Subject: Re: Production #s
From: spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)
Date: Tue, Jun 23, 1998 8ÿ4ÿÿÿÿ EDT
Message-id: <23JUN199807042570@vax2.concordia.ca>

In article Togega@concentric.net writes...

>How can you tell the different //e models apart? I know the original had no
>keypad, and the enhanced did, but what about the platinum?

    Well there are three major revisions of the Apple IIe, the first
of which was the original beige model introduced in January 1983. It
had the following distinguishing features:

#1
- Large white printing on keycaps (similar to Apple III)
- Cover lid with velcro snaps and RF sheilding mesh (similar to II Plus)
- Revision 'A' motherboard initially, though was shortly changed to the
  Revision 'B' board that supported Double-Hi-Res and a special video
  signal accessible through slot 7.

    The next revision, which is the most common one (I would guess it
came out sometime between late 1983 and mid 1984) had the following,
though looked virtually the same:

#2
- Black printing (smaller, more discrete and professional) on keycaps
- Cover snaps on and off with just plastic grooves and tabs
- Revision 'B' motherboard initially (820-0064-B), then replaced
  with another revision 'B' board marked (820-0087-A). The major
  difference is most chips soldered in, gold colored pathways,
  enhanced chip part numbers silked screened to board. Also the
  copyright was dated 1984, previously it was 1982.
- Initially shipped with original CD, EF, Video ROM, but was changed
  to "Enhanced" ROM set as of March 1985 (65C02 replaced 6502 in the
  change, this was all done to make the IIe more compatible with the 
  IIc and II Plus).

    The final revision was popularly called "The Platinum IIe",
and was introduced in January 1987, and had the following bits
changed:

#3
- Completely redesigned keyboard:
        o Grey colored keycaps with black print
        o Layout identical to Apple IIgs and Macintosh SE
        o Reset key moved directly above ESC/1, like IIc
        o Apple function keys replaced by Command and Option
        o Numeric keypad squeezed in (off centering keyboard)
        o Power LED moved above numeric keypad, a small "-"
- Entire case, including back ports, now platinum/light grey
- Apple logo in square recess, on right side of case (not lid)
- "Apple IIe" printed on lid (in Apple Garamond font, like GS)
- New revamped motherboard:
        o Only two chips make up 64K of memory (2 * 64Kx4 DRAMs)
        o Single 'CF' ROM replaces old CD and EF ROM chips
        o Shift-key mod present as default (pathway closed)
        o All boards have Enhanced chipset, guaranteed.
- New Extended 80 Columns card (just two DRAMs, 64Kx4) which
  was drastically reduced in size, only slightly larger than
  a standard SIMM if memory serves right. Included as standard.
- Shipped standard out of the box with 128K RAM, 80 columns of
  text and Double-Hi-Res graphics (due to Extended 80 card).

    That about covers it, unless I missed a detail or two above.
Oh, and if you consider it part of the Apple IIe line (I do not
any more than I consider the PC-Transporter being part of IBM
clones out there) there was Apple's "Apple IIe Card" for certain
PDS slotted Macintoshes. That was basically a Mega II chip, a pair
of 256Kx4 DRAMs, a 65C02, IWM and some extra logic on a small card.
There was a connector that went to a Y-cable, to let you hook up a
joystick and Apple 5.25 drive. The ROM and video emulation was
handled by the host Macintosh system, hence it was not nearly as
faithful as the IIGS's emulation of the IIe.

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca