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From: faubel@apollo.uucp (Ken Faubel)
Newsgroups: net.micro.apple
Subject: Re: New megabyte Apple card?
Message-ID: <2a905ed0.4237@apollo.uucp>
Date: Fri, 6-Dec-85 10:31:27 EST
Article-I.D.: apollo.2a905ed0.4237
Posted: Fri Dec  6 10:31:27 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Dec-85 20:49:43 EST
References: <317@uwai.UUCP>
Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, Mass.
Lines: 27


   I have one of the new "Apple Extended Memory Cards" and I am very impressed.  Apple did
the right thing when the choose to put it into a regular ][, ][+, //e card slot.  Even
though I have a //e, I am pleased to see the commitment to the older machines.  The new
card has 32 RAM sockets of which 8 come filled with 256K chips for $299.00.  For about
$75.00 (mail order) you can populate the rest of the board and have a full megabyte.  The
card also has a large chip carrier with what looks like a 64 pin package in it.  This 
handles the address decoding and the firmware.  For most purposes it looks like a PRODOS
block device.  As for the operation, it supports DOS 3.3, ProDos, and Apple Pascal 
(version 1.3 only).
   From DOS 3.3 all you do is type IN#n where n is the slot number and the card is set
to work like a RAM drive.  DOS 3.3 can only use 512K according to the manual.  To use
the RAM drive just refer to it as drive 1 in slot n.  
   To use PRODOS all you have to do is use the formatter on slot n and away you
go.  The signature byte shows that it is a PROFILE device.  After loading the system
files into the card I typed PR#4 (my card is in slot 4) and in less than two seconds
it was waiting for input.
   I am waiting to get the new Pascal system so that I can load the entire operating 
system onto the card and not have to wait for the disk any more.
   There are interfaces to the card that let programs like Appleworks use the RAM 
directly but this is not specified in the small manual that came with the card.  I 
have also heard rumurs about a 68000 card due out from Apple that is supposed to
access the memory on this card.  (There are no external jacks or plugs on the card
so all access must use the slot interface to the mother board.)  
   Has anybody else heard about a 68K product or a //x machine.
    
Ken Faubel      decvax!wanginst!apollo!faubel