US SELLER: complete, tested IC kit (for Apple-1 clones like Mimeo, Newton, etc.)

Description

Long awaited by many ... here it comes ! - - - Kit #82 of my famous IC kits for the Apple-1 builder !
Countdown: only 9 left for his year !
WORLDWIDE THE ONLY APPLE-1 KIT WITH PROVEN PARTS AND THE ICs TESTED IN A REAL APPLE-1 !
This is a complete
IC kit
which comprises
all
of the
ICs
needed to build an Apple-1 and an ACI based on any of the currently available PCBs, like Mimeo, Newton, or the "Apple 1 Replica" PCB. Included are all the small passive and active components needed to fully populate an Apple-1 motherboard and an ACI card (you provide the PCBs).
Note that you still need to buy the following components elsewhere, which are not included in this auction:
the Apple-1 motherboard PCB, the ACI PCB, the IC sockets, the three "big blue" electrolytic filter capacitors, the heatsink for the LM323K regulator, and the transformers, plus associated wires and cables. This said, it's not yet a full kit with all parts for an Apple-1 build, but it is much, much improved over my previous offerings. (Some buyers reported difficulties with buying certain components in the small quantities needed, so I decided do this for you --- and by adding these extra parts at cost I save you a lot of time, frustration and money, especially if you don't live in the Americas and can't rummage through surplus stores for rare vintage components made in the USA during the 1970s and 1980s).
Many of the ICs in the kit have desirable late 1970s or early 1980s date codes. Some may be plug-in compatible substitutions, depending on the individual kit, i.e. Signetics or Rockwell 6520A in lieu of the Motorola 6820 PIA, AMD AM2804 in lieu of Signetics 2504, Synertek 6502B (3 Mhz type) or equivalent Rockwell 6502-34 instead of a standard 1Mhz 6502, but all these substitutions (and a few others) are proven to work and help to reduce your costs while at the same time contributing to improve overall system reliability. The faster CPU will widen your DRAM timing margins so you don't need to fiddle with the notorius 74123 oneshot which with the slower 1MHz 6502 aims to hit a narrow go/nogo window only 70ns wide.To avoid any issues with that, I also provide all the critical timing components in my kits so you don't need an oscilloscope for a successful build. A cheap digital multimeter is good enough !
The PROMs with the original, unmodified firmware for both the Apple-1 and the ACI are included (with permission from Woz), but as a special treat I provide larger capacity 512x4 PROMs with an extra page: in the A1, A2 PROMs there is an extra diagnostics page with a powerful memory test to check out your build, and the ACI PROMs come with my extended formatting page. These extended format PROMs can make your Apple-1 tape recordings fully Apple-II compatible, with checksums and all (and they are still Apple-1 compatible, too). These larger PROMs drop into the same sockets as the smaller 256x4 PROMs on any regular Apple-1 / ACI PCB with no modifications to the circuit needed, but a few easy mods to the PCB (published on Applefritter) will enable the extended formatting page. If you put these PROMs into a standard, unmodified ACI card, they do work, but only the original ACI firmware written by Woz is accessible. So you have all options.
You will get exactly the IC set shown in the first picture. All ICs are arranged in the same layout they should go into your build for best results (each ESD foam strip corresponds to one row D (top) to A (bottom), some ICs are on the backside of the ESD foam strips. The closeup pictures that follow should allow you to inspect IC types and date codes.
(Note: this is not the same IC set as the previous auction, and hence, new photos !) The white items are the 4-pin and 6-pin video and power connectors for the Apple-1 motherboard. This kit also contains all the carbon composition resistors, diodes, ceramic capacitors and also the 44-pin connector seen in the photos. It does not contain the three big blue Sprague filter capacitors, but in my "Tips & Tricks" pdf you will get I will show you where you can buy them or alternatives. They are still being manufactured by Vishay / Sprague and usually available from several distributors, (due to the current supply chain issues a hit-and-miss, but there always are alternatives available as a stopgap solution until the correct Sprague types are back in stock at these distributors).
A note about the "blue" 44 pin connector: I ran out of green ones, sorry. At least one original Apple-1 has a blue connector because of a repair ... so I see no reason to be picky about the color. I built a few Apple-1 clones with this blue Sullins brand connector myself ... they last longer than the EDAC ones. The green EDAC one can be still bought at Mouser, under their part #587-305-044-521-201, but the price has increased to a point where I can't put them into my kits anymore without increasing the kit price myself. Since you need to buy the heat sink, the three big blue Sprague filter capacitors, and the transformers anyways, and Mouser is a good source for these parts, you can get the "green" connector if you insist, but at your own cost, from Mouser. And be aware that with all these supply chain disruptions you need patience until the parts are in stock again. But all the parts not in the kit are still in production ... and you can get them if you are patient. How to run a car factory under these conditions is another topic ...
