I am attempting to put together an Apple IIe system so I can putter
with it like the good old days.

I have some backup disks which I am interested in, but they are on
3.5" disks. I purchased 2 3.5" drives and 1 3.5" interface card off
eBay. Trouble is, I can not get either drive to work. I am suspicious
about one of the drives as it won't let me insert a disk (hard to
believe the person selling it did not notice).

I wish I knew if the interface card was OK or not (they seem harder to
find). Is there any thing I can do to see if the card is good? Apple
utilities says there is no storage device in slot #5 (slot #5 IS the
correct slot, isn't it?)

Thanks for any suggestions I might have.
A fellow Apple II lover
Skip

From:	carbide at egine.com
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	22 Jan 2005 17:19:23 -0800

Forty Two wrote:
>
>
> Apparently the interface cards are even more rare. I see 3.5" drives
> from time to time on eBay, but only 1 or 2 interface cards (and that
> was back before I got 'educated' on the fact that there are two
> incompatible types, or I would likely have studied them closer).

The reason I like them is they can be connected to a IIc (requires a
later rev IIc).
An 800K drive on a IIc feels like a hard disk compared with the
standard floppy. Makes it a much more useful machine.
-Paul

From:	carbide at egine.com
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	22 Jan 2005 19:08:09 -0800

GarberStreet wrote:

>
> This is true Mike, in fact, I love them so much, what I have is
pushing
> me out the door. I really must sell some of this stuff. :o)
>

Heh heh! Come to think of it, my WIFE would sell my UniDisks, IIc+'s,
Apple ///, and even my Lisa! ;-)
-Paul

From:	GarberStreet
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 22:32:42 -0500

wrote in message
news:1106449689.143524.245150@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
:
: GarberStreet wrote:
:
: >
: > This is true Mike, in fact, I love them so much, what I have is
: pushing
: > me out the door. I really must sell some of this stuff. :o)
: >
:
: Heh heh! Come to think of it, my WIFE would sell my UniDisks, IIc+'s,
: Apple ///, and even my Lisa! ;-)
: -Paul

Funny you should say that. Not too long ago someone's wife was
doing just that on eBay. I guess she got tired of the stuff. :o)

Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together,
Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - willy46pa@comcast.net

From:	carbide at egine.com
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	22 Jan 2005 15:13:03 -0800

Craig Bower wrote:

>
> Bill's offer is a reasonable price - $25+shipping, seen as I just
recently
> purchased a pair of "Superdrives" (much more common than a Unidisk
> 3.5" drive) for $24 each.
>

I agree. I have a few Unidisks that I'm hoarding. They are rare
compared with the ordinary 800K drives. I wouldn't part with one of
mine for $25.

-Paul

From:	John Van Winkle
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 17:35:22 -0600

I only have 2 but that is Bill for ya. He's not out to steal people blind,
just help them get what they want/need for their systems. I appreciate that
about him.

wrote in message
news:1106435583.020441.19730@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Craig Bower wrote:
>
> >
> > Bill's offer is a reasonable price - $25+shipping, seen as I just
> recently
> > purchased a pair of "Superdrives" (much more common than a Unidisk
> > 3.5" drive) for $24 each.
> >
>
> I agree. I have a few Unidisks that I'm hoarding. They are rare
> compared with the ordinary 800K drives. I wouldn't part with one of
> mine for $25.
>
> -Paul
>

From:	BluPhoenyx
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sun, 23 Jan 2005 02:52:02 GMT

John Van Winkle wrote:
> I only have 2 but that is Bill for ya. He's not out to steal people blind,
> just help them get what they want/need for their systems. I appreciate that
> about him.

Hear, Hear! It's nice to see II users who are willing to help others. I
expect he isn't motivated by money, at least not primarily. Most likely,
his motivation is love of the Apple II computers.

Cheers,
Mike T.

From:	GarberStreet
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 21:58:28 -0500

BluPhoenyx wrote in message
news:mjEId.3168$YD5.446@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
: John Van Winkle wrote:
: > I only have 2 but that is Bill for ya. He's not out to steal people
blind,
: > just help them get what they want/need for their systems. I appreciate
that
: > about him.
:
: Hear, Hear! It's nice to see II users who are willing to help others. I
: expect he isn't motivated by money, at least not primarily. Most likely,
: his motivation is love of the Apple II computers.
:
: Cheers,
: Mike T.

