![]() Save costs by plugging in a BASIC-in-ROM "cartridge". In other words, the Apple-1 may have had a plug-in BASIC-in-ROM and whether on the prototype it lacked the pastic shell to make a "ROM cartridge" does not matter. The VCS was first shown to the public in June 1977. The first video game consoles using ROM cartridges were the Fairchild Channel F and the Atari VCS, and the Fairchild Channel F was the first one of the two, it was released for sale on November 1976, long after the Apple-1. If the mystery card is the BASIC-In-ROM (well, EPROM), then we see the first "ROM Cartridge" style solution used with a microcomputer in known history. But there are stories about Woz typing in the 4K BASIC Interpreter by hand (yeah, sure, maybe at least once -) In my eyes this is very important because neither in "iWoz" nor in "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson there is any mention of any EPROMs in relation to the Apple-1. So what could have been the purpose of the EPROM card ? Containing Apple-1 BASIC being the best guess I can make. So this prototype only had 4 KBytes of RAM (nice side brazed ceramic packages visible in row B). The photo is poor but these sockets seem to be empty. Now, may I draw your attention to the memory bank in row A of the Apple-1 prototype. The 2nd photo in post #6 - which came later - supports the conjecture it's highly likely an EPROM card. I saw the EPROMs behind the monitor but could not tell if they belong to the 44 pin connector or not. I just was not sure if it's an ACI lab rat or said mystery EPROM card from the photos in Logan's first post. If it's an EPROM card (and it seems to be that, from the photos in later posts), then I'd bet that Apple BASIC is inside. This photo found by Logan is of utmost importance for Apple-1 historians.īecause it shines some more light on what was really going on in 1976 and what they really had in terms of hardware. "If I understand correctly this card was never issued ?"ĪFAIK there never was a daughter card made by the "Apple Computer Co." (Woz and Jobs) other than the ACI card. ![]() With this picture you can easily spot any issues with burnt in pictures or with the high voltage parts in the circuitry (the whole screen area must be evenly white with no spots or boundary bars). This is possible even without any signal source. ![]() One final tip: of you ever buy any CRT based monitor, have the seller turn it on and dial up the brightness control so as to make a whiteish backgound. And they want $299 plus shipping ? Ridicolous ! because it has text burned in into the picture tube (also known as CRT). The particular specimen in the photo is a worthless P.O.S. The high voltages inside being the main reason - especially outdoors they did not live long, regardless how good the enclosure was. But most likely you are too young to ever have seen them (no pun intended) - they were replaced by flat screen color monitors almost everywhere after the year 2000. Because these CRT monitors had a poorer MTBF compared to the modern types. A matter of one or two men with a ladder and 10 minutes of work. If one failed, they were not repaired on site but the "chassis" with the picture tube was exchanged. If you ever have noted CRT monitors in train stations or airports, they typically have an enclosure which fits the styling of the particular place. These "open chassis" type B&W CRT monitors were ubiquitous in the 1970s to the early 2000s and there are gazillions of different types and sizes available. Seems you are relly a good snoop dog to find the rarest Apple-1 stuff imaginable.
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