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The original Apple II and II Plus computers were built with all off-the-shelf components. It wasn’t until the later models like the IIe that Apple was getting custom chips made which added new features and reduced manufacturing costs.
Many of the basic logic chips, including the 6502 CPU itself, are still available today so Simon Boak built a “homebrew clone” of an Apple II Plus. Apple included circuit diagrams in the original manual and entire books have been published describing how the circuits function. There’s no mystery to how the Apple II is put together.
Some modern refinements:
- SRAM replacing DRAM
- Use the Apple VGA card for video
- Simplified clock
- A USB keyboard
Read more in the post here and detailed files on GitHub under an open MIT license.
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