This is true Mike, in fact, I love them so much, what I have is pushing
me out the door. I really must sell some of this stuff. :o)

Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together,
Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - willy46pa@comcast.net

From:	BluPhoenyx
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sun, 23 Jan 2005 14:01:19 GMT

GarberStreet wrote:
>
> This is true Mike, in fact, I love them so much, what I have is pushing
> me out the door. I really must sell some of this stuff. :o)

I can relate. My little hobby has spread through the house also.
Luckily, my wife also loves the Apple II's. We got hooked in 84 when we
bought one for the kids as a study tool. I always expected to still be
using one forever but I never expected things to go so far. :)

Cheers,
Mike T.

From:	Forty Two
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 16:48:20 -0800

On 22 Jan 2005 15:13:03 -0800, carbide@egine.com wrote:

>
>Craig Bower wrote:
>
>>
>> Bill's offer is a reasonable price - $25+shipping, seen as I just
>recently
>> purchased a pair of "Superdrives" (much more common than a Unidisk
>> 3.5" drive) for $24 each.
>>
>
>I agree. I have a few Unidisks that I'm hoarding. They are rare
>compared with the ordinary 800K drives. I wouldn't part with one of
>mine for $25.
>
>-Paul

Shhh... he hasn't shipped it yet. :-)

Apparently the interface cards are even more rare. I see 3.5" drives
from time to time on eBay, but only 1 or 2 interface cards (and that
was back before I got 'educated' on the fact that there are two
incompatible types, or I would likely have studied them closer).

From:	GarberStreet
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:20:20 -0500

Forty Two wrote in message
news:1106361619.ef586a59b5b3b8318399f5811394e9e4@1usenet...
: I am attempting to put together an Apple IIe system so I can putter
: with it like the good old days.
:
: I have some backup disks which I am interested in, but they are on
: 3.5" disks. I purchased 2 3.5" drives and 1 3.5" interface card off
: eBay. Trouble is, I can not get either drive to work. I am suspicious
: about one of the drives as it won't let me insert a disk (hard to
: believe the person selling it did not notice).

This sounds like you bought a Liron card which requires the
UniDisk 3.5" smart drive. The plain Apple 3.5" drives do not
work with it. If you have an Apple 3.5" disk controller, or what
is known as a Superdrive card, then it may be bad. Your card
probably says Liron on the back. If so, you need Unidisk 3.5"
drives.

: I wish I knew if the interface card was OK or not (they seem harder to
: find). Is there any thing I can do to see if the card is good? Apple
: utilities says there is no storage device in slot #5 (slot #5 IS the
: correct slot, isn't it?)

Yes, that will report no drives if you have the Liron card with the
plain Apple 3.5" drives.

I hope I have helped you. I may be able to spare a Unidisk 3.5"
drive for the low price of $25 + s&h. Let me know.

Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together,
Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - willy46pa@comcast.net

From:	Mark Percival
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:34:04 -0500

Forty Two wrote:

>I have some backup disks which I am interested in, but they are on
>3.5" disks. I purchased 2 3.5" drives and 1 3.5" interface card off
>eBay. Trouble is, I can not get either drive to work. I am suspicious
>about one of the drives as it won't let me insert a disk (hard to
>believe the person selling it did not notice).

It could be there is already a disk in the drive. Sometimes people leave a
disk in to prevent damage to the disk heads during dhippng.

>
>I wish I knew if the interface card was OK or not (they seem harder to
>find). Is there any thing I can do to see if the card is good? Apple
>utilities says there is no storage device in slot #5 (slot #5 IS the
>correct slot, isn't it?)

To help you I need to know:

a) What is the exact name of the card you have? It should be printed on
the card. Apple did 2 different cards that supported 3.5" drives and there
were also 3rd party cards.

b) Which external 3.5" drives are you using? The name and model number
should be on the underside of the drive.

Mark R. Percival - RTC Host - Syndicomm Online Apple II Forum
"Midweek Madness!" Every Wednesday Night : 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Pacific Time

http://www.syndicomm.com

From:	Forty Two
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2005 19:58:03 -0800

On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:34:04 -0500, Mark Percival
wrote:

>Forty Two wrote:

>To help you I need to know:
>
>a) What is the exact name of the card you have? It should be printed on
>the card. Apple did 2 different cards that supported 3.5" drives and there
>were also 3rd party cards.

