Apple 1 Parts
Obtaining
parts to build a physical replica of an Apple 1 turns out to be much
harder (and more costly) than finding the parts for the Apple II rev
0 replica. Other than sockets and resistors and capacitors, most
of the parts of the Apple 1 can not be found at usual sources for current
production parts like mouser or digikey. However, Unicorn Electronics
stocks most of the 74xx series parts and a number of the others at very
reasonable prices. Here are a couple of other vendors that are
worth checking for obsolete parts.
BG micro
Jameco
JDR
anchor-electronics
I
have found that many of out of production parts that Unicorn doesn't
have, must be purchased from specialists in obsolete and recycled
chips. With those dealers, stock varies considerably.
Prices are even more variable and expect to purchase a minimum
amount per order or even item (often $200). These companies
are used to dealing with businesses, so will often ask for a
purchase order. Once you have determined that a vendor has the
parts you need at a price you can afford, they may next ask for a PO.
Just write up a one page document that shows who you are, who
they are and what you want and fax it to them.
Also, when
estimating the cost of your A1 clone project, don't forget to factor in
the cost of shipping. You may have to deal with 10 or 12
different vendors to find all the parts you need and shipping from all
those separate dealers may cost you a hundred dollars or more.
In
a few cases, while procuring parts for my kits, I have purchased a
vendors entire stock of a hard to find part. At some point, once
I feel that I have satisfied the immediate demand for A1 kits, I
will likely offer up limited quantities of extra stock of these hard to
find components to Apple 1 owners. Since the cost of obtaining
these parts is high and the dependibility of the supply chain is
non-existant, be forwarned that I will be asking premium prices for
these parts. I recommend that you try to find parts elsewhere,
before coming to me.
Here is link to an Apple 1 Bill of Materials that will give you an idea of the cost of tackling such a project (not including the PCB).