Epson Apex Product Support Bulletin
Contents
1. Tel 800 873 7766 and should also be available at local electronic component suppliers INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 1 Refer to section 5 of the Apex User s Guide Installing Option Cards for information on removing and replacing the Apex top cover Ensure that the AC power is disconnected from the unit 2 After the top cover is removed unscrew the CPU board retaining screw and disconnect the 5 connectors which are attached to the top of the CPU board Note the positions of the connectors for later reconnection Refer to figure 1 for details of board and connector locations MOTHER BOARD CONN Figure 1 PSB No S 0022A Page 2 of 2 3 Carefully pull up and remove the CPU board and place the board on a static free material with the component side up 4 Insert the four RAM chips in the empty I C sockets marked U9 U10 U11 and U12 on the memory board Be sure to insert the RAM chips in the same direction as the existing RAM chips with pin 1 toward the rear of the board Check to be certain that all chips are properly seated and that none of the pins are bent Refer to Figure 2 for RAM chip locations and installation direction CPU BOARD MEMORY BD 611 539A SOCKET 4464 15 41 464 15 21464 15 18 PIN RAM CHIP 4 REQUIRED Figure 2 5 Reinstall the CPU board into the Apex motherboard slot closest to the power supply Reconnect the 5 connectors and board retaining screw then install the2. The QT 60e was tested on the Equity Il Ill and 386 20 Testing was conducted under MS DOS 3 3 with no problems encountered The Tecmar documentation includes extensive information on installation and operation in a LAN environment General Notes Of the four units tested the Archive and Tecmar drives offered the easiest installation They also provided the best performance with the Tallgrass drive giving the slowest disk to tape and tape to disk operations All four drives were supplied with menu driven tape utility software for the MS DOS environment Command line and timed scheduled operations are also available As previously mentioned the Archive drive also included device drivers for use in a Unix Xenix environment offering the greatest level of flexibility Please contact the manufacturers for additional information Archive Corporation Mountain Computer Inc Data Storage Division 360 El Pueblo Rd 1650 Sunflower Ave Scotts Valley Ca 95066 Costa Mesa Ca 92626 408 438 6650 800 237 4929 Tallgrass ee noge Corp Tecmar Inc 11100 West 82nd St 6225 Cochran Rd Overland Park KS 66214 Solon Oh 44139 913 492 6002 216 349 1009 Product Support Bulletin Subject Apex Apex Plus Equity Series Keyboards Date 4 19 89 PSB No S 0080 Page 1 of 1 Originator REM The purpose of this bulletin is to provide information on the various keyboards used with the Apex Apex Plus and Equity seri
3. top cover 6 Set the dip switches on the CPU board See Section A 3 of the User s Guide for 640KB Switch 3 and 4 should be set in the off position Also check the other dip switch settings to make sure they have not been accidently changed during the upgrade 7 Power on the Apex system and check operation The display should indicate 640KB OK upon initial self test Upgraded Apex CPU boards or Memory boards requiring service should be returned with the factory memory configuration 512KB The Epson Limited Warranty covers the Apex computer product as purchased It does not cover failures caused by improper installation of circuit boards modifications or failures due to components which are not factory installed EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE DEPARTMENT PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN DATE 12 2 87 NUMBER S 0019B SUBJECT EQUITY SERIES APEX MATH CO PROCESSOR SELECTION GUIDE The purpose of this bulletin is to assist in selecting the appropriate numeric co processor for use in the Epson Equity series computers and the Epson Apex computer Use the following table to determine which type of Numeric Co Processor is recommended for the corresponding computer EPSON CPU NUMERIC COMPUTER SPEED CO PROCESSOR SPEED i Equity I 4 77MHz 8087 5 MHz Equity I 4 77 10MHz 8087 1 10 MHz Equity II 4 77 7 16MHzZ 8087 2 8 MHz Equity II 8 10MHz 80287 8 8 MHz Equity III 6 8MHz 80287 6 6 M
4. Epson America Inc Product Support Department 23610 Telo Ave Torrance Ca 90505 Where can obtain warranty repair service for my Epson Apex products Epson America Inc has a network of Authorized Epson Customer Care Centers located in strategic locations across the country If you require service you can call our toll free Consumer Information number at 1 800 922 8911 to locate the nearest Apex Service Center What kind of printer can Iuse with the Apex The Apex comes standard with a parallel interface which is used to connect any printer or plotter with a standard parallel interface A parallel printer cable not included is required to connect a printer to the computer Epson offers three outstanding printers from the ActionPrinter line of 9 pin and 24 pin dot matrix printers The Apex80 is an 80 column printer and the 1750 is a 136 column printer Both have near letter quality print The L1000 printer is an 80 column 24 pin printer with superb letter quality print EPSON AMERICA SERVICE 23610 TELO AVENUE TORRANCE CALIF 90505 NUMBER 0029C PAGE 2 of 6 Does the Apex have a serial interface port An optional IBM PC XT compatible serial board may be installed inside the Apex computer to connect a serial device such as a modem serial mouse serial printer or another computer Many IBM PC XT compatible serial boards are available through computer dealers We recommended using a multifunction board in order to opt
