I'd like to build a mini-Apple // clone and am wondering what would be generally involved in putting together a motherboard, perhaps //c style.

Just ideas.

Is that to say you understand the electronic and software issues but just have not done this type of construction before? The constrution itself is not a very hard project to a person who has done at least some type of electronic assembly, but it would require quite a bit of time and patience due to the size of it.

All things considered, it seems like an unrealistically large project for someone who has to ask this kind of question. If I'm misinterpreting and you think you can do it, this and other forums can offer help; but it may be better to start learning on something smaller like you'll find on www.6502.org.

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http://WilsonMinesCo.com/ lots of 6502 resources
The "second front page" is http://wilsonminesco.com/links.html .
What's an additional VIA among friends, anyhow?

I have built computers, but only PCs from ..."recycled" components...

I'm just saying it would be interesting to do something like that, but I don't really know what building a motherboard would take...I do know however what a typical Apple //e or //c configuration would be, having used them for years, but I don't know much about motherboards.

The fact that it's a motherboard won't change much except that it will have some board-edge connectors for other boards to plug into. I don't remember exactly what's in the IIc-- I think they tried to incorporate a 5.25" disc drive, serial ports, and such, so that you'd have most of what you'd need without plugging other boards in, since there's not room for them.

If you can build it up with wire-wrap, using Apple's exact ICs, it should not be very difficult. But if you have to substitute other ICs, you'll have to be able to make sense of timing diagrams and other spec.s, so if something won't act as a drop-in replacement for the part you can't get, you'll know what to do to make it work. If you have that level of understanding, you could probably go a step further and make the thing simpler and smaller by integrating all the RAM (possibly including a previously optional RAM expansion) into a single IC.

Do you specifically want it to run Apple II software? If you just want a similar class of hardware but don't specifically have any interest in Apple II software, you'll have more freedom.

_________________
http://WilsonMinesCo.com/ lots of 6502 resources
The "second front page" is http://wilsonminesco.com/links.html .
What's an additional VIA among friends, anyhow?