This board is proving to be tougher in some respects than the Apple II. I’m glad I did the II, first. The Apple 1 has slightly smaller traces that are closer together than the II. Bus layout is also more difficult to replicate as the II had most of the busses running under the rows of RAM/ROM and Slots, which made for fairly easy alignment between the rows of pins.

The board is also slightly larger than a II, with a gold finger connecter (more $$). With the rarity of parts, plus power supply circuitry, I wouldn’t be surprised if this going to cost as much or more to put together than the II.

Also I plan on building a batch of the PS2 to ASCII keyboard http://www.willegal.net/appleii/appleii-kb-int.htm interfaces to go with this project. This will provide an easy way to download software, such as Basic from a PC into the machine without having to deal with a cassette port.

One other point for those that have seen the Obtronix replica. That was a very well done project. However, I’m expecting that my Apple 1 PCB will have even more accurate routing of traces, as well as a more accurate silkscreen. Check out my rev 0 replica to actual comparison page http://www.willegal.net/appleii/appleii-compare.htm to see what I expect to do for the Apple 1.

I estimate that this project will take 4-6 months, possibly longer to put together, so if you want a nice project to fill in some of the time, while you wait, Apple II rev 0’s kits are available and ready to ship. 😉

I’m able to wire in two to three 16 pin chips a day. Attached is a snapshot showing current state of the project.

Regards,
Mike Willegal