Spent some time in the garage this afternoon with the IIe. One of the nice parts of this purchase was that a Hayes Mach 3 joystick was included. It looked pretty disgusting, and I wasn't sure how well it would work. Before doing anything else, I fired up the IIe, connected the joystick and entered a little routine to check it out.

Amazingly, it came up pretty damn near centered and responded with the full range from 0 to 255. The other joystick I bought (Apple branded, but likely from the same manufacturer who made the Hayes joysticks), needed some adjustment and didn't seem to want to offer the full range. Close enough for Choplifter and Lode Runner though!

Since this is a relatively early IIe (as a Rev A), it's in a painted case. Later, Apple went to all-plastic cases that will yellow over time. The more time I spend with this machine, the better I'm liking it. I'll probably open it up tomorrow and remove the case. I may not remove the motherboard, but I'll clear the dust somehow. Then I'll install a disk controller so I can load some software, and the memory expansion card. I'll run a utility and verify that it performs properly as an Aux Slot memory expansion card.

The biggest challenge is going to be finding a place to put it. I've had a little inspiration that may allow me to do what I want without removing the recliner. I'll need to play with the tape measure and see.

Here's a little video I made after I cleaned up the joystick and ran another test to make sure it still worked.

Originally posted at Nice Marmot 15:25 Saturday, 14 September 2024