Yes, it says Apple Computer 'Liron'. There is IF-98 and 1-616--130-12
on the card

>
>b) Which external 3.5" drives are you using? The name and model number
>should be on the underside of the drive.
>

I could not see a model number. It says Apple 3.5 Drive Serial Number
S8BOPN2. There is a female plug on the back for daisy-chaining to
another drive.

Thanks.

From:	Craig Bower
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 06:30:34 GMT

> Yes, it says Apple Computer 'Liron'. There is IF-98 and 1-616--130-12
> on the card
> I could not see a model number. It says Apple 3.5 Drive Serial Number

Yeah, basically if you bought the drives and the card as a "lot" from a
seller,
he "Shystered you" as the 3.5 Drive will not work on a II with anything
other
than a "Superdrive card" or a IIgs (well, and a Mac, but hey!)

The 3.5" Drive you need is called (as Bill mentioned) a "Unidisk" - you can
tell it's a unidisk by both the color (snow-white) and the placement of the
eject push-button. The push-button will be above and to the right of the
drive slot, not in line with it like a 3.5 Drive.

Bill's offer is a reasonable price - $25+shipping, seen as I just recently
purchased a pair of "Superdrives" (much more common than a Unidisk
3.5" drive) for $24 each.

Best of luck, keep us posted!

Later,
Craig

From:	Craig Bower
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 06:36:40 GMT

Hi,

Just wanted to add, the reason you're current setup won't work...

The 3.5" Drive is a "dumb" drive lacking the CPU (yes, a CPU) to
de-nibble-ize the data coming from the disk. The 3.5" Unidisk has
the on-board CPU to make it happen and work on a II.

In case you were wondering.

later,
Craig

From:	Forty Two
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 06:50:05 -0800

On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 06:30:34 GMT, "Craig Bower"
wrote:

>
>Bill's offer is a reasonable price - $25+shipping, seen as I just recently
>purchased a pair of "Superdrives" (much more common than a Unidisk
>3.5" drive) for $24 each.
>

Thanks for the responses guys, you have been very helpful. I am taking
Bills kind offer on the drive and will hopefully be in business soon.

I bought the interface card separate from the drives, so any mistakes
were on my part. :-) There WAS a disk in one of the two drive (bought
both individually). which popped out OK when I poked a paper clip in
the little hole in the eject button. It was marked "AppleWorks Program
Disk". Maybe I got a freebee there.

Interesting that two of the items I have purchased recently off eBay
have tags with the name of some school or other. Apparently these old
school Apple computers are now providing a source of equipment for us
hobbyists. I find I have a desire to 'hoard' items, knowing that they
will never be made again.

From:	John Van Winkle
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 12:19:48 -0600

Well, I have to confess here, I hoard this stuff too. Not in large volumes,
just one good device and a spare. Would that be considered
hoarding.... ?

"Forty Two" wrote in message
news:1106404779.80f2f8f83e41392c3e283c655f5620fa@1usenet...
> On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 06:30:34 GMT, "Craig Bower"
> wrote:
>
>
> >
> >Bill's offer is a reasonable price - $25+shipping, seen as I just
recently
> >purchased a pair of "Superdrives" (much more common than a Unidisk
> >3.5" drive) for $24 each.
> >
>
> Thanks for the responses guys, you have been very helpful. I am taking
> Bills kind offer on the drive and will hopefully be in business soon.
>
> I bought the interface card separate from the drives, so any mistakes
> were on my part. :-) There WAS a disk in one of the two drive (bought
> both individually). which popped out OK when I poked a paper clip in
> the little hole in the eject button. It was marked "AppleWorks Program
> Disk". Maybe I got a freebee there.
>
> Interesting that two of the items I have purchased recently off eBay
> have tags with the name of some school or other. Apparently these old
> school Apple computers are now providing a source of equipment for us
> hobbyists. I find I have a desire to 'hoard' items, knowing that they
> will never be made again.
>

From:	GarberStreet
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Fri, 21 Jan 2005 23:03:19 -0500

Forty Two wrote in message
news:1106365660.05ff56c4b127412a0840793f93a998f8@1usenet...
: On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:34:04 -0500, Mark Percival
: wrote:
:
: >Forty Two wrote:
:
: >To help you I need to know:
: >
: >a) What is the exact name of the card you have? It should be printed on
: >the card. Apple did 2 different cards that supported 3.5" drives and
there
: >were also 3rd party cards.
:
: Yes, it says Apple Computer 'Liron'. There is IF-98 and 1-616--130-12
: on the card
:
: >
: >b) Which external 3.5" drives are you using? The name and model number
: >should be on the underside of the drive.
: >
:
: I could not see a model number. It says Apple 3.5 Drive Serial Number
: S8BOPN2. There is a female plug on the back for daisy-chaining to
: another drive.
:
: Thanks.

