Micro Smartport MicroSD Apple II Drive Emulator

This board is a simple disk drive emulator for Apple II Computers, such as the IIGS, IIc, IIc Plus, and other machines that support Smartport drives in ROM or with an add-on card.

Four disk images copied to a MicroSD card can be rotated through by pressing the eject button and advancing one position for each quick press. Then the machine can be soft rebooted with the keyboard or power cycled to boot from the image that was selected. Check the GitHub page for additional information.

Features:

• Push-push Molex microSD slot
• Side action eject button to cycle to another boot disk image
• Status LED
• SD card activity LED
• Authentic NOS DB19 connector
• Footprint for soldering an ICSP pin header for flashing (6 pin header is not included)
• Compatible with version the open source 1.17 firmware (MIT License)
• v0.2 Flips the floppy connector to the component side of the board as shown in the first two images

Flashed with firmware version "1.17b" by TT Design with some changes to UX to allow for:

• Soft-reboot after changing the boot disk
• Switching through more than one image at a time to set the boot disk
• Some minor tweaks for code execution efficiency

Note: Please check/confirm if your machine supports Smartport drives before purchasing. Does not include microSD card.

Compatible Apple II Computers

Apple IIgs
Even when the startup slot is set to #5 and all other bootable devices are removed, the startup timing may not always align perfectly. In such cases, use the shortcut Open Apple + Control + Reset to reboot. New users should ensure that the Open Apple key is released last to facilitate a smoother reboot process.

Apple IIc and Apple IIc Plus
Smartport functionality is not automatically enabled on the Apple IIc if the system is equipped with ROM 255 (or possibly ROM0). A ROM upgrade is necessary; please refer to the section below for additional details.

Apple IIe, IIe Enhanced, and IIe Platinum
These models perform reliably with the Grappler Minus card combined with SoftSP DIY ROM versions V2, V3, or V6-a. The card should be installed in slot #5 and accessed through the DiskII card in slot #6, effectively linking Smartport functionality between the two cards. Alternatively, similar results can be achieved using the Liron card or BMOW’s advanced "Yellowstone" card.

Apple II Plus
This model is also compatible with the Grappler Minus card when used with SoftSP DIY ROM versions V2, V3, or V6-a.

Note on Using the Apple IIc Smartport

For the Apple IIc, Smartport will remain disabled if the system is running ROM 255 (or potentially ROM0). To verify your ROM version, execute the following command at the Basic prompt:

If the output is 255, a ROM replacement is required. Smartport is supported with ROM versions labeled 3, 4, or 4x; systems displaying these numbers do not need a replacement.

Updated ROMs are available online (or you can program your own EPROM), including the enhanced and updated (2018) ROM4X. This version is highly recommended for optimal performance.

Background:

I needed to boot an Apple IIGS to test my ADB optical mouse board for a customer. I threw together some spare parts (arduino, microSD breakout, jumper wires) to make a hacked SmartportSD. It worked so well that I decided (like others) to spin this tiny board. It's compatible with version 1.17 of the firmware.