I decided to buy and share this book online as I found the internet was lacking in VCR servicing information. VCRs are still in use for a variety of projects and personal use, yet when they fail they are replaced. This book is compact and easy to read, and while not a specific service manual it does a great job of explaining the technical aspects of VHS. Even I understood a few concepts! Worth a scroll through.
Hardware capture: 800kb disk image on Floppy Emu in Apple II 3.5 mode, Smartport on Apple IIGS, boot to BASIC, PR#5 -> Capture in 1080p from Extron scaler then screenshots on Mac. I do not know how to emulate an 800kb disk image in Apple II mode in an emulator on Mac so I had to use real hardware. I discovered after recording everything that the aspect ratio was wrong so please excuse the slightly vertically compressed image.
Disk image provided by Lesley Ayling, NSW Australia.
Hardware capture: 800kb disk image on Floppy Emu in Apple II 3.5 mode, Smartport on Apple IIGS, boot to BASIC, PR#5 -> Capture in 1080p from Extron scaler then screenshots on Mac. I do not know how to emulate an 800kb disk image in Apple II mode in an emulator on Mac so I had to use real hardware. I discovered after recording everything that the aspect ratio was wrong so please excuse the slightly vertically compressed image.
Disk image provided by Lesley Ayling, NSW Australia.
Navigate through: Apple II Software -> The Riddle of the Trumpalar, 800kb Apple II NSW Education Department
Presented here is a new disk image for The Riddle of Trumpalar.
From the title screen:
(C) 1990 NSW Department of School Education
Computer Education Unit (CEU)
Schoolware
Version 1.0
Project Coordinator – Eleanor Igoe
Programming – Peter Gummer; Adrian Brell; Paul Jenner
Illustrations – Perc Williar
Based on a novel by Judy Bernard-Waite by arrangement with Ashton Scholastic
It is tedious to play though – hint enter a number when it asks where to move as in number of steps north.
As far as I can tell this is a unique disk image and not available elsewhere.
Hardware capture: 800kb disk image on Floppy Emu in Apple II 3.5 mode, Smartport on Apple IIGS, boot to BASIC, PR#5 -> Capture in 1080p from Extron scaler then screenshots on Mac. I do not know how to emulate an 800kb disk image in Apple II mode in an emulator on Mac so I had to use real hardware. I discovered after recording everything that the aspect ratio was wrong so please excuse the slightly vertically compressed image.
Disk image provided by Lesley Ayling, NSW Australia.
Navigate through: Apple II Software -> Learn About Insects, 800kb 3.5 Apple II
Presented here is a new disk image for Learn About Insects. The information below is from my short time playing around with the disk. Graphically it would display beautifully on a //e running composite to the Apple ColourComposite monitor.
It supports the mouse card which is very smooth on input and if you have one, it also supports the Muppets Learning Keys board.
This educational title seems comprehensive and mixes facts with interactive insect games.
From the title screen:
Program date: 28/12/1989
Apple II DOS
WINGS for learning Copyright 1990
Learn About Insects, Developed by Learningways, Inc.
As far as I can tell this is a unique disk image and not available elsewhere. By all means comment if you have more information about this lovely title.
Hardware capture: 800kb disk image on Floppy Emu in Apple II 3.5 mode, Smartport on Apple IIGS, boot to BASIC, PR#5 -> Capture in 1080p from Extron scaler then screenshots on Mac. I do not know how to emulate an 800kb disk image in Apple II mode in an emulator on Mac so I had to use real hardware. I discovered after recording everything that the aspect ratio was wrong so please excuse the slightly vertically compressed image.
Disk image provided by Lesley Ayling, NSW Australia.
Update it works great with alternative resolutions but unfortunately you need to dial in the settings manually. E.G The black and white version of Your Tour of the Apple IIGS is fuzzy with the settings below but change pixels to 991 and it goes crisp.
So 1042 and 991 are the magic numbers:
Further testing is shown here at 1080p30:
The Apple IIGS features analogue RGB video output with clean composite-sync of all video modes, from Mega II 40-column to Finder SHR 640×200 desktop. Displaying these videos modes and rendering the IIGS graphics as intended is best done on the 12″ Apple RGB monitor, but what if we want to capture the output? Assuming you’re unable to buy a VidHD then read on
Moving from 15.76kHz analogue video to 1080p HDMI presents a variety of IIGS unique challenges. A computer outputting RGB analogue video needs digitisation of the video with the shortest possible lag – the time from digitising the voltages to video and scaling it to HDMI. This is significant as on-screen movement of the mouse trails behind your input, making gaming difficult and confusing. SCART to HDMI adapters have been tested at lagging with 5-7 frames of video delay, compared to the speedy Extron of 0.9 frames / 15ms. Your HDMI display will add another 2 frames though assuming approximately 30-40ms of input lag – it adds up!
The IIGS also features a non-standard dot clock around 16mHz which can create picture artefacts such as banding which really stands out on the vertical pin striping effects as seen in Finder. We can tweak the Extron to ‘lock on’ to the dot clock very well as shown later.
Extron are absolute video industry pioneers and leaders in America and worldwide. Their documentation is the best I’ve ever seen with an unusual attention to publishing the detailed specifications and suitable application of the their products. For us two major benefits to the Extron ethos are accepting composite-sync and user adjustable input timings. The Extron RGB-HDMI 300 A also accepts audio which is delayed to be in sync with the Altera FPGA controlled ADC so the HDMI output is a true presentation of the input which makes capturing easy. The versatile output options of both DMT computer monitor timings and CVT HDTV timings make it suitable to view on any monitor or TV. I choose to use the Picture-in-picture mode of my computer monitor to run IIGS in a large window while I use my Mac connected via Display Port. I can also capture the HDMI signal with an Elgato Game capture box.
Connecting the IIGS to the Extron box is fortuitously easy thanks to a very common and cheap Apple adapter. Interesting the IIGS video output over DB-15 has composite sync on pin 3 which is unlike any other standard! But the Apple VGA PowerBook to Macintosh Monitor adapter maps sync to VGA/HD-15 pin 13 which the Extron expects and accepts. Simply run the IIGS monitor cable from the computer to the adapter, then into the Extron input. If sound is important be sure to connect a 3.5mm audio cable also.
The auto image feature is incompatible with the vertical timing of the IIGS so configure the input as follows:
Input type: RGB
Total Pixels: 1042, PHS 0
Horizontal blank starts at 60, vertical at 116
Active area of 1047 and vertical of 224 (224p)
Save you preset when happy and enjoy a highly versatile HDMI conversion of the IIGS video output.
Released for preservation purposes is Captain Spellright. This software seems to be for use in a classroom where a teacher can run reports and set an appropriate level of spelling challenges to the selectable age group. Unfortunately it breaks when I type a name.
I called the phone number on the second screenshot and spoke to Mrs. Robson who kindly explains her husband loved the Apple II but passed away many years ago.
Capt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side A 001.a2r.jpegCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side A 002.a2r.jpgCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side A 003.a2r.jpgCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side A.a2rCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side A.pngCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side A.wozCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side B.a2rCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side B.pngCapt.Spellright - Disk 1, Side B.wozCapt.Spellright.wozzing 2018-10-13 at 3.07.10 PM.png
