't strike me as likely though. If the IOU was fine, the image would be garbled but probably still. This one has active noise in it.

Gibsaw wrote:Yeah, it'd be great to see what came out of that... and, if there was (ahem) a spare power supply around, I'd be willing to buy that too. (I had a blonde moment hastily demonstrating machines that culminated in a reasonably graphic illustration of the difference between 230v and a 110v. Surprisingly the machine got all the way to the DOS3.3 prompt before the power supply went bang. )

Of course! It was a very vocal and smokey response from the power supply I might add....

I jumped.

My IBM 5150 is 110V. I have a HUGE sticker on the back over the top of the power socket saying so too. Just in case I forget one day!

mm... yes.. I've seen those bright red "110v" stickers... need to get some.