It is exactly as I thought. You have a Liron drive and using
incompatible Apple 3.5" drives. You need a UniDisk 3.5"
drive for that card. :o) Consider my offer in previous post.

Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together,
Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - willy46pa@comcast.net

From:	Greg Andrzejewski
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 16:32:29 -0500

"GarberStreet" wrote in message
news:m7mdneB5P-QHTWzcRVn-1Q@comcast.com...
>
> Forty Two wrote in message
> news:1106365660.05ff56c4b127412a0840793f93a998f8@1usenet...
> : On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:34:04 -0500, Mark Percival
> : wrote:
> :
> : >Forty Two wrote:
> :
> : >To help you I need to know:
> : >
> : >a) What is the exact name of the card you have? It should be printed
> on
> : >the card. Apple did 2 different cards that supported 3.5" drives and
> there
> : >were also 3rd party cards.
> :
> : Yes, it says Apple Computer 'Liron'. There is IF-98 and 1-616--130-12
> : on the card
> :
> : >
> : >b) Which external 3.5" drives are you using? The name and model number
> : >should be on the underside of the drive.
> : >
> :
> : I could not see a model number. It says Apple 3.5 Drive Serial Number
> : S8BOPN2. There is a female plug on the back for daisy-chaining to
> : another drive.
> :
> : Thanks.
>
> It is exactly as I thought. You have a Liron drive and using
> incompatible Apple 3.5" drives. You need a UniDisk 3.5"
> drive for that card. :o) Consider my offer in previous post.
>
> Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together,
> Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
> Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
> Email - willy46pa@comcast.net

Were there ever any third party unidisk drives produced? I have a IIe that
dropped into the monitor when I had a Vtech 3.5" controller and a similar
third party drive connected. I thought the board was toast, but now I'm not
so sure. Have to re-examine things.

-Greg

From:	GarberStreet
Subject:	Re: 3.5" drive/interface card question.
Date:	Sat, 22 Jan 2005 17:02:18 -0500

Greg Andrzejewski wrote in message
news:HDzId.492$UN1.342@news.itd.umich.edu...
:
: "GarberStreet" wrote in message
: news:m7mdneB5P-QHTWzcRVn-1Q@comcast.com...
: >
: > Forty Two wrote in message
: > news:1106365660.05ff56c4b127412a0840793f93a998f8@1usenet...
: > : On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:34:04 -0500, Mark Percival
: > : wrote:
: > :
: > : >Forty Two wrote:
: > :
: > : >To help you I need to know:
: > : >
: > : >a) What is the exact name of the card you have? It should be printed
: > on
: > : >the card. Apple did 2 different cards that supported 3.5" drives and
: > there
: > : >were also 3rd party cards.
: > :
: > : Yes, it says Apple Computer 'Liron'. There is IF-98 and 1-616--130-12
: > : on the card
: > :
: > : >
: > : >b) Which external 3.5" drives are you using? The name and model
number
: > : >should be on the underside of the drive.
: > : >
: > :
: > : I could not see a model number. It says Apple 3.5 Drive Serial Number
: > : S8BOPN2. There is a female plug on the back for daisy-chaining to
: > : another drive.
: > :
: > : Thanks.
: >
: > It is exactly as I thought. You have a Liron drive and using
: > incompatible Apple 3.5" drives. You need a UniDisk 3.5"
: > drive for that card. :o) Consider my offer in previous post.
: >
: > Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together,
: > Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
: > Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
: > Email - willy46pa@comcast.net
:
: Were there ever any third party unidisk drives produced? I have a IIe that
: dropped into the monitor when I had a Vtech 3.5" controller and a similar
: third party drive connected. I thought the board was toast, but now I'm
not
: so sure. Have to re-examine things.
:
: -Greg

I believe the V-Tech controllers used dumb drives, not
UniDisk.

Apple II Forever, and Apple II Together,
Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - willy46pa@comcast.net