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  1. Interfacing Linux @[email protected] ·

    Banana Pi BPI-R4 Pro: Build Guide And Setup Ft. Forbidden OpenWRT

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6f_sJP-0ZE

    Back in 2024 Banana Pi sent over their BPI-R4 and I spent a few days sorting out how to get OpenWRT up and running on it. For the most part things technically functioned, and two years later it’s matured into a solid DIY router board with full OpenWRT support.

    Welp, Banana Pi is back with an upgraded version sporting quad 2.5 gigabit, dual 10 gig copper/fibre for LAN and WAN, and a lonely 1 gigabit port for old times’ sake. Better yet, there’s a USB-C serial port on the back so I don’t have to go digging through the cable bin for a UART adapter.

    Unfortunately it’s only been on the market for seven-ish months, so we’re still quite a ways out from having OpenWRT support. But that’s not going to stop me from downloading HackedUpTechDemoWRT™ from Banana Pi and slinging a couple of databits through it.

    You know, for science.

    HARDWARE

    Under the hood there’s the same quad core Arm Cortex-A73 MediaTek MT7988A found in the BPI-R4, but the RAM has been bumped to 8 GB. You also get three M.2 B key slots for 4 & 5G modules, plus two M.2 M key slots for NVMe drives.

    And there’s a new case. It’s like the old one, but bigger.

    FORBIDDEN OPENWRT

    I can’t stress this enough, the version of OpenWRT from Banana Pi is not something you want running your home network. Banana Pi is in the business of making SBCs, not assembling and maintaining secure builds of OpenWRT.

    What’s available on Google Drive should be treated as a tech demo to verify hardware functionality, nothing more.

    EMMC INSTALL

    With that said, let’s get it installed to eMMC by booting from an SD card, installing to NAND, then booting from NAND and installing to eMMC.

    Up first, grab the *.zip from Google Drive, extract the zips inside the zip, and write the SD image to an SD card. Then flip both DIP switches to the down position and pop in it the back.

    Now format a USB flash drive as FAT32, create two directories, EMMC and NAND, and copy over the contents of the EMMC and SNAND folders to the newly created directories on the USB flash drive. Then slide that business into a USB hole.

    Time to stab the BPI-R4 Pro with a USB-C cable, crack open a copy of minicom, set the serial device to ttyACM0, and apply the electrons.

    First up, is mounting the USB flash drive. 

    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt ; cd /mnt/NAND

    Track down where NAND is hanging out. 

    cat /proc/mtd

    Mine is on mtd3, so let’s go ahead and erase it. 

    mtd erase /dev/mtd3

    Write the image to NAND. 

    mtd write *.bin /dev/mtd3

    Power down the system, flip the dips to 1 up and 2 down and reapply the electrons.

    Back at the console, mount the USB flash drive.

    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt ; cd /mnt/EMMC

    Disable the write protection on an eMMC boot partition.

    echo 0 > /sys/block/mmcblk0boot0/force_ro

    Write the preloader. 

    dd if=BPI-R4Pro-8X-MT76-emmc-preloader.bin of=/dev/mmcblk0boot0

    Write the image. 

    dd if=BPI-R4Pro-8X-BE14-MT76-OpenWRT24.10-DSA-emmc-251229.img of=/dev/mmcblk0

    All that’s left to do is enable booting from the eMMC partition. 

    mmc bootpart enable 1 1 /dev/mmcblk0

    Power down and one more trip to the dips. This time it’s 1 down and 2 up.

    Reapply the electrons, and after a bit of a wait you’ll boot into Forbidden OpenWRT running from eMMC.

    LUCI WEB INTERFACE

    Here we’re logged into LuCI, and short and sweet: we can see the 8 GB of memory, and 300 MB out of the 8 GB of eMMC is available. But it does see the NVMe drive I snuck in there, so there’s that.

    Ports are porting, and it looks like the 2G, 5G, and 6G radios are up. Neat.

    Outside of that, not much to poke at, because there’s zero chance I’m running forbidden OpenWRT on my network.

    IPERF3 SPEED TESTS

    I wanted to sling some databits through this critter, so I used iperf3 with the --bidir flag. Hardly scientific, but it at least lets me know if the ports are working.

    All of the 2.5 gig ports came up Milhouse, with 2.3 on the send and 2.2 on the receive.

    Both the 10 gig copper and fibre ports were a bit of a mess, with 9.2 on the send and 5.0 on the way back. Don’t know what’s going on here, flapping?

    THERMALS AND POWER

    I tried my darndest to cook the MediaTek SoC using stress-ng, but even with the passive cooler I couldn’t get it to crack 55 C under load.

    And electron vampirism is about what you would expect from an SBC with 7 RJ45 ports, two SFP+, and a WiFi 7 card attached. Around 11 W at idle and just a smidge over 13 W under load.

    DISK SPEED

    If you’re wondering what 1 lane of PCIe 3.0 attached to an NVMe looks like, it tops out at around 800 MB/s, which is a little under the theoretical max of ~985 MB/s. But come on, this is a router.

    VERDICT

    The Banana Pi BPI-R4 Pro reminds me a lot of the Radxa Orion O6 and Orange Pi 6 Plus. It is a piece of fantastically neat, powerful hardware with absolutely no software to take advantage of it. It is the kind of board you unbox, tinker with for an afternoon, pack away, and set a calendar reminder to check back on in a year.

    Alright, I shouldn’t say there is absolutely no software. Frank has a nice version of Debian 13 you can build, but nobody’s dropping BPI-R4 Pro money just to run standard Debian.

    I’ll be keeping an eye on the OpenWRT pull request because this critter has the potential to become the single most no kill like overkill router I’ve ever owned. Once things are in a workable state I want to circle back, swap out the MikroTik 4011 in the studio, and somehow convince this critter to host my community x86 Trackmania server… while also doing the router thing.

    LINKS

    All links in this article go directly to the sources they reference. There are no affiliate links or unrelated backlinks. If you would like to support my work on Interfacing Linux, you can use the affiliate links below or check out the sponsors page.

    This helps fund future projects and keeps the site ad-free.

    Some posts contain affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and later make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. Money earned via affiliate links helps to keep this site up and running.

    Have questions about your Linux setup? Ask in the forums.

    #router #openwrt #bpir4pro #bananapi
  2. Interfacing Linux @[email protected] ·

    Banana Pi BPI-R4 Pro: Build Guide And Setup Ft. Forbidden OpenWRT

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6f_sJP-0ZE

    Back in 2024 Banana Pi sent over their BPI-R4 and I spent a few days sorting out how to get OpenWRT up and running on it. For the most part things technically functioned, and two years later it’s matured into a solid DIY router board with full OpenWRT support.

    Welp, Banana Pi is back with an upgraded version sporting quad 2.5 gigabit, dual 10 gig copper/fibre for LAN and WAN, and a lonely 1 gigabit port for old times’ sake. Better yet, there’s a USB-C serial port on the back so I don’t have to go digging through the cable bin for a UART adapter.

    Unfortunately it’s only been on the market for seven-ish months, so we’re still quite a ways out from having OpenWRT support. But that’s not going to stop me from downloading HackedUpTechDemoWRT™ from Banana Pi and slinging a couple of databits through it.

    You know, for science.

    HARDWARE

    Under the hood there’s the same quad core Arm Cortex-A73 MediaTek MT7988A found in the BPI-R4, but the RAM has been bumped to 8 GB. You also get three M.2 B key slots for 4 & 5G modules, plus two M.2 M key slots for NVMe drives.

    And there’s a new case. It’s like the old one, but bigger.

    FORBIDDEN OPENWRT

    I can’t stress this enough, the version of OpenWRT from Banana Pi is not something you want running your home network. Banana Pi is in the business of making SBCs, not assembling and maintaining secure builds of OpenWRT.

    What’s available on Google Drive should be treated as a tech demo to verify hardware functionality, nothing more.

    EMMC INSTALL

    With that said, let’s get it installed to eMMC by booting from an SD card, installing to NAND, then booting from NAND and installing to eMMC.

    Up first, grab the *.zip from Google Drive, extract the zips inside the zip, and write the SD image to an SD card. Then flip both DIP switches to the down position and pop in it the back.

    Now format a USB flash drive as FAT32, create two directories, EMMC and NAND, and copy over the contents of the EMMC and SNAND folders to the newly created directories on the USB flash drive. Then slide that business into a USB hole.

    Time to stab the BPI-R4 Pro with a USB-C cable, crack open a copy of minicom, set the serial device to ttyACM0, and apply the electrons.

    First up, is mounting the USB flash drive. 

    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt ; cd /mnt/NAND

    Track down where NAND is hanging out. 

    cat /proc/mtd

    Mine is on mtd3, so let’s go ahead and erase it. 

    mtd erase /dev/mtd3

    Write the image to NAND. 

    mtd write *.bin /dev/mtd3

    Power down the system, flip the dips to 1 up and 2 down and reapply the electrons.

    Back at the console, mount the USB flash drive.

    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt ; cd /mnt/EMMC

    Disable the write protection on an eMMC boot partition.

    echo 0 > /sys/block/mmcblk0boot0/force_ro

    Write the preloader. 

    dd if=BPI-R4Pro-8X-MT76-emmc-preloader.bin of=/dev/mmcblk0boot0

    Write the image. 

    dd if=BPI-R4Pro-8X-BE14-MT76-OpenWRT24.10-DSA-emmc-251229.img of=/dev/mmcblk0

    All that’s left to do is enable booting from the eMMC partition. 

    mmc bootpart enable 1 1 /dev/mmcblk0

    Power down and one more trip to the dips. This time it’s 1 down and 2 up.

    Reapply the electrons, and after a bit of a wait you’ll boot into Forbidden OpenWRT running from eMMC.

    LUCI WEB INTERFACE

    Here we’re logged into LuCI, and short and sweet: we can see the 8 GB of memory, and 300 MB out of the 8 GB of eMMC is available. But it does see the NVMe drive I snuck in there, so there’s that.

    Ports are porting, and it looks like the 2G, 5G, and 6G radios are up. Neat.

    Outside of that, not much to poke at, because there’s zero chance I’m running forbidden OpenWRT on my network.

    IPERF3 SPEED TESTS

    I wanted to sling some databits through this critter, so I used iperf3 with the --bidir flag. Hardly scientific, but it at least lets me know if the ports are working.

    All of the 2.5 gig ports came up Milhouse, with 2.3 on the send and 2.2 on the receive.

    Both the 10 gig copper and fibre ports were a bit of a mess, with 9.2 on the send and 5.0 on the way back. Don’t know what’s going on here, flapping?

    THERMALS AND POWER

    I tried my darndest to cook the MediaTek SoC using stress-ng, but even with the passive cooler I couldn’t get it to crack 55 C under load.

    And electron vampirism is about what you would expect from an SBC with 7 RJ45 ports, two SFP+, and a WiFi 7 card attached. Around 11 W at idle and just a smidge over 13 W under load.

    DISK SPEED

    If you’re wondering what 1 lane of PCIe 3.0 attached to an NVMe looks like, it tops out at around 800 MB/s, which is a little under the theoretical max of ~985 MB/s. But come on, this is a router.

    VERDICT

    The Banana Pi BPI-R4 Pro reminds me a lot of the Radxa Orion O6 and Orange Pi 6 Plus. It is a piece of fantastically neat, powerful hardware with absolutely no software to take advantage of it. It is the kind of board you unbox, tinker with for an afternoon, pack away, and set a calendar reminder to check back on in a year.

    Alright, I shouldn’t say there is absolutely no software. Frank has a nice version of Debian 13 you can build, but nobody’s dropping BPI-R4 Pro money just to run standard Debian.

    I’ll be keeping an eye on the OpenWRT pull request because this critter has the potential to become the single most no kill like overkill router I’ve ever owned. Once things are in a workable state I want to circle back, swap out the MikroTik 4011 in the studio, and somehow convince this critter to host my community x86 Trackmania server… while also doing the router thing.

    LINKS

    All links in this article go directly to the sources they reference. There are no affiliate links or unrelated backlinks. If you would like to support my work on Interfacing Linux, you can use the affiliate links below or check out the sponsors page.

    This helps fund future projects and keeps the site ad-free.

    Some posts contain affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and later make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. Money earned via affiliate links helps to keep this site up and running.

    Have questions about your Linux setup? Ask in the forums.

    #bananapi #bpir4pro #openwrt #router
  3. The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff @[email protected] ·

    More Apple ][*, //* II* and classic Macintosh hardware upgrades

    The mini micro classic Apple emulators related post last week became way too big, so here is the classic Apple 2/Macintosh hardware upgrade part follow-up I announced in Some notes on mini/micro Apple //e emulators.

    Last week, I mentioned [Wayback/Archive] ARC Javmaster – YouTube. Let’s continue from there for an even bigger post (:

    Javmaster actually has a shop at [Wayback/Archive] Welcome to the 8-bit stuff store – 8 bit stuff cool retro computer 3D gadgets and geekery with a lot of interesting (mainly Apple ][ era related) retro things like:

    8bitstuff also pointed me to this shop with cool parts helping you fix Apple ][* and Apple //e and II* model issues: [Wayback/Archive] Shop | ReActiveMicro.com which is part of [Wayback/Archive] ReActiveMicro.com which has this great card in their catalog:

    and other hardware like:

    • Disk ][+ v1.0 kit

      USD 30-40 [Wayback/Archive] Disk ][+ – Assembled or Kit | ReActiveMicro.com

      Disk ][+ v1.0 is a small PCB that installs into Apple Disk ][ drives. It replaces the red LED in the drives with a two-color LED, to better distinguish the reading phases, in green, from the writing phases, in red. Comes assembled or in kit form.

      Notes:

      • You need one set for each drive.
      • I don’t really like the way they connect to the drive electronics, see picture below from [Wayback/Archive] Disk II+ – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki . Instead of the pin, I would likely solder the wires to the electronics.

        4 hook probes connected to the Disk II analog board.

