LYMAN@IASSNS.BITNET.UUCP (02/15/87)
I have a II+ and would like to be able to run pgms requiring 128K. Aside from more memory and the 65C02 instead of the 6502 what are the differences and how does one cheaply go about upgrading. As a software for instance, I would like to be able to run Apple Logo. Also does anyone know anything about Checkmate Technology's multiram bds. Do they work in an Apple II+? (the ads aren't clear). I have heard good things on the net about the Videx keyboard enhancer for the II plus, but the same salesman (who was very keen on having me buy a GS upgrade at the cost of more than a month's rent) claims they have gone out of business. Does anyone know where this product could be found? Lyman Hurd
Damouth.wbst@XEROX.COM.UUCP (02/18/87)
A 65C02 plugs right in and runs fine. I have one in my II+. More memory is mostly a matter of what kind of hardware support you provide for paging (somehow you have to provide a new hardware register with the extra bits of memory address. There are several plug-in boards which do this. Applied Engineering makes a large memory board for the II+ which they claim will run AppleWorks, which seems to be the benchmark software for testing memory extension. It is slightly different than their board for the IIe. They have a good reputation. YOu have to run the special preload program they supply, which modifies Appleworks to know about the II+ differences. If you have modest hardware skills, you can modify a II+ keyboard to have full upper and lower case and to generate all the special characters. The instructions were floating around the net a few years ago, and were fairly simple. They are probably in the archives of this dl (do archives really exist?). The parts cost was negligible. I didn't do it, because the solution below met my needs. As a simpler alternative, most of the 80-column display boards for the II+ support the one-wire shift key modification. Various common software packages also support this change, including all the popular wordprocessors, some spreadsheets, etc. This gives all the functionality I need - full upper and lower case and the missing characters. It requires running a single wire from the shift key to an unused game port input. Once you get the covers off the machine, it takes about five minutes to do. /Dave