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IIGS Questions


Gumdoc

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Hi All,

 

Loving my //e but I'm thinking I want to add a IIGS to the mix. I want to try to figure out what will I need on top of my current setup to get it working, as most IIGS systems I have seen for sale are incomplete.

 

My //e has a color composite monitor, DuoDisk (with the 19-pin connector), two Disk ][ drives (with the 20-pin card), FloppyEmu, and a null modem connection from my Super Serial Card with the RetroFloppy cables to my PC for ADTPro.

 

I assume I need the following for the IIGS, what am I missing? :

 

1. RGB monitor with cable

2. RAM expansion card (how much should I get)?

3. A different cable to connect from the serial port on the IIGS to the DB9 to USB cable.

4. At least one 3.5" drive, is there a specific controller card for those?

5. IIGS keyboard and mouse

6. CFFA3000

 

What am I missing or forgetting? Not looking to add a Transwarp or anything like that, just want to more or less recreate what I had back in the mid 80's, plus the quality of life improvement with the CFFA3000.

 

Thanks for any help.

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1. Yes you'll need a IIgs RGB monitor or analog RGB monitor and a special cable made.  I'm using an Atari ST monitor myself.  There are also various VGA/HDMI boards now you can get if you want to keep it simple.

 

2. Most IIgs come with 1.5MB of RAM (.5 built in and a 1MB card) which is good enough for most applications, although 4MB RAM cards are cheap and will help if you want to run GS/OS 6 which I suggest you do. 

 

3.  Not sure what you mean

 

4. The controller card is build into the IIgs.  Also make sure you get the correct 3.5" drive and not a Mac one.

 

5. Yes, although you can use any Macintosh ADB style keyboard. and mouse.  I actually suggest this since I find the official IIgs one to be too small.

 

6. Good luck finding one.  But with the IIgs you can use other devices to mimic a hard drive.  I'm using one myself (a MicroDrive Turbo) and it works great.

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Tempest said:

3.  Not sure what you mean

 

 

The current setup I have for ADTPro is 25-pin serial cable from the Super Serial card that has a DB9 female at the end, and then a DB9 male to USB cable. I don't recall seeing a 25-pin connector on the backs of IIGS machines, so I believe I'll need one of those round pin connectors (not sure what they are called) to connect to the serial port on a IIGS?

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23 hours ago, Tempest said:

You can use the SSC in the iigs if you want.  But yes the serial port in the iigs are DB9 I believe.

No, IIGS has the mini DIN-8 plugs like Macs. That's why the OP was asking about a cable to connect it to a computer with DB9 serial ports. I think there are cables out there that has DB9 on one side and mini DIN-8 on the other, but I'd just wire my own to be safe.

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14 minutes ago, bluejay said:

I think there are cables out there that has DB9 on one side and mini DIN-8 on the other, but I'd just wire my own to be safe.

Indeed there are.  I actually threw a bunch out about a decade ago when cleaning up a shop.  I think I still have a couple of MiniDIN8 to DB25 lingering around here.

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while were on the IIgs I'm thinking of getting one and been playing with the MAME emulator. But one thing I'm really confused about is the clock. 1st, is the clock part of the IIgs? some sources I find say yes, some say no??? Also, in emulation I have installed the THCLOCK in slot 1. It keeps lousy time. Gains time really quickly. Is it tied to the speed of the processor on the real iron or something (unfortunately it looks to be the only clock available in MAME).  

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20 minutes ago, hloberg said:

while were on the IIgs I'm thinking of getting one and been playing with the MAME emulator. But one thing I'm really confused about is the clock. 1st, is the clock part of the IIgs? some sources I find say yes, some say no??? Also, in emulation I have installed the THCLOCK in slot 1. It keeps lousy time. Gains time really quickly. Is it tied to the speed of the processor on the real iron or something (unfortunately it looks to be the only clock available in MAME).  

The IIgs clock is a dedicated chip on the IIgs motherboard. The chip is not far from the battery and is labelled "SER CLOCK" on the motherboard silkscreen. IIRC the same chip is also responsible for saving the control panel settings (it has a RAM component as well).

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1 minute ago, Polymorph said:

The IIgs clock is a dedicated chip on the IIgs motherboard. The chip is not far from the battery and is labelled "SER CLOCK" on the motherboard silkscreen. IIRC the same chip is also responsible for saving the control panel settings (it has a RAM component as well).

ah, thank you. which is probably why I get wonkiness when I also put a clock card in too.

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