    • Apple IIe Enhancement Kit

      USD 30-35 [Wayback/Archive] IIe Enhancement Kit | ReActiveMicro.com

      Comes with an ‘Enhanced’ paper template, 65C02 CPU, and all the ROM’s necessary to upgrade your Apple IIe.

      [Wayback/Archive] Apple IIe Enhancement Kit – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki

      Note it has various options (USA vs European Apple //e, plus  languages: check before you order!)

      I need to check if my Apple //e already has this enhancement kit.

    • No-Slot Clock v1.0

      USD 65 [Wayback/Archive] No-Slot Clock | ReActiveMicro.com

      The No-Slot Clock v1.0 allows your Apple II to remember the date and time. It will work on an Apple II, Apple II+, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, and Clone systems. It features dual battery holders. Two CR1025 cells included.

      The No Slot Clock does not fit in to the IIc or IIc+ with a RAM Card installed.

      [Wayback/Archive] No-Slot Clock – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki

      Likely won’t needs this as ROMXe and ROMXc both include a clock.

    • Ultimate-Micro.com Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0

      USD 200 [Wayback/Archive] Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0 from Ultimate-Micro.com.

      The Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0 is a clone of Apple’s Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card. The disk controller card allows you to use 3.5-inch floppy disk drives, including the Apple SuperDrive and Apple 3.5 Drive, with all Apple II computers. This card also supports the operation of older model Apple II UniDisk 3.5 drives.

      Not sure if I really want this one, especially with the USD 200 price tag: The Ultimate-Micro.com domain vanished and the Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller mentioned below at USD 170 (including cables) can do more.

    • Apple II A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver For Your Apple II Systems | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver from CraftyMech and designed by Aaron Reid. Works on all Apple II systems with a 9 pin game port.

      …

      A2io allow you to connect and use a modern wireless game pad as either a joystick, paddle, or pad input device. You pair the game pad with your mobile device (phone/tablet/laptop) and then connect to the A2io. The mobile device acts like a translator between your Apple and game pad.

    • CFFA 300 REV C

      USD 225 [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM for II, II+, ///, IIe, and IIgs | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM built by ReActiveMicro under license from R&D Automation.

      …

      The CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM Controller is a Mass Storage Device and Floppy Emulator that once installed in your Apple II system acts like a solid-state Hard Drive using Compact Flash Cards and USB Flash Drives. Floppy Emulation allows users to load .PO images as if they were physical disk. See the manual for more details. There is also discussion about adding .WOZ support, and we will post updates if/when it happens.

      Comes with CF Card as pictured, and with Remote option standard. Manual can be found here for review.

      Plug and play ready, and fully tested. Comes started with **256MB** CF Card, preloaded with several ProDOS 8 volumes with games and utilities, and several GS/OS volumes. You can select which one to boot using the on-board firmware menu (press “M” key on power up).

      [Wayback/Archive] wiki.reactivemicro.com/images/9/9d/2021-10-23-CFFA-RM_Manual.pdf

      I already have this, including the original remote back in 2014 from dreher: [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 Run 3: Order Status

    • CFFA3000 Remote

      USD 40 [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 – Remote Option With Cable | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the CFFA3000 Remote option built by ReActiveMicro under license from R&D Automation. ***REMOTE ONLY!***
      ReActiveMicro is an authorized dealer and partner with R&D

      …

      The CFFA3000 Remote option comes with the connector cable, which attaches to the CFFA3000 card installed in your Apple II system. It comes as pictured, with the Remote, the connection cable, and a 3D printed enclosure.

    Finally it pointed me to [Wayback/Archive] Home | JD Micro which has RAMX (for Apple ][* systems) and ROMX (variants for any Apple 2 model) for which these are most applicable to my systems (both ROMX versions also contain the fonts mentioned in their blog post [Wayback/Archive] 11th May 2021 | JD Micro):

    [Wayback/Archive] Review: ROMX+ Device for Apple II+ – YouTube

    Other results from the queries I used in the post last week also returned some hardware that can be used for classic Apple machines:

    • [Wayback/Archive] The ESP32 SoftCard for the Apple II | Applefritter

      I’ve been working on a new card for the Apple II that would extend its capabilities using my favorite Wi-Fi module: the ESP32. I decided to called it a soft card, because similarly to the original Z80 SoftCard it contains its own processor allowing it to run software not originally meant for the Apple II. And similarly to the original 80-column card that was needed, it produces its own composite video enabled through a soft switch. Both NTSC and PAL are supported and can be switched using a command. In addition it can produce 8-bit sound that is mixed and played through the Apple II speaker. For most of its applications the card also needs a FAT32 formatted microSD card.

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] ESP32 SoftCard Expansion Card for the Apple II from CVT on Tindie

      ESP32 SoftCard Expansion Card for the Apple II

    • [Wayback/Archive] Apple2idiot card (ESP32) | Applefritter

      It is an interesting and different take on interfacing an ESP32 module to an Apple II. It uses a dual ported SRAM instead of trying to interface the ESP32 to the Apple II bus using something like 74LVC245s or through a parallel chip like a 6522 or 82C55 or through a serial chip like a 6551 or 6850.

      https://github.com/equant/apple2idiot

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] GitHub – equant/apple2idiot: A general purpose ESP32 IOT board for the Apple IIe

    • assembly lines

      [Wayback/Archive] Shop – CT6502 and [Wayback/Archive] Shop – Page 2 of 2 – CT6502a

      • [Wayback/Archive] Assembly Lines: The Mug – CT6502
        Assembly Lines: The Mug; Print-on-demand from Printful.

        Mug; handle left

        Mug; handle behind

        Mug; handle right

        This is a really cool idea including the Choplifter and Lode Runner main sprites on the mug. The right picture shows you can also get it in 15oz size.

      • Apple II wDrive Disk Drive Emulator

        [Wayback/Archive] Apple II wDrive Disk Drive Emulator – CT6502

        The wDrive is a disk drive emulator for the Apple II (II+, IIe, IIc, IIGS) that boots disk images (WOZ, DSK, 2MG, HDV, etc) from an SD card.

        Manufacturer: [Wayback/Archive] Mfa2 Workshop

        We are developer of wDrive, softSP card and related accessories which are published through Kboo HK

        [email protected]

        Note it there are two options to choose from:

        • USD ~80: wDrive only (Apple IIc and IIGS)
        • USD ~100: wDrive plus SoftSP card (Apple II, II+, IIe)

        The second option includes this one:

      • MFA2 SoftSP Card

        [Wayback/Archive] Apple II MFA2 SoftSP Card wDrive or FujiNet – CT6502

        The SoftSP card allows you to boot hard disk images or use FujiNet devices on an Apple II+ or IIe, which do not have SmartPort support.

        The SoftSP card is not needed on the Apple IIc or Apple IIGS.

        …

        The SoftSP card should be placed into a slot lower than the wDrive disk controller card. Slot 1 or 2 usually works well.

        Note: The SoftSP card will also work with the FloppyEMU. However, you MUST use a special drive cable that isolates pin 12, to avoid damaging your FloppyEMU. You do not need to use this cable with the wDrive, although it won’t cause any issues if you do. You can find details about the issue here.

        That last bit is really really important as SoftSP only can be installed in a system that also connects to a FloppyEMU under these circumstances:

        • Connect the FloppyEMU to a Yellowstone is a universal disk controller card for Apple II computers (see below), especially since the Yellowstone also supports both wDrive and FujiNet.
        • Connect the FloppyEMU to an original Disk Controller, but cut wire #12 as explained in [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu SoftSP Warning | Big Mess o’ Wires

          You can’t safely connect a Smartport device to a Disk II controller card, no matter how the card’s internal logic might be modified. That includes Floppy Emu when it’s configured in Smartport emulation mode. The reason is that Smartport devices connect pin 12 internally to ground. This is how other connected equipment and daisy-chained drives know that they’re Smartport drives, and it’s essential for correct daisy-chain operation of Smartport drives with the BMOW Daisy Chainer or the Apple Unidisk 3.5 drive.

        Both options essentially makes the SoftSP unneeded for FloppyEMU, and with this signalling problem for wire #12 (which is the SmartPort compatibility indicator) I am not sure which other SmartPort devices besides wDrive will actually work with the Apple ][, Apple ][+ and Apple //e without damaging the SmartPort device.

      • a
      • a
    • a

    Another shop via [Wayback/Archive] Big Mess o’ Wires -> [Wayback/Archive] Big Mess o’ Wires Store

    Bring new life to your classic computer

    From disk emulators to ROM upgrades, keyboard and mouse adapters, and more hardware creations, BMOW has your retrocomputer needs covered.

    • Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller Card and two DB-19 female adapters

      [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Disk Controller Everything Bundle – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Yellowstone is a universal disk controller card for Apple II computers. It supports nearly every type of Apple disk drive ever made, including standard 3.5 inch drives, 5.25 inch drives, smart drives like the Unidisk 3.5 and the BMOW Floppy Emu’s smartport hard disk, and even Macintosh 3.5 inch drives. Yellowstone combines the power of an Apple 3.5 Disk Controller Card, a standard 5.25 inch Disk II controller card, the Apple Liron controller, and more, all in a single card.

      …

      The “everything” bundle includes the latest version Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller Card and two DB-19 female adapters

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone: Cloning the Apple II Liron | Big Mess o’ Wires

        …

        The “Liron” disk controller was introduced by Apple in 1985. More formally known as the Apple II UniDisk 3.5 Controller, it’s designed to work with a new generation of “smart” disk drives more sophisticated than the venerable Disk II 5.25 inch floppy drive. The smart disk port on the Liron is appropriately named the Smartport, and it can communicate with block-based storage devices such as the Unidisk 3.5 (an early 800K drive) and Smartport-based Apple II hard drives.
        Why care about the Liron? The Apple IIc and Apple IIgs have integrated disk ports with built-in Smartport functionality, but for the earlier Apple II+ and IIe, the Liron is the only way to get a Smartport. For owners of the BMOW Floppy Emu disk emulator, the Liron card makes it possible to use the Floppy Emu as an external hard drive for the II+ and IIe. Unfortunately finding a Liron is difficult, and although they occasionally turn up on eBay, they’re quite expensive. That made cloning the Liron a logical first goal.

        …

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller – Big Mess o’ Wires

        Article: [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller for Apple II | Big Mess o’ Wires – Run any disk drive with your Apple II computer!

        Supported Drives

        Need to attach a disk drive to your Apple II? Yellowstone has got you covered. Yellowstone is compatible with the Apple IIe, Apple IIgs, Apple II+, Apple II, and most Apple II clones. It works with these disk drives and drive emulators:

        Can be connected directlyDisk II A2M0003Naked Apple 3.5” 800K, black labelNaked half-height Apple 5.25″Naked Apple 3.5” 800K, red labelFloppy Emu 5.25 modeNaked Apple 3.5” 1.44MB, auto-injectFloppy Emu Model C dual 5.25 modeNaked Apple 3.5” 1.44MB, manual-injectFloppy Emu 3.5 modewDriveFloppy Emu Unidisk 3.5 mode [1]Floppy Emu Smartport hard disk mode [1]And more…Requires optional DB-19F connectorUnidisk 5.25 A9M0104Macintosh 800K External M0131Disk IIc A2M4050Apple SuperDrive (Apple FDHD Drive) G7287Duo Disk 5.25 A9M0108Unidisk 3.5 A2M2053 [1]AppleDisk 5.25 A9M01075Applied Engineering 3.5 [2]Laser FD100 5.25Apple 3.5 Drive A9M0106And more…

        [1] smart drive
        [2] partial compatibility

        When using 3.5 inch drives, Yellowstone is compatible with Apple II standard 800K double-sided double-density disk media.

        A naked drive is a bare drive mechanism without any enclosure, such as an internal drive taken from a Macintosh, Apple IIc, or Apple IIc+.

        Yes, pull the internal 3.5 inch drive from an old Mac and use it directly with your Apple II!

        This brought back Applied Engineering memories (:

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone DB-19 Female Disk Adapter – Big Mess o’ Wires

        The adapter includes a six inch ribbon cable and a detachable mini-board that converts the ribbon cable connector into a DB-19 female shape.

        …

        This adapter has custom wiring that’s specifically designed for use with Yellowstone, and should not be used with other disk hardware.

        Can be connected directly to Yellowstone boardApple Disk II A2M0003BMOW Floppy EmuNaked Apple 5.25” DriveswDriveNaked Apple 3.5” DrivesRequires Yellowstone DB-19F adapterUnidisk 5.25 A9M0104Macintosh 800K External M0131Disk IIc A2M4050Apple SuperDrive (Apple FDHD Drive) G7287Duo Disk 5.25 A9M0108Unidisk 3.5 A2M2053AppleDisk 5.25 A9M01075Applied Engineering 3.5Apple 3.5 Drive A9M0106Laser FD100 5.25 A naked drive is a bare drive mechanism without any enclosure, such as an internal drive taken from a Macintosh, Apple IIc, or Apple IIc+.

        (note that’s a ~15 cm ribbon cable)

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Back From the Dead | Big Mess o’ Wires

    • Floppy Emu Model C Deluxe Bundle

      USD 130 [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu Model C Deluxe Bundle – Big Mess o’ Wires

      The BMOW Floppy Emu is a disk emulator for classic Apple II, Macintosh, and Lisa computers.

      …

      The bundle includes:

      • Floppy Emu Model C
      • Frosted Ice Acrylic Case
      • Vintage Apple Software Collection SD Card
      • Full-Size SD Adapter
      • Disk Extension Cable

      [Wayback/Archive] BMOW Floppy EMU for Vintage Apple Computers! | Mastergeko4 – YouTube shot at the time the YouTuber was quite a novice, which brought back memories of me being young and figuring out things by fiddling with them and bumping my head against walls (:

    • Noisy Disk Mechanical Sounder with 2 ribbon cables attached

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] Noisy Disk Mechanical Sounder – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Noisy Disk uses a mechanical relay to create authentic-sounding mechanical stepping sounds for disk head movements for your Floppy Emu disk emulator’s virtual 5.25 inch floppy disk.

