Today I replaced a couple key switches on my Apple II keyboard. The L and , keys stopped working and I was unable to revive them. I was very lucky to be able to find a couple new key switches thanks to John Woodall, otherwise I would have to resort to pulling some from an old keyboard. The process of pulling the broken key switches was actually very simple thanks to a spring loaded solder sucker which cleanly sucked the solder off each pin of the switch. »
After many months my Apple 1 is now 100% finished. I have had it running since January, but have swapped out a few pieces like the LM323K and 555 since then, and only installed the card connector yesterday. Here is the final result. As you will notice, this one is autographed by Woz himself. I had him sign it, and he said that he had never seen or signed a replica. »
Last night I installed the expansion card connector on my Apple 1, swapped out the capacitor on my cassette interface as recommended by Mike Willegal and fired up BASIC for the first time. Ultimately I intend to load programs using an iPod, but for now I am playing them from an iMac using AIFF files provided by W Sander. The cassette interfaces are very sensitive, especially to volume, but to my surprise I was able to load BASIC and Blackjack on my first try. »
The very last piece that was missing before my Apple 1 was complete was the card connector. The problem with this piece is that the original part was manufactured by Cinch, and they stopped producing the exact part. The components that are still available are green, but they have mounting holes. The original Apple 1 connectors did not have any mounting holes. Steve Gabaly, creator of the Obtronix Apple 1 clone noticed this and was unhappy with the current selection of connectors. »
Today I built up a cassette interface for my Apple 1. This kit came from Steve Gabaly, creator of the obtronix Apple 1 clone. Overall, I am very happy with the quality of the kit. »