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How to test a 80 columns card (sup’r’terminal)
Posted by: Cedsrepairs on 2022-09-25 07:39:58
hello everyone ,

i happen to have a sup’r’terminal 80 columns card for my apple 2

it comes with a small socket to put on top of one of the chips and I fixed some bad solder joints .

Even after plugging it in in the right way ; with the little cable to the chip connected on the motherboard ; the card doesn’t seem to work but I’m not sure how to test it
I just did a pr#3 and hooked up the output ; and there’s nothing to be seen

Does anyone know how to properly use those ? And maybe the most common issues ?
One thing that stands out is that the power resistor ( big black tube) « smells hot » and is getting hot . I wonder why the heck they did put such a resistor that just seems to be sitting in the 5V rail to load it for the sake of it

i plan to remove all the logic that is soldered ( 20 chips !) and put them all on sockets ; after checking each chip in a tester ; to fix this card for good … And so it remains fixable in the future .
but if i can avoid unsoldering 20 chips that would be great too

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Posted by: bibilit on 2022-09-25 10:24:08
You can find the manual here :


archive.org

Sup'R'Terminal M&R : M & R Enterprises : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The SUP’R’TERMINAL is an interface card for the Apple II or II+ that provides 80-characters per line, 24-lines per screen. It requires a video...
archive.org

A modification should be done on the keyboard side as well.
Another monitor should be connected on the card also.
Posted by: btb on 2023-04-15 12:26:25
Hi @Cedsrepairs! One thing you definitely need is a small second board which pulls the clock signal off one of the chips on the motherboard.

As for desoldering the chips on your board - If you haven't done it yet and you do go through with it, try to get some clear photos of the board so we can see the traces underneath them - I don't think a schematic of this board has been been made.
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