      …

      Nothing will be harmed if Noisy Disk is used with other computers or emulation modes, but you’ll hear strange clacking noises that don’t match the disk activity.

      …

      The product includes the Noisy Disk board with 2 x 10 pin rectangular input and output connectors, and a 6-inch extension cable for connecting to your Floppy Emu board.

      This likely sounds exactly like the more expensive Disk Clicker which was reviewed at [Wayback/Archive] Testing the New Classic Floppy Clicker on Apple Floppy Emulator – Authentic Retro Sounds! – YouTube and sold at [Wayback/Archive] Disk Clicker – 8bitdevices.com

    • Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc

      USD 25 [Wayback/Archive] Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc – Big Mess o’ Wires

      At the flip of a switch, select which Apple IIc floppy drives should act as Drive 1 and Drive 2. Add support for dual external 5.25 inch floppy emulation. For the Apple IIc with the Floppy Emu disk emulator.

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc | Big Mess o’ Wires

      This is a two-part device: a signal tap that should be installed inside the Apple IIc, and a modified DB19 adapter with two slide switches for the external connection. Two female-female jumper wires are passed through a gap in the case to make the connection between the two parts.

    • Daisy Chainer Disk Coupler

      USD 45 [Wayback/Archive] Daisy Chainer Disk Coupler – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Link the Floppy Emu disk emulator into a daisy chain with other Apple II disk drives. For use with Floppy Emu Model B and C.

      …

      In order to work correctly, Apple II computers require daisy chained drives to be connected in a specific order:

      1. any 3.5 inch drives must go first in the chain
      2. Smartport and Unidisk 3.5 inch drives must go second
      3. any 5.25 inch drives must go last

      There can be at most two drives of each type, six drives total.

      …

      There are two primary firmware versions for the Floppy Emu: normal firmware and Smartport daisy chain SPDC firmware. When using a Floppy Emu with the Daisy Chainer, the SPDC firmware is required if your Emu is configured to emulate a Smartport Hard Disk or a Unidisk 3.5. In all other cases, the normal firmware should be used.

      [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu Update: Smartport Daisy-Chain Support | Big Mess o’ Wires

      Most people should use the normal firmware version, and it’s the default for newly-purchased hardware. The Smartport daisy chain firmware version is only needed in uncommon situations when:

      1. The Floppy Emu’s selected emulation mode is Smartport Hard Disk, Smartport Unit 2, or Unidisk 3.5AND

      2. The Floppy Emu is plugged into the back of a BMOW Daisy Chainer or to the Apple Unidisk 3.5 drive, A2M2053.

      The wiki.apple2.org died, so here are archived links: [Wayback/Archive] wiki.apple2.org: A2 3.5 Drives -> Apple UniDisk 3.5 (A2M2053)

      Daisy Chainer clear acrylic case

      Oh: there is also this one for it:

    • USD 10 [Wayback/Archive] Clear Acrylic Case for Daisy Chainer – Big Mess o’ Wires

      A clear acrylic case to protect and showcase your Daisy Chainer board. These custom-made Daisy Chainer cases protect your board in style!

      …

      This is a top-and-bottom “plate” style case with open sides. Assembly takes about 5 minutes.

    • Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Select between a Floppy Emu and a real floppy drive at the flip of a switch. Includes switch module and one 3 foot 20-pin ribbon cable.

      …

      For Lisa computer owners, and Macs with only one internal floppy connector, disk drive emulation can be awkward sometimes. The Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch aims to eliminate that awkwardness. This accessory makes it possible to attach a Floppy Emu and a real floppy disk drive at the same time, and select between them with a switch. Both drives will be powered, but the computer will only “see” one drive at a time, depending on the switch position.

      …

      ⚠ Do not use Floppy Emu’s Dual 5.25 mode in combination with the A/B Switch. It will cause disk errors and may damage the Floppy Emu or your other 5.25 inch drive.

    Macintosh specific stuff from BMOW:

    Then there is a shop on the Cayman Islands that ships world wide and has both the Mac ROM SIMM and the Mac ROMM SIMM programmer:

    And there is [Wayback/Archive] a2heaven: For everyone who still loves and uses old computers.:

    • Liron Reborn

      USD 60 [Wayback/Archive] Liron Reborn

      Liron Reborn is a Samrt Port / Disk II controller card for Apple II/IIe computers.

      It is a functional hardware compatible Liron clone , with original Liron card Firmware.

      A difference from Original Liron card is that card can be used as a a standard 5.25 inch (Disk II) controller or Liron ( SmartPort ) card .

      I likely won’t need this as the Yellowstone card looks way more promising

    • FASTChip //e – 65C02

      USD 150 [Wayback/Archive] FASTChip //e – 65C02

      The FASTChip //e accelerates the Apple //e™ by replacing the on-board microprocessor with a much faster one. Because the memory on the Apple //e™ can only run at a 1 MHz speed maximum, faster memory (SRAM) must be provided to increase performance and allow the 65C02/65C816 CPU to run at full speed.

      To do this, the FASTChip //e contains 512KB/1024KB of fast SRAM memory. The clever design allows the acceleration of programs running in both main and auxiliary memory. The additional FASTChip //e memory can emulate both 192/448 KB fast RamWorks compatible RAM and 256/512 KB fast RamFactor (slinky) compatible RAM.

      [Wayback/Archive] REVIEW: FastChip //e Accellerator by A2Heaven – YouTube

    • 65C816->65C02 Board

      USD 35 [Wayback/Archive] 65C816->65C02 Board

      You can use 65C816->65C02 board to connect 65C816 CPU to your Apple II computer .

      …

      * This board was based on Daryl Rictor’s original design. More information can be found here: sbc.rictor.org/support/conv.html

      [Wayback/Archive] 65816 to 6502 converter by Daryl Rictor.

    • DB19 to IDC20

      USD 11 [Wayback/Archive] DB19 to IDC20 Floppy Disk adapter

      DB19 to IDC20 Floppy Disk adapter

      …

      directly connect IDC20 Pin Cable  connector to the 19-pin port of Apple IIc, or to a floppy controller with a 19-pin connector

      Probably cheaper to use the package deals from BMOW

    • IDC20 to DB19 cable adapter

      USD 13 [Wayback/Archive] IDC20 to DB19 cable adapter

      The product is designed to be directly connect IDC20 pin connector to the DB19 pin port .

      Likely the combo from BMOW is cheaper.

      TrackStar II

       

    • USD 75 [Wayback/Archive] TRAK STAR II

      Readout of Disk Drive head position .

      …

      Constant Digital Readout of Disk Drive head position .

      Work with any 5″ Apple II compatible Drive .
      Display Full , Half and Quarter track head position .

      Nice idea, but has not been in stock for a long time and feels overpriced.

    • Quadlink Clone Kit

      USD 160 [Wayback/Archive] Quadlink Clone Kit

      It’s an ISA expansion card from the ’80s designed to turn your IBM PC (such as a 5150 or 5160) into an Apple ][! After booting and running the software, you can switch quickly between PC and Apple mode using Ctrl-Alt-A (for Apple) and Ctrl-Alt-P (for PC).

      Kit contain all PCB , passive components and chips needed to build working Quadlink Clone .

      [Wayback/Archive] GitHub – schlae/quapple: Quadlink clone turns your ancient IBM PC into an Apple ][

      Only useful if I find back an ISA compatible PC.

    • 3D Stickers set

      USD 10 [Wayback/Archive] 3D Stickers set

      Apple II logo and Disk II label sticker set .

      Actually this is quite a nice idea, despite them having been out of stock like forever.

    • RamFactor1M

      USD 85 [Wayback/Archive] RamFactor1M

      RamFactor1M is based on Aplied Engineering RAMFactor card ( firmware is same as original ), however it uses more modern low power 1MB SRAM and can provided battery backup up to 1-2 Year with small CR2032 Battery.

      The battery is for backup data (just like PowerFactor from Aplied Engineering ) and can be used as Solid State Disk.

      This is a trip down memory lane, though back then school could not afford these.

    • Apple II Slot Extender

      USD 40 [Wayback/Archive] Apple II Slot Extender

      The Apple II slot extender allows you to easily and freely test the functionality and repair your Apple II cards outside of the computer.

      You can also turn off voltages that aren’t necessary for the card to work to prevent testing errors.

      Package include

      • 1 x Apple II extender PCB bottom
      • 1 x Apple II extender PCB Top
      • 1 x 50 pin Flat ribbon cable with 0.5m length ( contact me if you want a longer cable )
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    One more shop (: I think I found it searching for [Wayback/Archive] BlueSCSI, but anyway at [Wayback/Archive] Shop – Joe’s Computer Museum, focussing on [Wayback/Archive] Apple //e Archives – Joe’s Computer Museum I found these interesting items:

    For all shops: I didn’t list all of their items, just the ones that I might use in the future.

    An interesting device I did not know about either was the FujiNet one: it is fully open source! One thing to check out is where to order pre-assembled ones for Apple II series.

    • [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet · GitHub
      FujiNet is a multi-peripheral emulator and WiFi network device for vintage computers. The first completed hardware was for the Atari 8-Bit line of computers and development has begun for other systems (Coleco ADAM, Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari Lynx, ZX Spectrum and more) with the goal of supporting as many old systems as possible. What sets FujiNet apart from other WiFi devices is the new Network Device (the N Device). The N device allows vintage computers that do not have enough processing power to handle TCP/IP connections themselves to talk to the modern internet over WiFi. Virtual adapters have been created for many protocols including: TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, TNFS, HTTPS (SSL/TLS), SSH, TELNET, WebDAV and JSON parser. The FujiNet project is 100% completely open source, software and hardware. All code and schematics are available here.
    • [Wayback/Archive] FutureVision Research was the only shop I found selling them, but I probably overlooked others.
      • [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet – FutureVision Research

      • Apple II/III FujiNet w/ accesoiries

        USD 110 [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet for Apple II & III (With Accessories) – FutureVision Research

        The FujiApple Rev1.1 for SmartPort enabled Apple II computers emulates SmartPort drives, Disk II drives (read only), CP/M, Clock, Modem, and a new Network Device. Disk images can be mounted directly from the internet via TNFS servers or from the onboard MicroSD socket*. The Network device enables access to Internet protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, TNFS, SSH, TCP, UDP and more.

        …

        This kit comes with the following (ribbon cable color may be gray or rainbow depending on availability):
        • FujiNet for Apple II & III
        • DB-19 to IDC20 Female adapter
        • 30cm IDC20 Female to Male cable
        • 30cm IDC20 Female to Female cable
        • DB-19 spacer
        • Two different lengths of thumbscrews
          • Two 1.375″ thumbscrews for use with IIe/III
          • Two 1.5″ thumbscrews for use with IIc/gs/+

        The page contains many more helpful information and links.

     

    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Some non-shop links

    An external monitor on a Macingosh SE/30

    Mac SE/30 and Macintosh Classic

    Since I own both a Macintosh SE/30 and a Macintosh Classic, these are relevant too:

    Queries

    I used additional queries than the first blog post to complete this blog post. Here they are:

    --jeroen

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Rate this:

    #12 #156 #25 #3dprint #3dprinting #4 #Apple #appleiigs #AprilApples

    #3dprint #3dprinting #apple #appleiigs #aprilapples
  4. The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff @[email protected] ·

    More Apple ][*, //* II* and classic Macintosh hardware upgrades

    The mini micro classic Apple emulators related post last week became way too big, so here is the classic Apple 2/Macintosh hardware upgrade part follow-up I announced in Some notes on mini/micro Apple //e emulators.

    Last week, I mentioned [Wayback/Archive] ARC Javmaster – YouTube. Let’s continue from there for an even bigger post (:

    Javmaster actually has a shop at [Wayback/Archive] Welcome to the 8-bit stuff store – 8 bit stuff cool retro computer 3D gadgets and geekery with a lot of interesting (mainly Apple ][ era related) retro things like:

    8bitstuff also pointed me to this shop with cool parts helping you fix Apple ][* and Apple //e and II* model issues: [Wayback/Archive] Shop | ReActiveMicro.com which is part of [Wayback/Archive] ReActiveMicro.com which has this great card in their catalog:

    and other hardware like:

    • Disk ][+ v1.0 kit

      USD 30-40 [Wayback/Archive] Disk ][+ – Assembled or Kit | ReActiveMicro.com

      Disk ][+ v1.0 is a small PCB that installs into Apple Disk ][ drives. It replaces the red LED in the drives with a two-color LED, to better distinguish the reading phases, in green, from the writing phases, in red. Comes assembled or in kit form.

      Notes:

      • You need one set for each drive.
      • I don’t really like the way they connect to the drive electronics, see picture below from [Wayback/Archive] Disk II+ – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki . Instead of the pin, I would likely solder the wires to the electronics.

        4 hook probes connected to the Disk II analog board.

    • Apple IIe Enhancement Kit

      USD 30-35 [Wayback/Archive] IIe Enhancement Kit | ReActiveMicro.com

      Comes with an ‘Enhanced’ paper template, 65C02 CPU, and all the ROM’s necessary to upgrade your Apple IIe.

      [Wayback/Archive] Apple IIe Enhancement Kit – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki

      Note it has various options (USA vs European Apple //e, plus  languages: check before you order!)

      I need to check if my Apple //e already has this enhancement kit.

    • No-Slot Clock v1.0

      USD 65 [Wayback/Archive] No-Slot Clock | ReActiveMicro.com

      The No-Slot Clock v1.0 allows your Apple II to remember the date and time. It will work on an Apple II, Apple II+, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, and Clone systems. It features dual battery holders. Two CR1025 cells included.

      The No Slot Clock does not fit in to the IIc or IIc+ with a RAM Card installed.

      [Wayback/Archive] No-Slot Clock – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki

      Likely won’t needs this as ROMXe and ROMXc both include a clock.

    • Ultimate-Micro.com Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0

      USD 200 [Wayback/Archive] Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0 from Ultimate-Micro.com.