Also
be aware that the vintage resistors and capacitors
in the kit are 30-50 years old "new old stock" and may have
tarnished leads
due to age. However, all the components I offer in this auction come from the same parts stock I use to build my own Apple-1 clones and all of them are proven to work ! Alas, there is no other way to get authentic looking, 50 years old vintage parts to build Apple-1 clones that look "real". But since I started selling my kits I have learned that most builders want Apple-1 builds which look as close to the originals as possible. So
you need to expend the extra work to clean tarnished leads
before you can solder them. Here in the USA you would use DeOxit D5 spray. European builders would use "Kontakt 60" Spray from Kontakt Chemie of Germany. The tarnished leads of the new-old-stock UA323K regulator made by Fairchild in the early 1980s need some work with fine sandpaper for best solderability. You might also have seen that the imprint is fainting. This is why I got them cheap (new LM323K nowadays cost each). For us Apple-1 builders the fainted text is a great opportunity because nobody can tell what it is unless using a loupe. You could even put a replication of the original National Semiconductor logo, type and date code on it, using a transfer print method. With newer TO-3 regulators this trick does not work because they are laser engraved.
I've also added some extra passive components (in the yellow box) which I recommend you to implement the reliability mods I have published on Applefritter. I will give you the links to that information and also my contact for free technical advice for you Apple-1 build. This is an experiment for me to find out if I have succeeded in fixing all the quirks of the Apple-1, so I won't let you down !   I want you to succeed ! This is an important experiment for me to prove that I did a complete job in fixing the Apple-1 (my claim to fame, I don't do this for profit).
All ICs (except the TO-3 and TO-220 regulators and the 6 ICs in the ACI) have been burned-in / tested in one of my Apple-1 builds for four weeks, running 24/7. Reason for this exception: the TO220 and the six ICs in the ACI are abundant, and so far all have worked flawlessly. The ACI PROMs are tested by the Data I/O programmer anyways, and the 74LSxx and the LM311 are new enough to have been 100% tested by their manufacturers. I used to test those in the past, too, but never had a problem with them. Other than the 40+ years old ICs that go into the mainboard, which are a nightmare. I have piles and piles of bad ones I weeded out with my burn-in process (you can see these in the "Chamber of Horrors" thread in the Apple-1 forum on Applefritter). A typical builder has no chance to succeed with that, this is why I do it for you !
IMPORTANT: every buyer of my kit will get a contact email, where you can reach me in case of any questions regarding your Apple-1 build. Don't be afraid, I don't bite ;-) and I will not give your data away to anyone. This is a "free" counseling service for Apple-1 builders you already paid for when buying this kit. No extra charges ! Please use this service !
I had some cases of builders never contacting me and then trying to guess which part goes where, or instead of asking me for good parts sources they were ripped off by price gougers. Be smart and use my after sales service you already paid for with the kit ! My free-of-charge "Tips & Tricks" pdf will save you from a lot of expensive pitfalls ! Don't buy any further parts and any PCBs before you have my
"Tips & Tricks" which discusses all the options you have ! (No, I don't sell any of these parts ... but I can point you to the right choices.)
INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS WELCOME: Please use "Ebay International Standard Delivery" shipping and be aware that you will have to pay for import duties / customs fees of your country yourself, and no, sorry, I won't declare a lower value for you.
Disclaimer: I do not make or imply warranties that your Apple-1 build using these parts will work. Apple-1 is quite tricky and building one is not for the faint of heart, or the ill-equipped. All I can guarantee is that this IC set did work perfectly in my own, expertly built Apple-1 clones, for some weeks, enough to weed out infant mortality. And I can also guarantee that ALL the parts in my kits, tarnished leads or not, come from the same proven parts stock I use in my own Apple-1 builds and they all are proven to work and have no nasty surprises as to their electrical performance in the Apple-1. From 81 kits sold on Ebay so far, 58 builders contacted me, got my "Tips & Tricks" pdf, and all are very happy. None of the completed builds was a failure. Except for the three cases where builders bought their own bypass capacitors and got low performers, all the finished builds based on my kits I heard of worked robustly on first power up. This last issue is long solved since I started to provide proven bypass capacitors in the kit. This is how it should be ! And I will continue to provide these kits until my parts stock runs out. So get your kit as long as you can ! There will be no more than 50 kits in total for this year, maybe less !