Disk II flat cable

Papalapa · February 27, 2020

I have two disk units with their respective flat cables connected to the disk controller into the Apple IIe. Due to its age I don't have the metallic clamp that fixes the flat cable to the hole in the chassis (see below) and I cannot find it nowhere.

Is there any more actual way to keep the flat cable attached to the chassis hole?

Edited February 27, 2020 by Papalapa

DistantStar001 · February 27, 2020

I'm sorry to say that I don't know of any source for this part. However, if it's really important to you, you could always fabricate a replacement out of a sheet of 20 gage aluminum with a pair of pliers, and a drill.

I'd start by making a paper pattern, measuring it against the hole on the back of the //e to get the spacing for the fastening holes on the piece. Mark where the fastening holes go on the back part of your pattern. This will be important for spacing the holes on the front (save that for last), since the back part of the piece won't be bent like the front. Also, your pattern should be slightly longer than twice the length to cover the hole on the //e. Give it about a centimeter. I know that sounds like a lot, but you need to allow for the clearance bends in the front part of the piece, as well as some clearance to fold over for the back, and it's good to have some room to play with. At 20 gage, the metal is pretty thick, so the bends and folds will take more material than the paper. You can always cut off excess.

Once you have your pattern, glue it to the metal. I'd recommend drilling the wholes on the marked holes on the piece first before cutting the rest of the piece out. Also, to glue the pattern, I recommend using rubber cement for this, as it will rub right off when you're done. Additionally, I'd leave the pattern glued to the metal while you shape it with the pliers, as the paper will protect it from any marks while shaping.

Shape the front first, then bend over the back. This will entail some trial and error unfortunately. So you may need to make some practice pieces before you get it right.

After you have your piece cut out and shaped that you like, use the holes on the back part as guides to drill the holes from the back side into the front. File or sand off the rough edges and then peal off the pattern. Assuming that all went well, and you're satisfied with all your measurements, you're done!

All that said, I honestly wouldn't bother with it. It's a lot of work for a piece that is not all that important. Additionally, not every Disk II has the little metal flap pictured to make use of them, since the drives date back to the ][s and ][+s and that part wouldn't have fit those cases. Personally, I have five of these drives, only 2 have the flap, the rest have straight rainbow ribbons, which to my knowledge, are original to the drives. Also, none have the the little metal piece (and I never bothered to make them). I'm not even sure that the Disk IIs came with them, or if that was something that //e users would buy separately for aesthetic purposes. All it really did was make the back side of the //e look neater, but it doesn't add anything functionally to either the drive or the //e.

Edited February 27, 2020 by DistantStar001
grammer

Charlie_ · February 28, 2020

Can the Disk II with the flat cable be used with the IIc or IIgs?

DistantStar001 · February 28, 2020

4 hours ago, Charlie_ said:

Can the Disk II with the flat cable be used with the IIc or IIgs?

Yes. For the //c you will need the following adapter:

http://www.a2heaven.com/webshop/index.php?rt=product/product&path=73&product_id=125

It's the same one that you would use for a Floppy EMU with the //c+, IIgs, Lisa or Macintosh. I'm sure that there are other sources for this, but this is the one that I know.

This adapter will work for the IIgs as well, or you can do what I did, and install the same controller card you would use in a ][, ][+ or //e in either slots 5, 6, or 7 in your IIgs. Slot 6 is generally recommended, however, for both slots 5 & 6, you will need to go into the IIgs preferences (Control-Command-Esc) and set the slot preferences to use the card. If your IIgs either docent have a batter, or the battery is dead, then you will need to do this every time you start the computer. Mine isn in slot 7 now as that slot is set to "Your Card" by default. Unfortunately, this limits my IIgs as there is a lot of software that won't boot from anything other than Slot 6.