      The Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0 is a clone of Apple’s Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card. The disk controller card allows you to use 3.5-inch floppy disk drives, including the Apple SuperDrive and Apple 3.5 Drive, with all Apple II computers. This card also supports the operation of older model Apple II UniDisk 3.5 drives.

      Not sure if I really want this one, especially with the USD 200 price tag: The Ultimate-Micro.com domain vanished and the Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller mentioned below at USD 170 (including cables) can do more.

    • Apple II A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver For Your Apple II Systems | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver from CraftyMech and designed by Aaron Reid. Works on all Apple II systems with a 9 pin game port.

      …

      A2io allow you to connect and use a modern wireless game pad as either a joystick, paddle, or pad input device. You pair the game pad with your mobile device (phone/tablet/laptop) and then connect to the A2io. The mobile device acts like a translator between your Apple and game pad.

    • CFFA 300 REV C

      USD 225 [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM for II, II+, ///, IIe, and IIgs | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM built by ReActiveMicro under license from R&D Automation.

      …

      The CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM Controller is a Mass Storage Device and Floppy Emulator that once installed in your Apple II system acts like a solid-state Hard Drive using Compact Flash Cards and USB Flash Drives. Floppy Emulation allows users to load .PO images as if they were physical disk. See the manual for more details. There is also discussion about adding .WOZ support, and we will post updates if/when it happens.

      Comes with CF Card as pictured, and with Remote option standard. Manual can be found here for review.

      Plug and play ready, and fully tested. Comes started with **256MB** CF Card, preloaded with several ProDOS 8 volumes with games and utilities, and several GS/OS volumes. You can select which one to boot using the on-board firmware menu (press “M” key on power up).

      [Wayback/Archive] wiki.reactivemicro.com/images/9/9d/2021-10-23-CFFA-RM_Manual.pdf

      I already have this, including the original remote back in 2014 from dreher: [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 Run 3: Order Status

    • CFFA3000 Remote

      USD 40 [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 – Remote Option With Cable | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the CFFA3000 Remote option built by ReActiveMicro under license from R&D Automation. ***REMOTE ONLY!***
      ReActiveMicro is an authorized dealer and partner with R&D

      …

      The CFFA3000 Remote option comes with the connector cable, which attaches to the CFFA3000 card installed in your Apple II system. It comes as pictured, with the Remote, the connection cable, and a 3D printed enclosure.

    Finally it pointed me to [Wayback/Archive] Home | JD Micro which has RAMX (for Apple ][* systems) and ROMX (variants for any Apple 2 model) for which these are most applicable to my systems (both ROMX versions also contain the fonts mentioned in their blog post [Wayback/Archive] 11th May 2021 | JD Micro):

    [Wayback/Archive] Review: ROMX+ Device for Apple II+ – YouTube

    Other results from the queries I used in the post last week also returned some hardware that can be used for classic Apple machines:

    • [Wayback/Archive] The ESP32 SoftCard for the Apple II | Applefritter

      I’ve been working on a new card for the Apple II that would extend its capabilities using my favorite Wi-Fi module: the ESP32. I decided to called it a soft card, because similarly to the original Z80 SoftCard it contains its own processor allowing it to run software not originally meant for the Apple II. And similarly to the original 80-column card that was needed, it produces its own composite video enabled through a soft switch. Both NTSC and PAL are supported and can be switched using a command. In addition it can produce 8-bit sound that is mixed and played through the Apple II speaker. For most of its applications the card also needs a FAT32 formatted microSD card.

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] ESP32 SoftCard Expansion Card for the Apple II from CVT on Tindie

      ESP32 SoftCard Expansion Card for the Apple II

    • [Wayback/Archive] Apple2idiot card (ESP32) | Applefritter

      It is an interesting and different take on interfacing an ESP32 module to an Apple II. It uses a dual ported SRAM instead of trying to interface the ESP32 to the Apple II bus using something like 74LVC245s or through a parallel chip like a 6522 or 82C55 or through a serial chip like a 6551 or 6850.

      https://github.com/equant/apple2idiot

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] GitHub – equant/apple2idiot: A general purpose ESP32 IOT board for the Apple IIe

    • assembly lines

      [Wayback/Archive] Shop – CT6502 and [Wayback/Archive] Shop – Page 2 of 2 – CT6502a

      • [Wayback/Archive] Assembly Lines: The Mug – CT6502
        Assembly Lines: The Mug; Print-on-demand from Printful.

        Mug; handle left

        Mug; handle behind

        Mug; handle right

        This is a really cool idea including the Choplifter and Lode Runner main sprites on the mug. The right picture shows you can also get it in 15oz size.

      • Apple II wDrive Disk Drive Emulator

        [Wayback/Archive] Apple II wDrive Disk Drive Emulator – CT6502

        The wDrive is a disk drive emulator for the Apple II (II+, IIe, IIc, IIGS) that boots disk images (WOZ, DSK, 2MG, HDV, etc) from an SD card.

        Manufacturer: [Wayback/Archive] Mfa2 Workshop

        We are developer of wDrive, softSP card and related accessories which are published through Kboo HK

        [email protected]

        Note it there are two options to choose from:

        • USD ~80: wDrive only (Apple IIc and IIGS)
        • USD ~100: wDrive plus SoftSP card (Apple II, II+, IIe)

        The second option includes this one:

      • MFA2 SoftSP Card

        [Wayback/Archive] Apple II MFA2 SoftSP Card wDrive or FujiNet – CT6502

        The SoftSP card allows you to boot hard disk images or use FujiNet devices on an Apple II+ or IIe, which do not have SmartPort support.

        The SoftSP card is not needed on the Apple IIc or Apple IIGS.

        …

        The SoftSP card should be placed into a slot lower than the wDrive disk controller card. Slot 1 or 2 usually works well.

        Note: The SoftSP card will also work with the FloppyEMU. However, you MUST use a special drive cable that isolates pin 12, to avoid damaging your FloppyEMU. You do not need to use this cable with the wDrive, although it won’t cause any issues if you do. You can find details about the issue here.

        That last bit is really really important as SoftSP only can be installed in a system that also connects to a FloppyEMU under these circumstances:

        • Connect the FloppyEMU to a Yellowstone is a universal disk controller card for Apple II computers (see below), especially since the Yellowstone also supports both wDrive and FujiNet.
        • Connect the FloppyEMU to an original Disk Controller, but cut wire #12 as explained in [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu SoftSP Warning | Big Mess o’ Wires

          You can’t safely connect a Smartport device to a Disk II controller card, no matter how the card’s internal logic might be modified. That includes Floppy Emu when it’s configured in Smartport emulation mode. The reason is that Smartport devices connect pin 12 internally to ground. This is how other connected equipment and daisy-chained drives know that they’re Smartport drives, and it’s essential for correct daisy-chain operation of Smartport drives with the BMOW Daisy Chainer or the Apple Unidisk 3.5 drive.

        Both options essentially makes the SoftSP unneeded for FloppyEMU, and with this signalling problem for wire #12 (which is the SmartPort compatibility indicator) I am not sure which other SmartPort devices besides wDrive will actually work with the Apple ][, Apple ][+ and Apple //e without damaging the SmartPort device.

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    Another shop via [Wayback/Archive] Big Mess o’ Wires -> [Wayback/Archive] Big Mess o’ Wires Store

    Bring new life to your classic computer

    From disk emulators to ROM upgrades, keyboard and mouse adapters, and more hardware creations, BMOW has your retrocomputer needs covered.

    • Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller Card and two DB-19 female adapters

      [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Disk Controller Everything Bundle – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Yellowstone is a universal disk controller card for Apple II computers. It supports nearly every type of Apple disk drive ever made, including standard 3.5 inch drives, 5.25 inch drives, smart drives like the Unidisk 3.5 and the BMOW Floppy Emu’s smartport hard disk, and even Macintosh 3.5 inch drives. Yellowstone combines the power of an Apple 3.5 Disk Controller Card, a standard 5.25 inch Disk II controller card, the Apple Liron controller, and more, all in a single card.

      …

      The “everything” bundle includes the latest version Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller Card and two DB-19 female adapters

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone: Cloning the Apple II Liron | Big Mess o’ Wires

        …

        The “Liron” disk controller was introduced by Apple in 1985. More formally known as the Apple II UniDisk 3.5 Controller, it’s designed to work with a new generation of “smart” disk drives more sophisticated than the venerable Disk II 5.25 inch floppy drive. The smart disk port on the Liron is appropriately named the Smartport, and it can communicate with block-based storage devices such as the Unidisk 3.5 (an early 800K drive) and Smartport-based Apple II hard drives.
        Why care about the Liron? The Apple IIc and Apple IIgs have integrated disk ports with built-in Smartport functionality, but for the earlier Apple II+ and IIe, the Liron is the only way to get a Smartport. For owners of the BMOW Floppy Emu disk emulator, the Liron card makes it possible to use the Floppy Emu as an external hard drive for the II+ and IIe. Unfortunately finding a Liron is difficult, and although they occasionally turn up on eBay, they’re quite expensive. That made cloning the Liron a logical first goal.

        …

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller – Big Mess o’ Wires

        Article: [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller for Apple II | Big Mess o’ Wires – Run any disk drive with your Apple II computer!

        Supported Drives

        Need to attach a disk drive to your Apple II? Yellowstone has got you covered. Yellowstone is compatible with the Apple IIe, Apple IIgs, Apple II+, Apple II, and most Apple II clones. It works with these disk drives and drive emulators:

        Can be connected directlyDisk II A2M0003Naked Apple 3.5” 800K, black labelNaked half-height Apple 5.25″Naked Apple 3.5” 800K, red labelFloppy Emu 5.25 modeNaked Apple 3.5” 1.44MB, auto-injectFloppy Emu Model C dual 5.25 modeNaked Apple 3.5” 1.44MB, manual-injectFloppy Emu 3.5 modewDriveFloppy Emu Unidisk 3.5 mode [1]Floppy Emu Smartport hard disk mode [1]And more…Requires optional DB-19F connectorUnidisk 5.25 A9M0104Macintosh 800K External M0131Disk IIc A2M4050Apple SuperDrive (Apple FDHD Drive) G7287Duo Disk 5.25 A9M0108Unidisk 3.5 A2M2053 [1]AppleDisk 5.25 A9M01075Applied Engineering 3.5 [2]Laser FD100 5.25Apple 3.5 Drive A9M0106And more…

        [1] smart drive
        [2] partial compatibility

        When using 3.5 inch drives, Yellowstone is compatible with Apple II standard 800K double-sided double-density disk media.

        A naked drive is a bare drive mechanism without any enclosure, such as an internal drive taken from a Macintosh, Apple IIc, or Apple IIc+.

        Yes, pull the internal 3.5 inch drive from an old Mac and use it directly with your Apple II!

        This brought back Applied Engineering memories (:

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone DB-19 Female Disk Adapter – Big Mess o’ Wires

        The adapter includes a six inch ribbon cable and a detachable mini-board that converts the ribbon cable connector into a DB-19 female shape.

        …

        This adapter has custom wiring that’s specifically designed for use with Yellowstone, and should not be used with other disk hardware.

        Can be connected directly to Yellowstone boardApple Disk II A2M0003BMOW Floppy EmuNaked Apple 5.25” DriveswDriveNaked Apple 3.5” DrivesRequires Yellowstone DB-19F adapterUnidisk 5.25 A9M0104Macintosh 800K External M0131Disk IIc A2M4050Apple SuperDrive (Apple FDHD Drive) G7287Duo Disk 5.25 A9M0108Unidisk 3.5 A2M2053AppleDisk 5.25 A9M01075Applied Engineering 3.5Apple 3.5 Drive A9M0106Laser FD100 5.25 A naked drive is a bare drive mechanism without any enclosure, such as an internal drive taken from a Macintosh, Apple IIc, or Apple IIc+.

        (note that’s a ~15 cm ribbon cable)

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Back From the Dead | Big Mess o’ Wires

    • Floppy Emu Model C Deluxe Bundle

      USD 130 [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu Model C Deluxe Bundle – Big Mess o’ Wires

      The BMOW Floppy Emu is a disk emulator for classic Apple II, Macintosh, and Lisa computers.

      …

      The bundle includes:

      • Floppy Emu Model C
      • Frosted Ice Acrylic Case
      • Vintage Apple Software Collection SD Card
      • Full-Size SD Adapter
      • Disk Extension Cable

      [Wayback/Archive] BMOW Floppy EMU for Vintage Apple Computers! | Mastergeko4 – YouTube shot at the time the YouTuber was quite a novice, which brought back memories of me being young and figuring out things by fiddling with them and bumping my head against walls (:

    • Noisy Disk Mechanical Sounder with 2 ribbon cables attached

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] Noisy Disk Mechanical Sounder – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Noisy Disk uses a mechanical relay to create authentic-sounding mechanical stepping sounds for disk head movements for your Floppy Emu disk emulator’s virtual 5.25 inch floppy disk.

      …

      Nothing will be harmed if Noisy Disk is used with other computers or emulation modes, but you’ll hear strange clacking noises that don’t match the disk activity.

      …

      The product includes the Noisy Disk board with 2 x 10 pin rectangular input and output connectors, and a 6-inch extension cable for connecting to your Floppy Emu board.

      This likely sounds exactly like the more expensive Disk Clicker which was reviewed at [Wayback/Archive] Testing the New Classic Floppy Clicker on Apple Floppy Emulator – Authentic Retro Sounds! – YouTube and sold at [Wayback/Archive] Disk Clicker – 8bitdevices.com

    • Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc

      USD 25 [Wayback/Archive] Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc – Big Mess o’ Wires

      At the flip of a switch, select which Apple IIc floppy drives should act as Drive 1 and Drive 2. Add support for dual external 5.25 inch floppy emulation. For the Apple IIc with the Floppy Emu disk emulator.

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc | Big Mess o’ Wires

      This is a two-part device: a signal tap that should be installed inside the Apple IIc, and a modified DB19 adapter with two slide switches for the external connection. Two female-female jumper wires are passed through a gap in the case to make the connection between the two parts.

    • Daisy Chainer Disk Coupler

      USD 45 [Wayback/Archive] Daisy Chainer Disk Coupler – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Link the Floppy Emu disk emulator into a daisy chain with other Apple II disk drives. For use with Floppy Emu Model B and C.

      …

      In order to work correctly, Apple II computers require daisy chained drives to be connected in a specific order:

      1. any 3.5 inch drives must go first in the chain
      2. Smartport and Unidisk 3.5 inch drives must go second
      3. any 5.25 inch drives must go last

      There can be at most two drives of each type, six drives total.

      …

      There are two primary firmware versions for the Floppy Emu: normal firmware and Smartport daisy chain SPDC firmware. When using a Floppy Emu with the Daisy Chainer, the SPDC firmware is required if your Emu is configured to emulate a Smartport Hard Disk or a Unidisk 3.5. In all other cases, the normal firmware should be used.

      [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu Update: Smartport Daisy-Chain Support | Big Mess o’ Wires

      Most people should use the normal firmware version, and it’s the default for newly-purchased hardware. The Smartport daisy chain firmware version is only needed in uncommon situations when:

      1. The Floppy Emu’s selected emulation mode is Smartport Hard Disk, Smartport Unit 2, or Unidisk 3.5AND

      2. The Floppy Emu is plugged into the back of a BMOW Daisy Chainer or to the Apple Unidisk 3.5 drive, A2M2053.

      The wiki.apple2.org died, so here are archived links: [Wayback/Archive] wiki.apple2.org: A2 3.5 Drives -> Apple UniDisk 3.5 (A2M2053)

      Daisy Chainer clear acrylic case

      Oh: there is also this one for it:

    • USD 10 [Wayback/Archive] Clear Acrylic Case for Daisy Chainer – Big Mess o’ Wires

      A clear acrylic case to protect and showcase your Daisy Chainer board. These custom-made Daisy Chainer cases protect your board in style!

      …

      This is a top-and-bottom “plate” style case with open sides. Assembly takes about 5 minutes.

    • Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Select between a Floppy Emu and a real floppy drive at the flip of a switch. Includes switch module and one 3 foot 20-pin ribbon cable.

      …

      For Lisa computer owners, and Macs with only one internal floppy connector, disk drive emulation can be awkward sometimes. The Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch aims to eliminate that awkwardness. This accessory makes it possible to attach a Floppy Emu and a real floppy disk drive at the same time, and select between them with a switch. Both drives will be powered, but the computer will only “see” one drive at a time, depending on the switch position.

      …

      ⚠ Do not use Floppy Emu’s Dual 5.25 mode in combination with the A/B Switch. It will cause disk errors and may damage the Floppy Emu or your other 5.25 inch drive.

    Macintosh specific stuff from BMOW:

    Then there is a shop on the Cayman Islands that ships world wide and has both the Mac ROM SIMM and the Mac ROMM SIMM programmer:

    And there is [Wayback/Archive] a2heaven: For everyone who still loves and uses old computers.:

    • Liron Reborn

      USD 60 [Wayback/Archive] Liron Reborn

      Liron Reborn is a Samrt Port / Disk II controller card for Apple II/IIe computers.

      It is a functional hardware compatible Liron clone , with original Liron card Firmware.

      A difference from Original Liron card is that card can be used as a a standard 5.25 inch (Disk II) controller or Liron ( SmartPort ) card .

      I likely won’t need this as the Yellowstone card looks way more promising

    • FASTChip //e – 65C02

      USD 150 [Wayback/Archive] FASTChip //e – 65C02

      The FASTChip //e accelerates the Apple //e™ by replacing the on-board microprocessor with a much faster one. Because the memory on the Apple //e™ can only run at a 1 MHz speed maximum, faster memory (SRAM) must be provided to increase performance and allow the 65C02/65C816 CPU to run at full speed.

      To do this, the FASTChip //e contains 512KB/1024KB of fast SRAM memory. The clever design allows the acceleration of programs running in both main and auxiliary memory. The additional FASTChip //e memory can emulate both 192/448 KB fast RamWorks compatible RAM and 256/512 KB fast RamFactor (slinky) compatible RAM.

      [Wayback/Archive] REVIEW: FastChip //e Accellerator by A2Heaven – YouTube

    • 65C816->65C02 Board

      USD 35 [Wayback/Archive] 65C816->65C02 Board

      You can use 65C816->65C02 board to connect 65C816 CPU to your Apple II computer .

      …

      * This board was based on Daryl Rictor’s original design. More information can be found here: sbc.rictor.org/support/conv.html

      [Wayback/Archive] 65816 to 6502 converter by Daryl Rictor.

    • DB19 to IDC20

      USD 11 [Wayback/Archive] DB19 to IDC20 Floppy Disk adapter

      DB19 to IDC20 Floppy Disk adapter

      …

      directly connect IDC20 Pin Cable  connector to the 19-pin port of Apple IIc, or to a floppy controller with a 19-pin connector

      Probably cheaper to use the package deals from BMOW

    • IDC20 to DB19 cable adapter

      USD 13 [Wayback/Archive] IDC20 to DB19 cable adapter

      The product is designed to be directly connect IDC20 pin connector to the DB19 pin port .

      Likely the combo from BMOW is cheaper.

      TrackStar II

       

    • USD 75 [Wayback/Archive] TRAK STAR II

      Readout of Disk Drive head position .

      …

      Constant Digital Readout of Disk Drive head position .

      Work with any 5″ Apple II compatible Drive .
      Display Full , Half and Quarter track head position .

      Nice idea, but has not been in stock for a long time and feels overpriced.

    • Quadlink Clone Kit

      USD 160 [Wayback/Archive] Quadlink Clone Kit

      It’s an ISA expansion card from the ’80s designed to turn your IBM PC (such as a 5150 or 5160) into an Apple ][! After booting and running the software, you can switch quickly between PC and Apple mode using Ctrl-Alt-A (for Apple) and Ctrl-Alt-P (for PC).

      Kit contain all PCB , passive components and chips needed to build working Quadlink Clone .

      [Wayback/Archive] GitHub – schlae/quapple: Quadlink clone turns your ancient IBM PC into an Apple ][

      Only useful if I find back an ISA compatible PC.

    • 3D Stickers set

      USD 10 [Wayback/Archive] 3D Stickers set

      Apple II logo and Disk II label sticker set .

      Actually this is quite a nice idea, despite them having been out of stock like forever.

    • RamFactor1M

      USD 85 [Wayback/Archive] RamFactor1M

      RamFactor1M is based on Aplied Engineering RAMFactor card ( firmware is same as original ), however it uses more modern low power 1MB SRAM and can provided battery backup up to 1-2 Year with small CR2032 Battery.

      The battery is for backup data (just like PowerFactor from Aplied Engineering ) and can be used as Solid State Disk.

      This is a trip down memory lane, though back then school could not afford these.

    • Apple II Slot Extender

      USD 40 [Wayback/Archive] Apple II Slot Extender

      The Apple II slot extender allows you to easily and freely test the functionality and repair your Apple II cards outside of the computer.

      You can also turn off voltages that aren’t necessary for the card to work to prevent testing errors.

      Package include

      • 1 x Apple II extender PCB bottom
      • 1 x Apple II extender PCB Top
      • 1 x 50 pin Flat ribbon cable with 0.5m length ( contact me if you want a longer cable )
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    One more shop (: I think I found it searching for [Wayback/Archive] BlueSCSI, but anyway at [Wayback/Archive] Shop – Joe’s Computer Museum, focussing on [Wayback/Archive] Apple //e Archives – Joe’s Computer Museum I found these interesting items:

    For all shops: I didn’t list all of their items, just the ones that I might use in the future.

    An interesting device I did not know about either was the FujiNet one: it is fully open source! One thing to check out is where to order pre-assembled ones for Apple II series.

    • [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet · GitHub
      FujiNet is a multi-peripheral emulator and WiFi network device for vintage computers. The first completed hardware was for the Atari 8-Bit line of computers and development has begun for other systems (Coleco ADAM, Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari Lynx, ZX Spectrum and more) with the goal of supporting as many old systems as possible. What sets FujiNet apart from other WiFi devices is the new Network Device (the N Device). The N device allows vintage computers that do not have enough processing power to handle TCP/IP connections themselves to talk to the modern internet over WiFi. Virtual adapters have been created for many protocols including: TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, TNFS, HTTPS (SSL/TLS), SSH, TELNET, WebDAV and JSON parser. The FujiNet project is 100% completely open source, software and hardware. All code and schematics are available here.
    • [Wayback/Archive] FutureVision Research was the only shop I found selling them, but I probably overlooked others.
      • [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet – FutureVision Research

      • Apple II/III FujiNet w/ accesoiries

        USD 110 [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet for Apple II & III (With Accessories) – FutureVision Research

        The FujiApple Rev1.1 for SmartPort enabled Apple II computers emulates SmartPort drives, Disk II drives (read only), CP/M, Clock, Modem, and a new Network Device. Disk images can be mounted directly from the internet via TNFS servers or from the onboard MicroSD socket*. The Network device enables access to Internet protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, TNFS, SSH, TCP, UDP and more.

        …

        This kit comes with the following (ribbon cable color may be gray or rainbow depending on availability):
        • FujiNet for Apple II & III
        • DB-19 to IDC20 Female adapter
        • 30cm IDC20 Female to Male cable
        • 30cm IDC20 Female to Female cable
        • DB-19 spacer
        • Two different lengths of thumbscrews
          • Two 1.375″ thumbscrews for use with IIe/III
          • Two 1.5″ thumbscrews for use with IIc/gs/+

        The page contains many more helpful information and links.

     

    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Some non-shop links

    An external monitor on a Macingosh SE/30

    Mac SE/30 and Macintosh Classic

    Since I own both a Macintosh SE/30 and a Macintosh Classic, these are relevant too:

    Queries

    I used additional queries than the first blog post to complete this blog post. Here they are:

    --jeroen

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Rate this:

    #12 #156 #25 #3dprint #3dprinting #4 #Apple #appleiigs #AprilApples

    #3dprint #3dprinting #apple #appleiigs #aprilapples
  5. The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff @[email protected] ·

    More Apple ][*, //* II* and classic Macintosh hardware upgrades

    The mini micro classic Apple emulators related post last week became way too big, so here is the classic Apple 2/Macintosh hardware upgrade part follow-up I announced in Some notes on mini/micro Apple //e emulators.

    Last week, I mentioned [Wayback/Archive] ARC Javmaster – YouTube. Let’s continue from there for an even bigger post (:

    Javmaster actually has a shop at [Wayback/Archive] Welcome to the 8-bit stuff store – 8 bit stuff cool retro computer 3D gadgets and geekery with a lot of interesting (mainly Apple ][ era related) retro things like:

    8bitstuff also pointed me to this shop with cool parts helping you fix Apple ][* and Apple //e and II* model issues: [Wayback/Archive] Shop | ReActiveMicro.com which is part of [Wayback/Archive] ReActiveMicro.com which has this great card in their catalog:

    and other hardware like:

    • Disk ][+ v1.0 kit

      USD 30-40 [Wayback/Archive] Disk ][+ – Assembled or Kit | ReActiveMicro.com

      Disk ][+ v1.0 is a small PCB that installs into Apple Disk ][ drives. It replaces the red LED in the drives with a two-color LED, to better distinguish the reading phases, in green, from the writing phases, in red. Comes assembled or in kit form.

      Notes:

      • You need one set for each drive.
      • I don’t really like the way they connect to the drive electronics, see picture below from [Wayback/Archive] Disk II+ – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki . Instead of the pin, I would likely solder the wires to the electronics.

        4 hook probes connected to the Disk II analog board.

    • Apple IIe Enhancement Kit

      USD 30-35 [Wayback/Archive] IIe Enhancement Kit | ReActiveMicro.com

      Comes with an ‘Enhanced’ paper template, 65C02 CPU, and all the ROM’s necessary to upgrade your Apple IIe.

      [Wayback/Archive] Apple IIe Enhancement Kit – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki

      Note it has various options (USA vs European Apple //e, plus  languages: check before you order!)

      I need to check if my Apple //e already has this enhancement kit.

    • No-Slot Clock v1.0

      USD 65 [Wayback/Archive] No-Slot Clock | ReActiveMicro.com

      The No-Slot Clock v1.0 allows your Apple II to remember the date and time. It will work on an Apple II, Apple II+, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, and Clone systems. It features dual battery holders. Two CR1025 cells included.

      The No Slot Clock does not fit in to the IIc or IIc+ with a RAM Card installed.

      [Wayback/Archive] No-Slot Clock – The ReActiveMicro Apple II Wiki

      Likely won’t needs this as ROMXe and ROMXc both include a clock.

    • Ultimate-Micro.com Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0

      USD 200 [Wayback/Archive] Apple II 3.5 Disk Controller Card | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0 from Ultimate-Micro.com.

      The Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card v1.0 is a clone of Apple’s Apple II 3.5″ Disk Controller Card. The disk controller card allows you to use 3.5-inch floppy disk drives, including the Apple SuperDrive and Apple 3.5 Drive, with all Apple II computers. This card also supports the operation of older model Apple II UniDisk 3.5 drives.

      Not sure if I really want this one, especially with the USD 200 price tag: The Ultimate-Micro.com domain vanished and the Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller mentioned below at USD 170 (including cables) can do more.

    • Apple II A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver For Your Apple II Systems | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the A2io Bluetooth Game Port Receiver from CraftyMech and designed by Aaron Reid. Works on all Apple II systems with a 9 pin game port.

      …

      A2io allow you to connect and use a modern wireless game pad as either a joystick, paddle, or pad input device. You pair the game pad with your mobile device (phone/tablet/laptop) and then connect to the A2io. The mobile device acts like a translator between your Apple and game pad.

    • CFFA 300 REV C

      USD 225 [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM for II, II+, ///, IIe, and IIgs | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM built by ReActiveMicro under license from R&D Automation.

      …

      The CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C-RM Controller is a Mass Storage Device and Floppy Emulator that once installed in your Apple II system acts like a solid-state Hard Drive using Compact Flash Cards and USB Flash Drives. Floppy Emulation allows users to load .PO images as if they were physical disk. See the manual for more details. There is also discussion about adding .WOZ support, and we will post updates if/when it happens.

      Comes with CF Card as pictured, and with Remote option standard. Manual can be found here for review.

      Plug and play ready, and fully tested. Comes started with **256MB** CF Card, preloaded with several ProDOS 8 volumes with games and utilities, and several GS/OS volumes. You can select which one to boot using the on-board firmware menu (press “M” key on power up).

      [Wayback/Archive] wiki.reactivemicro.com/images/9/9d/2021-10-23-CFFA-RM_Manual.pdf

      I already have this, including the original remote back in 2014 from dreher: [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 Run 3: Order Status

    • CFFA3000 Remote

      USD 40 [Wayback/Archive] CFFA3000 – Remote Option With Cable | ReActiveMicro.com

      This is the CFFA3000 Remote option built by ReActiveMicro under license from R&D Automation. ***REMOTE ONLY!***
      ReActiveMicro is an authorized dealer and partner with R&D

      …

      The CFFA3000 Remote option comes with the connector cable, which attaches to the CFFA3000 card installed in your Apple II system. It comes as pictured, with the Remote, the connection cable, and a 3D printed enclosure.

    Finally it pointed me to [Wayback/Archive] Home | JD Micro which has RAMX (for Apple ][* systems) and ROMX (variants for any Apple 2 model) for which these are most applicable to my systems (both ROMX versions also contain the fonts mentioned in their blog post [Wayback/Archive] 11th May 2021 | JD Micro):

    [Wayback/Archive] Review: ROMX+ Device for Apple II+ – YouTube

    Other results from the queries I used in the post last week also returned some hardware that can be used for classic Apple machines:

    • [Wayback/Archive] The ESP32 SoftCard for the Apple II | Applefritter

      I’ve been working on a new card for the Apple II that would extend its capabilities using my favorite Wi-Fi module: the ESP32. I decided to called it a soft card, because similarly to the original Z80 SoftCard it contains its own processor allowing it to run software not originally meant for the Apple II. And similarly to the original 80-column card that was needed, it produces its own composite video enabled through a soft switch. Both NTSC and PAL are supported and can be switched using a command. In addition it can produce 8-bit sound that is mixed and played through the Apple II speaker. For most of its applications the card also needs a FAT32 formatted microSD card.

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] ESP32 SoftCard Expansion Card for the Apple II from CVT on Tindie

      ESP32 SoftCard Expansion Card for the Apple II

    • [Wayback/Archive] Apple2idiot card (ESP32) | Applefritter

      It is an interesting and different take on interfacing an ESP32 module to an Apple II. It uses a dual ported SRAM instead of trying to interface the ESP32 to the Apple II bus using something like 74LVC245s or through a parallel chip like a 6522 or 82C55 or through a serial chip like a 6551 or 6850.

      https://github.com/equant/apple2idiot

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] GitHub – equant/apple2idiot: A general purpose ESP32 IOT board for the Apple IIe

    • assembly lines

      [Wayback/Archive] Shop – CT6502 and [Wayback/Archive] Shop – Page 2 of 2 – CT6502a

      • [Wayback/Archive] Assembly Lines: The Mug – CT6502
        Assembly Lines: The Mug; Print-on-demand from Printful.

        Mug; handle left

        Mug; handle behind

        Mug; handle right

        This is a really cool idea including the Choplifter and Lode Runner main sprites on the mug. The right picture shows you can also get it in 15oz size.

      • Apple II wDrive Disk Drive Emulator

        [Wayback/Archive] Apple II wDrive Disk Drive Emulator – CT6502

        The wDrive is a disk drive emulator for the Apple II (II+, IIe, IIc, IIGS) that boots disk images (WOZ, DSK, 2MG, HDV, etc) from an SD card.

        Manufacturer: [Wayback/Archive] Mfa2 Workshop

        We are developer of wDrive, softSP card and related accessories which are published through Kboo HK

        [email protected]

        Note it there are two options to choose from:

        • USD ~80: wDrive only (Apple IIc and IIGS)
        • USD ~100: wDrive plus SoftSP card (Apple II, II+, IIe)

        The second option includes this one:

      • MFA2 SoftSP Card

        [Wayback/Archive] Apple II MFA2 SoftSP Card wDrive or FujiNet – CT6502

        The SoftSP card allows you to boot hard disk images or use FujiNet devices on an Apple II+ or IIe, which do not have SmartPort support.

        The SoftSP card is not needed on the Apple IIc or Apple IIGS.

        …

        The SoftSP card should be placed into a slot lower than the wDrive disk controller card. Slot 1 or 2 usually works well.

        Note: The SoftSP card will also work with the FloppyEMU. However, you MUST use a special drive cable that isolates pin 12, to avoid damaging your FloppyEMU. You do not need to use this cable with the wDrive, although it won’t cause any issues if you do. You can find details about the issue here.

        That last bit is really really important as SoftSP only can be installed in a system that also connects to a FloppyEMU under these circumstances:

        • Connect the FloppyEMU to a Yellowstone is a universal disk controller card for Apple II computers (see below), especially since the Yellowstone also supports both wDrive and FujiNet.
        • Connect the FloppyEMU to an original Disk Controller, but cut wire #12 as explained in [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu SoftSP Warning | Big Mess o’ Wires

          You can’t safely connect a Smartport device to a Disk II controller card, no matter how the card’s internal logic might be modified. That includes Floppy Emu when it’s configured in Smartport emulation mode. The reason is that Smartport devices connect pin 12 internally to ground. This is how other connected equipment and daisy-chained drives know that they’re Smartport drives, and it’s essential for correct daisy-chain operation of Smartport drives with the BMOW Daisy Chainer or the Apple Unidisk 3.5 drive.

        Both options essentially makes the SoftSP unneeded for FloppyEMU, and with this signalling problem for wire #12 (which is the SmartPort compatibility indicator) I am not sure which other SmartPort devices besides wDrive will actually work with the Apple ][, Apple ][+ and Apple //e without damaging the SmartPort device.

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    Another shop via [Wayback/Archive] Big Mess o’ Wires -> [Wayback/Archive] Big Mess o’ Wires Store

    Bring new life to your classic computer

    From disk emulators to ROM upgrades, keyboard and mouse adapters, and more hardware creations, BMOW has your retrocomputer needs covered.

    • Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller Card and two DB-19 female adapters

      [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Disk Controller Everything Bundle – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Yellowstone is a universal disk controller card for Apple II computers. It supports nearly every type of Apple disk drive ever made, including standard 3.5 inch drives, 5.25 inch drives, smart drives like the Unidisk 3.5 and the BMOW Floppy Emu’s smartport hard disk, and even Macintosh 3.5 inch drives. Yellowstone combines the power of an Apple 3.5 Disk Controller Card, a standard 5.25 inch Disk II controller card, the Apple Liron controller, and more, all in a single card.

      …

      The “everything” bundle includes the latest version Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller Card and two DB-19 female adapters

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone: Cloning the Apple II Liron | Big Mess o’ Wires

        …

        The “Liron” disk controller was introduced by Apple in 1985. More formally known as the Apple II UniDisk 3.5 Controller, it’s designed to work with a new generation of “smart” disk drives more sophisticated than the venerable Disk II 5.25 inch floppy drive. The smart disk port on the Liron is appropriately named the Smartport, and it can communicate with block-based storage devices such as the Unidisk 3.5 (an early 800K drive) and Smartport-based Apple II hard drives.
        Why care about the Liron? The Apple IIc and Apple IIgs have integrated disk ports with built-in Smartport functionality, but for the earlier Apple II+ and IIe, the Liron is the only way to get a Smartport. For owners of the BMOW Floppy Emu disk emulator, the Liron card makes it possible to use the Floppy Emu as an external hard drive for the II+ and IIe. Unfortunately finding a Liron is difficult, and although they occasionally turn up on eBay, they’re quite expensive. That made cloning the Liron a logical first goal.

        …

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller – Big Mess o’ Wires

        Article: [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Universal Disk Controller for Apple II | Big Mess o’ Wires – Run any disk drive with your Apple II computer!

        Supported Drives

        Need to attach a disk drive to your Apple II? Yellowstone has got you covered. Yellowstone is compatible with the Apple IIe, Apple IIgs, Apple II+, Apple II, and most Apple II clones. It works with these disk drives and drive emulators:

        Can be connected directlyDisk II A2M0003Naked Apple 3.5” 800K, black labelNaked half-height Apple 5.25″Naked Apple 3.5” 800K, red labelFloppy Emu 5.25 modeNaked Apple 3.5” 1.44MB, auto-injectFloppy Emu Model C dual 5.25 modeNaked Apple 3.5” 1.44MB, manual-injectFloppy Emu 3.5 modewDriveFloppy Emu Unidisk 3.5 mode [1]Floppy Emu Smartport hard disk mode [1]And more…Requires optional DB-19F connectorUnidisk 5.25 A9M0104Macintosh 800K External M0131Disk IIc A2M4050Apple SuperDrive (Apple FDHD Drive) G7287Duo Disk 5.25 A9M0108Unidisk 3.5 A2M2053 [1]AppleDisk 5.25 A9M01075Applied Engineering 3.5 [2]Laser FD100 5.25Apple 3.5 Drive A9M0106And more…

        [1] smart drive
        [2] partial compatibility

        When using 3.5 inch drives, Yellowstone is compatible with Apple II standard 800K double-sided double-density disk media.

        A naked drive is a bare drive mechanism without any enclosure, such as an internal drive taken from a Macintosh, Apple IIc, or Apple IIc+.

        Yes, pull the internal 3.5 inch drive from an old Mac and use it directly with your Apple II!

        This brought back Applied Engineering memories (:

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone DB-19 Female Disk Adapter – Big Mess o’ Wires

        The adapter includes a six inch ribbon cable and a detachable mini-board that converts the ribbon cable connector into a DB-19 female shape.

        …

        This adapter has custom wiring that’s specifically designed for use with Yellowstone, and should not be used with other disk hardware.

        Can be connected directly to Yellowstone boardApple Disk II A2M0003BMOW Floppy EmuNaked Apple 5.25” DriveswDriveNaked Apple 3.5” DrivesRequires Yellowstone DB-19F adapterUnidisk 5.25 A9M0104Macintosh 800K External M0131Disk IIc A2M4050Apple SuperDrive (Apple FDHD Drive) G7287Duo Disk 5.25 A9M0108Unidisk 3.5 A2M2053AppleDisk 5.25 A9M01075Applied Engineering 3.5Apple 3.5 Drive A9M0106Laser FD100 5.25 A naked drive is a bare drive mechanism without any enclosure, such as an internal drive taken from a Macintosh, Apple IIc, or Apple IIc+.

        (note that’s a ~15 cm ribbon cable)

      • [Wayback/Archive] Yellowstone Back From the Dead | Big Mess o’ Wires

    • Floppy Emu Model C Deluxe Bundle

      USD 130 [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu Model C Deluxe Bundle – Big Mess o’ Wires

      The BMOW Floppy Emu is a disk emulator for classic Apple II, Macintosh, and Lisa computers.

      …

      The bundle includes:

      • Floppy Emu Model C
      • Frosted Ice Acrylic Case
      • Vintage Apple Software Collection SD Card
      • Full-Size SD Adapter
      • Disk Extension Cable

      [Wayback/Archive] BMOW Floppy EMU for Vintage Apple Computers! | Mastergeko4 – YouTube shot at the time the YouTuber was quite a novice, which brought back memories of me being young and figuring out things by fiddling with them and bumping my head against walls (:

    • Noisy Disk Mechanical Sounder with 2 ribbon cables attached

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] Noisy Disk Mechanical Sounder – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Noisy Disk uses a mechanical relay to create authentic-sounding mechanical stepping sounds for disk head movements for your Floppy Emu disk emulator’s virtual 5.25 inch floppy disk.

      …

      Nothing will be harmed if Noisy Disk is used with other computers or emulation modes, but you’ll hear strange clacking noises that don’t match the disk activity.

      …

      The product includes the Noisy Disk board with 2 x 10 pin rectangular input and output connectors, and a 6-inch extension cable for connecting to your Floppy Emu board.

      This likely sounds exactly like the more expensive Disk Clicker which was reviewed at [Wayback/Archive] Testing the New Classic Floppy Clicker on Apple Floppy Emulator – Authentic Retro Sounds! – YouTube and sold at [Wayback/Archive] Disk Clicker – 8bitdevices.com

    • Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc

      USD 25 [Wayback/Archive] Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc – Big Mess o’ Wires

      At the flip of a switch, select which Apple IIc floppy drives should act as Drive 1 and Drive 2. Add support for dual external 5.25 inch floppy emulation. For the Apple IIc with the Floppy Emu disk emulator.

      …

      [Wayback/Archive] Internal/External Drive Switcher for Apple IIc | Big Mess o’ Wires

      This is a two-part device: a signal tap that should be installed inside the Apple IIc, and a modified DB19 adapter with two slide switches for the external connection. Two female-female jumper wires are passed through a gap in the case to make the connection between the two parts.

    • Daisy Chainer Disk Coupler

      USD 45 [Wayback/Archive] Daisy Chainer Disk Coupler – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Link the Floppy Emu disk emulator into a daisy chain with other Apple II disk drives. For use with Floppy Emu Model B and C.

      …

      In order to work correctly, Apple II computers require daisy chained drives to be connected in a specific order:

      1. any 3.5 inch drives must go first in the chain
      2. Smartport and Unidisk 3.5 inch drives must go second
      3. any 5.25 inch drives must go last

      There can be at most two drives of each type, six drives total.

      …

      There are two primary firmware versions for the Floppy Emu: normal firmware and Smartport daisy chain SPDC firmware. When using a Floppy Emu with the Daisy Chainer, the SPDC firmware is required if your Emu is configured to emulate a Smartport Hard Disk or a Unidisk 3.5. In all other cases, the normal firmware should be used.

      [Wayback/Archive] Floppy Emu Update: Smartport Daisy-Chain Support | Big Mess o’ Wires

      Most people should use the normal firmware version, and it’s the default for newly-purchased hardware. The Smartport daisy chain firmware version is only needed in uncommon situations when:

      1. The Floppy Emu’s selected emulation mode is Smartport Hard Disk, Smartport Unit 2, or Unidisk 3.5AND

      2. The Floppy Emu is plugged into the back of a BMOW Daisy Chainer or to the Apple Unidisk 3.5 drive, A2M2053.

      The wiki.apple2.org died, so here are archived links: [Wayback/Archive] wiki.apple2.org: A2 3.5 Drives -> Apple UniDisk 3.5 (A2M2053)

      Daisy Chainer clear acrylic case

      Oh: there is also this one for it:

    • USD 10 [Wayback/Archive] Clear Acrylic Case for Daisy Chainer – Big Mess o’ Wires

      A clear acrylic case to protect and showcase your Daisy Chainer board. These custom-made Daisy Chainer cases protect your board in style!

      …

      This is a top-and-bottom “plate” style case with open sides. Assembly takes about 5 minutes.

    • Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch

      USD 20 [Wayback/Archive] Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch – Big Mess o’ Wires

      Select between a Floppy Emu and a real floppy drive at the flip of a switch. Includes switch module and one 3 foot 20-pin ribbon cable.

      …

      For Lisa computer owners, and Macs with only one internal floppy connector, disk drive emulation can be awkward sometimes. The Apple Disk Drive A/B Switch aims to eliminate that awkwardness. This accessory makes it possible to attach a Floppy Emu and a real floppy disk drive at the same time, and select between them with a switch. Both drives will be powered, but the computer will only “see” one drive at a time, depending on the switch position.

      …

      ⚠ Do not use Floppy Emu’s Dual 5.25 mode in combination with the A/B Switch. It will cause disk errors and may damage the Floppy Emu or your other 5.25 inch drive.

    Macintosh specific stuff from BMOW:

    Then there is a shop on the Cayman Islands that ships world wide and has both the Mac ROM SIMM and the Mac ROMM SIMM programmer:

    And there is [Wayback/Archive] a2heaven: For everyone who still loves and uses old computers.:

    • Liron Reborn

      USD 60 [Wayback/Archive] Liron Reborn

      Liron Reborn is a Samrt Port / Disk II controller card for Apple II/IIe computers.

      It is a functional hardware compatible Liron clone , with original Liron card Firmware.

      A difference from Original Liron card is that card can be used as a a standard 5.25 inch (Disk II) controller or Liron ( SmartPort ) card .

      I likely won’t need this as the Yellowstone card looks way more promising

    • FASTChip //e – 65C02

      USD 150 [Wayback/Archive] FASTChip //e – 65C02

      The FASTChip //e accelerates the Apple //e™ by replacing the on-board microprocessor with a much faster one. Because the memory on the Apple //e™ can only run at a 1 MHz speed maximum, faster memory (SRAM) must be provided to increase performance and allow the 65C02/65C816 CPU to run at full speed.

      To do this, the FASTChip //e contains 512KB/1024KB of fast SRAM memory. The clever design allows the acceleration of programs running in both main and auxiliary memory. The additional FASTChip //e memory can emulate both 192/448 KB fast RamWorks compatible RAM and 256/512 KB fast RamFactor (slinky) compatible RAM.

      [Wayback/Archive] REVIEW: FastChip //e Accellerator by A2Heaven – YouTube

    • 65C816->65C02 Board

      USD 35 [Wayback/Archive] 65C816->65C02 Board

      You can use 65C816->65C02 board to connect 65C816 CPU to your Apple II computer .

      …

      * This board was based on Daryl Rictor’s original design. More information can be found here: sbc.rictor.org/support/conv.html

      [Wayback/Archive] 65816 to 6502 converter by Daryl Rictor.

    • DB19 to IDC20

      USD 11 [Wayback/Archive] DB19 to IDC20 Floppy Disk adapter

      DB19 to IDC20 Floppy Disk adapter

      …

      directly connect IDC20 Pin Cable  connector to the 19-pin port of Apple IIc, or to a floppy controller with a 19-pin connector

      Probably cheaper to use the package deals from BMOW

    • IDC20 to DB19 cable adapter

      USD 13 [Wayback/Archive] IDC20 to DB19 cable adapter

      The product is designed to be directly connect IDC20 pin connector to the DB19 pin port .

      Likely the combo from BMOW is cheaper.

      TrackStar II

       

    • USD 75 [Wayback/Archive] TRAK STAR II

      Readout of Disk Drive head position .

      …

      Constant Digital Readout of Disk Drive head position .

      Work with any 5″ Apple II compatible Drive .
      Display Full , Half and Quarter track head position .

      Nice idea, but has not been in stock for a long time and feels overpriced.

    • Quadlink Clone Kit

      USD 160 [Wayback/Archive] Quadlink Clone Kit

      It’s an ISA expansion card from the ’80s designed to turn your IBM PC (such as a 5150 or 5160) into an Apple ][! After booting and running the software, you can switch quickly between PC and Apple mode using Ctrl-Alt-A (for Apple) and Ctrl-Alt-P (for PC).

      Kit contain all PCB , passive components and chips needed to build working Quadlink Clone .

      [Wayback/Archive] GitHub – schlae/quapple: Quadlink clone turns your ancient IBM PC into an Apple ][

      Only useful if I find back an ISA compatible PC.

    • 3D Stickers set

      USD 10 [Wayback/Archive] 3D Stickers set

      Apple II logo and Disk II label sticker set .

      Actually this is quite a nice idea, despite them having been out of stock like forever.

    • RamFactor1M

      USD 85 [Wayback/Archive] RamFactor1M

      RamFactor1M is based on Aplied Engineering RAMFactor card ( firmware is same as original ), however it uses more modern low power 1MB SRAM and can provided battery backup up to 1-2 Year with small CR2032 Battery.

      The battery is for backup data (just like PowerFactor from Aplied Engineering ) and can be used as Solid State Disk.

      This is a trip down memory lane, though back then school could not afford these.

    • Apple II Slot Extender

      USD 40 [Wayback/Archive] Apple II Slot Extender

      The Apple II slot extender allows you to easily and freely test the functionality and repair your Apple II cards outside of the computer.

      You can also turn off voltages that aren’t necessary for the card to work to prevent testing errors.

      Package include

      • 1 x Apple II extender PCB bottom
      • 1 x Apple II extender PCB Top
      • 1 x 50 pin Flat ribbon cable with 0.5m length ( contact me if you want a longer cable )
    • a
    • a
    • a
    • a
    • a
    • a
    • a
    • a

    One more shop (: I think I found it searching for [Wayback/Archive] BlueSCSI, but anyway at [Wayback/Archive] Shop – Joe’s Computer Museum, focussing on [Wayback/Archive] Apple //e Archives – Joe’s Computer Museum I found these interesting items:

    For all shops: I didn’t list all of their items, just the ones that I might use in the future.

    An interesting device I did not know about either was the FujiNet one: it is fully open source! One thing to check out is where to order pre-assembled ones for Apple II series.

    • [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet · GitHub
      FujiNet is a multi-peripheral emulator and WiFi network device for vintage computers. The first completed hardware was for the Atari 8-Bit line of computers and development has begun for other systems (Coleco ADAM, Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari Lynx, ZX Spectrum and more) with the goal of supporting as many old systems as possible. What sets FujiNet apart from other WiFi devices is the new Network Device (the N Device). The N device allows vintage computers that do not have enough processing power to handle TCP/IP connections themselves to talk to the modern internet over WiFi. Virtual adapters have been created for many protocols including: TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, TNFS, HTTPS (SSL/TLS), SSH, TELNET, WebDAV and JSON parser. The FujiNet project is 100% completely open source, software and hardware. All code and schematics are available here.
    • [Wayback/Archive] FutureVision Research was the only shop I found selling them, but I probably overlooked others.
      • [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet – FutureVision Research

      • Apple II/III FujiNet w/ accesoiries

        USD 110 [Wayback/Archive] FujiNet for Apple II & III (With Accessories) – FutureVision Research

        The FujiApple Rev1.1 for SmartPort enabled Apple II computers emulates SmartPort drives, Disk II drives (read only), CP/M, Clock, Modem, and a new Network Device. Disk images can be mounted directly from the internet via TNFS servers or from the onboard MicroSD socket*. The Network device enables access to Internet protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, TNFS, SSH, TCP, UDP and more.

        …

        This kit comes with the following (ribbon cable color may be gray or rainbow depending on availability):
        • FujiNet for Apple II & III
        • DB-19 to IDC20 Female adapter
        • 30cm IDC20 Female to Male cable
        • 30cm IDC20 Female to Female cable
        • DB-19 spacer
        • Two different lengths of thumbscrews
          • Two 1.375″ thumbscrews for use with IIe/III
          • Two 1.5″ thumbscrews for use with IIc/gs/+

        The page contains many more helpful information and links.

     

    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Some non-shop links

    An external monitor on a Macingosh SE/30

    Mac SE/30 and Macintosh Classic

    Since I own both a Macintosh SE/30 and a Macintosh Classic, these are relevant too:

    Queries

    I used additional queries than the first blog post to complete this blog post. Here they are:

    --jeroen

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Rate this:

    #12 #156 #25 #3dprint #3dprinting #4 #Apple #appleiigs #AprilApples

    #3dprint #3dprinting #apple #appleiigs #aprilapples
  6. Bryan King @[email protected] ·

    How Meta Connected Browsing Activity to Real People on Android

    1,747 words, 9 minutes read time.

    You think you’re invisible online when you’re in private browsing mode or after clearing cookies, right? I used to think the same thing. But the reality is a little harsher: Meta found ways to keep tabs on Android users even when they were trying to hide. I’m not here to scare you. I’m here to explain exactly how it worked, why it happened, and what you can realistically do about it.

    We’ve all had the experience: you browse a few sites, check a couple of things in private, and later see ads that feel almost “too personalized.” You think, How did they know? This Meta case makes it clear that your standard privacy tools — incognito mode, cookie clearing — aren’t always enough. What Meta discovered, and what researchers exposed, is that the ecosystem itself is leaking information, whether you like it or not.

    It’s tempting to blame yourself, but you’re not doing anything wrong. In reality, the way apps and browsers interact on Android is complex, and the rules were never designed to make users completely invisible. Meta simply found a way to connect dots that were already there. Understanding how this happened can help you make smarter decisions online — without panicking or quitting your favorite apps.

    Tracking Isn’t Just About Cookies

    For years, online tracking seemed simple. Websites dropped cookies — little snippets of data that said, “Hello, I recognize you.” Delete them, and the site forgets you. Go incognito, and you think you’re invisible. But modern tracking doesn’t rely solely on cookies. That’s old-school thinking. The industry has gotten smarter, and the methods have evolved to follow you even when you try to hide.

    Meta’s approach is a prime example. They didn’t just rely on cookies or logins. Instead, they leveraged patterns of behavior and signals coming from apps and browsers. Think of cookies as leaving a name tag at a party. Take it off, and the host can’t read the name anymore — but they can still notice your face, how you walk, or the drinks you order. Those subtle identifiers are enough for someone skilled to link your behavior back to a real person.

    The problem is compounded because these signals are baked into the operating system and how apps communicate. Every tap, every page load, every app interaction produces a tiny “footprint.” When a company like Meta has access to enough footprints, connecting them to accounts becomes almost trivial. In other words, tracking today isn’t about a single cookie — it’s about pattern recognition at scale.

    Most people don’t realize how much of this happens behind the scenes. You clear cookies, turn on privacy features, and feel safe. But the ecosystem doesn’t just disappear your digital fingerprints. Understanding that tracking has moved beyond the old tools is the first step toward realistic, practical privacy.

    The Android Ecosystem and Its Blind Spots

    Android isn’t a sealed system. It’s more like a neighborhood where everyone’s got thin walls, and neighbors sometimes talk over the fences. Apps, browsers, and the operating system constantly exchange small pieces of information — often for legitimate purposes like syncing data or improving app performance. But those same mechanisms can be abused to identify and link users across services.

    Think of your apps as apartments in a building. Each apartment is supposed to be private, but thin walls, shared utilities, and building-wide notices mean some information leaks. Meta’s method exploited these subtle leaks — the equivalent of overhearing conversations, noticing repeated patterns, or recognizing footprints in a shared courtyard. These aren’t security flaws in the traditional sense; they’re structural features of how Android is built to allow apps and services to communicate.

    Even if you’re careful — you only use trusted apps, you clear cookies, you use incognito mode — the system itself can reveal patterns. Android provides some privacy protections, but they aren’t foolproof. Signals like app activity, device identifiers, and browsing behavior can still combine to form a recognizable profile. Meta’s approach took advantage of these natural “communication channels” between apps and browsers.

    The lesson here isn’t to panic or quit Android. It’s to understand that privacy is about controlling what you can, not believing you can erase every trace. The Android ecosystem is complex, and awareness is the best tool you have. Knowing where data flows helps you make smarter choices.

    Meta’s New Tracking Method

    So, what exactly did Meta do? They didn’t hack your phone. They didn’t exploit a vulnerability that required a patch. Instead, they used existing communication pathways — the way apps and browsers naturally interact — to link browsing activity to real accounts. In plain terms, they stitched together patterns that already existed.

    Imagine leaving faint footprints in the sand. On their own, each print is meaningless. But if someone tracks the pattern of steps, the gait, and the direction, they can identify the person walking. Meta’s system worked similarly: it looked at how users moved through apps and web pages and matched those patterns to known accounts. This method bypassed cookie protections and even incognito mode because it didn’t rely on those traditional mechanisms.

    It’s also worth noting the scale here. Doing this effectively requires processing millions of data points across users and devices. That’s why most small apps don’t have this capability — but big platforms with massive infrastructure, like Meta, can. This isn’t a single exploit; it’s leveraging the architecture of Android itself to achieve tracking that feels invisible to the user.

    For everyday users, the takeaway is clear: your actions, even in “private” modes, can leave a pattern that sophisticated systems can recognize. Understanding this doesn’t make you paranoid; it makes you informed. And informed users make smarter choices.

    Why Your Privacy Tools Didn’t Stop It

    Let’s address the obvious question: why didn’t incognito mode, cookie clearing, or app sandboxing stop this? The short answer is: because these tools aren’t designed to protect against this type of tracking. They protect specific areas — cookies, stored data, or app isolation — but not the broader patterns of behavior.

    Analogy: locking your front door is great, but it doesn’t stop someone from watching the windows. Your privacy tools are doors and locks. Meta found ways to look through the windows, study your movement in the yard, and figure out whose house it was. That’s not a failure on your part; it’s a feature of the system.

    Android does have protections against inter-app data sharing, but these are partial and often complicated to configure correctly. Even when you do everything “right,” sophisticated trackers can combine signals to make educated guesses about user identities. It’s frustrating, but it’s also a reminder that privacy isn’t binary.

    The realistic takeaway is to understand limitations, not to assume invisibility. Privacy tools reduce exposure, slow down trackers, and add friction to data collection. They are your armor, not a magic shield. Understanding how far that armor stretches helps you make smarter decisions.

    What This Means for Everyday Users

    Here’s the bottom line: complete invisibility online is nearly impossible if you’re using mainstream apps. Platforms are designed to connect behavior to real users. Meta’s method is a case study in how this works, but it’s not unique. Google, Apple, and other companies also have ways to track activity across services and devices.

    That doesn’t mean you’re powerless. The key is being aware. Awareness allows you to make deliberate choices about which apps to use, what permissions to grant, and how to navigate the ecosystem. You don’t need to quit Facebook or Instagram, but understanding their incentives and methods can guide smarter habits.

    It also means adjusting expectations. Privacy isn’t a switch you flip; it’s a spectrum you navigate. You can reduce exposure and make tracking harder, but expecting perfect invisibility sets you up for disappointment. Instead, think strategically: what do you want to protect, and which tools realistically help?

    Finally, this awareness empowers conversation. When companies expose privacy challenges, informed users can ask better questions, demand better policies, and make more conscious decisions about their digital lives.

    Practical Steps You Can Take

    Let’s get practical. Here are steps that actually help — no snake oil, no miracle fixes:

    1. Limit app permissions. Only grant what’s necessary. Many apps ask for access to your contacts, camera, or location unnecessarily. Review and prune these regularly.
    2. Use privacy-conscious browsers. Browsers like Firefox Focus, DuckDuckGo, or Brave block trackers better than default Chrome or Samsung Internet.
    3. Restrict inter-app data sharing. Android settings allow you to limit cross-app data access. It won’t stop everything, but it reduces signals available to trackers.
    4. Think before installing apps. Each new app is another potential tracker. Fewer apps mean fewer signals to stitch together.
    5. Separate identities when needed. Some users create dedicated profiles or devices for certain types of browsing or app usage to minimize linking patterns.

    The goal is realistic protection, not illusionary invisibility. Awareness, restraint, and intentional choices are your best defense.

    Bigger Picture Lessons

    Meta’s tracking isn’t an isolated incident — it’s representative of how modern tech handles user data. Privacy tools are often playing catch-up with the incentives of platforms that want to link activity to identities.

    For users, the lesson is simple: understand the system, don’t assume safety, and act consciously. For the industry, it’s a reminder that structural protections are often more effective than user-facing features alone. Privacy isn’t something you turn on; it’s something you manage.

    Knowing this, you can approach the digital world with less anxiety and more strategy. That’s far more effective than panic or avoidance.

    Conclusion

    Here’s what you need to remember:

    • Modern tracking isn’t just about cookies — it’s about behavior patterns and cross-app signals.
    • Privacy tools reduce exposure but can’t make you invisible.
    • Awareness and informed choices are your best defense.

    I’m not telling you to quit your apps or abandon your devices. I’m telling you how the game is played, so you can play smarter. The best armor in today’s ecosystem isn’t fear — it’s knowledge.

    Call to Action

    If this breakdown helped you think a little clearer about the threats out there, don’t just click away. Subscribe for more no-nonsense security insights, drop a comment with your thoughts or questions, or reach out if there’s a topic you want me to tackle next. Stay sharp out there.

    D. Bryan King

    Sources

    The New York Times – Meta’s Android Tracking Loophole
    CNBC – How Meta Tracked Users on Android
    CyberScoop – Meta’s Tracking Method on Android
    KrebsOnSecurity – Tracking and Privacy Insights
    Schneier on Security – Practical Privacy Analysis
    Mandiant Threat Intelligence Reports
    MITRE ATT&CK Framework
    NIST Publications on Security and Privacy
    Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report
    Black Hat Conference Materials

    Disclaimer:

    The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author. The information provided is based on personal research, experience, and understanding of the subject matter at the time of writing. Readers should consult relevant experts or authorities for specific guidance related to their unique situations.

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    Rate this:

    #AndroidBehaviorTracking #AndroidDataPrivacy #AndroidPrivacy #AndroidPrivacyAwareness #AndroidPrivacyGuide #androidSecurity #AndroidSignalTracking #AndroidSurveillance #AndroidUserPrivacy #appPermissions #appTrackingAndroid #appTrackingPrevention #crossAppTracking #digitalFootprint #digitalFootprintReduction #digitalIdentityAndroid #digitalPrivacyForMen #digitalPrivacyTips #everydayAndroidSecurity #incognitoModeTracking #interAppDataSharing #limitTrackingAndroid #MetaAndroidPrivacy #MetaAndroidTracking #MetaCookiesBypass #MetaDataTracking #MetaPrivacyExplained #MetaPrivacyIssue #MetaPrivacyLoophole #MetaPrivacyRisks #MetaTrackingAndroidUsers #MetaTrackingExplained #MetaTrackingLoophole #MetaTrackingMethod #MetaTrackingSolution #MetaUserTracking #mobilePrivacy #mobileTrackingTips #onlinePrivacyGuide #onlineSafetyAndroid #onlineTracking #privacyAwareness #privacyBestPractices #privacyHabitsAndroid #privacySettingsAndroid #privacyToolsAndroid #protectAndroidData #reduceAppTracking #reduceTrackingAndroid #secureAppUsage #secureBrowsingAndroid #smartphonePrivacy #smartphoneSecurityTips #stopMetaTracking #trackingMethods #trackingPatterns #trackingPrevention #userBehaviorTracking
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  7. IT News @[email protected] ·

    Switching to a Flip Phone Helped Me Cut Down on My Smartphone Addiction - Was it inconvenient? Yes. Did T9 texting drive me crazy? Definitely. Was it worth doing? ... - nytimes.com/2024/01/06/technol #centerforhumanetechnology #addiction(psychology) #lanelogan(activist) #mobileapplications #textmessaging #smartphones #socialmedia #googleinc #appleinc #boredom #iphone #brain #maps

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  8. IT News @[email protected] ·

    Switching to a Flip Phone Helped Me Cut Down on My Smartphone Addiction - Was it inconvenient? Yes. Did T9 texting drive me crazy? Definitely. Was it worth doing? ... - nytimes.com/2024/01/06/technol #centerforhumanetechnology #addiction(psychology) #lanelogan(activist) #mobileapplications #textmessaging #smartphones #socialmedia #googleinc #appleinc #boredom #iphone #brain #maps

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  9. IT News @[email protected] ·

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  10. IT News @[email protected] ·

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  11. IT News @[email protected] ·

    Switching to a Flip Phone Helped Me Cut Down on My Smartphone Addiction - Was it inconvenient? Yes. Did T9 texting drive me crazy? Definitely. Was it worth doing? ... - nytimes.com/2024/01/06/technol #centerforhumanetechnology #addiction(psychology) #lanelogan(activist) #mobileapplications #textmessaging #smartphones #socialmedia #googleinc #appleinc #boredom #iphone #brain #maps

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  12. 666 SPELLCASTER @[email protected] ·

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  16. IT News @[email protected] ·

    You’ll Flip For This Toggle Switch Handheld Game - Teacher says that every time a toggle switch clunks, a hacker gets their wings. Or something like th... more: hackaday.com/2020/03/18/youll- #handheldshacks #handheldgame #toggleswitch #esp8266 #nodemcu #sh1106 #games #oled

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  17. DragonBox Shop @[email protected] ·

    Flip through the pages of the iconic Trails series to where it all began with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter!
    dragonbox.de/en-de/games-for-n

    #trailsinthesky #retrogaming #games #nsw #switch #dragonboxshop

    #trailsinthesky #retrogaming #games #nsw #switch #dragonboxshop
  18. mobiFlip – News & Testberichte aus der Technikwelt [Unofficial] @[email protected] ·

    Nintendo „erwägt“ Preiserhöhung für die Switch 2

    web.brid.gy/r/https://www.mobi

    #gaming #news #aff #nintendo #switch
  19. Public Enemy Exposed @[email protected] ·

    Switch off your WiFi and Bluetooth when you go shopping, for flip sake!

    "When you enter a store: If you have a Kroger app on your phone, Bluetooth beacons may ping the app to record your presence and may send you personalized offers. Your location within the store can be tracked as well. Kroger also says that in “select locations” store cameras are collecting facial recognition data..." #loyaltycard #southafrica #clicks #woolworths #checkers #game #builders #makro

    #makro #builders #game #checkers #woolworths #clicks
  20. dazfuller :rickwhoah: @[email protected] ·

    @wraptile I switched to #nushell as my default a while ago and it’s been great. Occasionally I need to flip to a different shell for some tasks, but rarely.

    Set up with #StarshipRS #zoxide #broot and a few other things and it’s even better

    #broot #zoxide #starshiprs #nushell
  21. US news | The Guardian @[email protected] ·

    A calendar flip away from summer could do more harm than good for the NWSL | Jeff Rueter theguardian.com/football/2026/ #Nwsl #WomensFootball #Football #Sport #UsSports #Mls

    #nwsl #womensfootball #football #sport #ussports #mls
  22. Queer Lit Cats @[email protected] ·

    New Yorker: Al Gore on the Climate Crisis: “We Have a Switch We Can Flip” newyorker.com/podcast/the-new- #NewYorker #Podcast/TheNewYorkerRadioHour #News/NewYorkerFavorites #VicePresidents #ClimateChange #ClimateDenial #GlobalWarming #LatinAmerica #Podcasts #AlGore #Music #Salsa

    #newyorker #podcast #news #vicepresidents #climatechange #climatedenial
  23. mobiFlip – News & Testberichte aus der Technikwelt [Unofficial] @[email protected] ·

    Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed erscheint auch für die Nintendo Switch 2

    web.brid.gy/r/https://www.mobi

    #thqnordic #epicmickey #gaming
  24. Cheryl Lindo Jones @[email protected] ·

    If you don't have one of these for your Switch already, consider getting one! This video is quite helpful for the pointer to doesitflip.com a site that lists games compatible with vertical mode.

    Flip Grip Direct | 11.14.2024 - YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=5ZRvd_UnVY

    #gaming #Switch #FlipGrip

    #gaming #switch #flipgrip
  25. Cheryl Lindo Jones @[email protected] ·

    If you don't have one of these for your Switch already, consider getting one! This video is quite helpful for the pointer to doesitflip.com a site that lists games compatible with vertical mode.

    Flip Grip Direct | 11.14.2024 - YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=5ZRvd_UnVY

    #gaming #Switch #FlipGrip

    #gaming #switch #flipgrip
  26. Cheryl Lindo Jones @[email protected] ·

    If you don't have one of these for your Switch already, consider getting one! This video is quite helpful for the pointer to doesitflip.com a site that lists games compatible with vertical mode.

    Flip Grip Direct | 11.14.2024 - YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=5ZRvd_UnVY

    #gaming #Switch #FlipGrip

    #gaming #switch #flipgrip
  27. Cheryl Lindo Jones @[email protected] ·

    If you don't have one of these for your Switch already, consider getting one! This video is quite helpful for the pointer to doesitflip.com a site that lists games compatible with vertical mode.

    Flip Grip Direct | 11.14.2024 - YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=5ZRvd_UnVY

    #gaming #Switch #FlipGrip

    #flipgrip #switch #gaming
  28. Cheryl Lindo Jones @[email protected] ·

    If you don't have one of these for your Switch already, consider getting one! This video is quite helpful for the pointer to doesitflip.com a site that lists games compatible with vertical mode.

    Flip Grip Direct | 11.14.2024 - YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=5ZRvd_UnVY

    #gaming #Switch #FlipGrip

    #gaming #switch #flipgrip
  29. Annika Backstrom @[email protected] ·
    CW: phone crap

    I got the Galaxy Z Flip back in February and they released the 5G version in August. I wasn't going to upgrade but I can switch from a Sprint device (with all their embedded crap) to the 5G unlocked for a $1,000 credit, so I might as well.

    Would be an added benefit if the 5G one worked with the new #Ting plans, and it might have a better chance of working internationally.

    #ting
  30. ResearchBuzz: Firehose @[email protected] ·

    CBS News: We asked four teens to swap their smartphones for flip phones. Here’s what happened.. “Ben said he used to average up to five hours of screen time per day. Once he switched to a flip phone, it went down to about 30 minutes. So, CBS News asked four of Ben’s friends, Carson, Ranita, Jamison and Maya — all 8th graders in New Jersey — to try flip phones for a week. Maya said her […]

    https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/23/cbs-news-we-asked-four-teens-to-swap-their-smartphones-for-flip-phones-heres-what-happened/

    #dumbphones #flipphones #smartphoneusage #smartphones #socialmedia #teenagers
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