5. In all cases the drive manufacturer s documentation was used as a guide to installation and operation Note that for 8086 88 computers the XT type settings were used For the 80286 386 computers the AT type settings were used This is important for correctly configuring the host adapters or controller cards for IRQ DMA and I O port address Archive VP 150i The VP 150i was tested on the Equity Il Ill and 386 20 Due to the capacity and nature of the drive it is not particularly suited for use in any of the 8086 88 computers This was the only drive supplied with Unix Xenix device drivers It was tested under MS DOS 3 3 and SCO Xenix 286 System V version 2 2 1 with no problems encountered The VP 150i is also Novell tested and certified under the NetWare operating system Mountain Series 4000 FileSafe The Series 4000 FileSafe was tested on the Equity Il III and 386 20 Due to the use of a 16 bit controller it was not tested in any of the 8086 88 computers It was tested under MS DOS 3 3 with no problems encountered A chapter is included in the tape software documentation on backup and restore operations on a local area network including Novell PSB No S 0087 Page 2 of 2 Tallgrass TG 4060 The TG 4060 was tested on the Apex Apex Equity Il Ill and 386 20 It was tested under MS DOS 3 2 and 3 3 with no problems encountered There is no documentation on LAN Operations Tecmar QT 60e
6. SUBJECT DISABLING THE FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER IN EPSON COMPUTERS This bulletin covers the ability or inability to disable the floppy disk controller in the Epson computers FDC CAN COMPUTER DISABLED Equity Equity Il Equity Ill CPU Board Switch 2 Equity I CPU Brd Jumper Lin Position B Equity I Multi function Board 10MHz 12MHz Jumper 2 in Position B Equity Ill Yes Multi function Board Jumper 1 in Position B Jumper 2 in Position B fi Motherboard Remove Jumper El Apex Plus EPSON AMERICA SERVICE 23610 TELO AVENUE TORRANCE CALIF 90505 Subject Date Page Q1 A Q2 Product Support Bulletin Using Expanded Memory with Equity and Apex Computers 3 2 90 PSB No S 0047C 1 of 6 Originator KAS GA What is Expanded Memory Conventional memory managed by MS DOS is limited to 640K In response to the need for greater amounts of accessible memory the LIM EMS Lotus Intel Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification was introduced in 1984 EMS version 3 2 provides usable memory beyond the 640K limit through bank switching The expanded memory is divided into 16K portions called pages The computer accesses these pages through a page frame or window which is 64K of memory located between 768K and 896K in 80286 based systems and between 800K and 960K in 8086 or 8088 based systems 16K pages of memory are allocated for an application s use and the EMM
7. are not compatible with the Apex personal computer The Epson 3 5 half height 720KB floppy drive Epson Model code A112A AA has been tested with the Apex computer and is compatible available from Epson computer dealers Can install a Math Coprocessor chip and what type do I need A Math Coprocessor chip is an option which speeds up the math functions used in many spreadsheet and math intensive software applications It can be bought at electronic parts retailers and computer stores Epson America Inc does not supply them An 8087 2 Math Coprocessor chip which runs at 8MHz is recommended for use with the Apex computer An 8087 Math Coprocessor may also be used but it will only operate reliably When the slower speed 4 77MHz is selected The Math Coprocessor chip is installed in the socket provided on the Apex CPU board the board which has the dip switches and parallel printer interface The dip switches need to be set up to select the math coprocessor according to the User s Guide How can increase the Apex RAM memory to 640K Bytes The Apex comes standard with 512KB of RAM memory which is suitable for most applications The memory can be expanded to 640KB by adding additional RAM memory chips to the CPU memory piggyback board in the empty sockets provided Four 4464 150ns RAM chips are required Epson does not supply these chips directly but they are available from electronic parts retailers They can also be orde
8. cards In order to optimize the use of these option slots it is recommended that a multifunction type option board be used as well as single slot hardcards and external modems which connect to a serial interface port What kind of option cards are available for the Apex computer and where can buy them In general any IBM PC XT compatible option board should work in the Apex computer We suggest visiting a computer retail store to see a wide range of products too extensive to list The products must state specifically that they are IBM PC XT compatible Since there are many different manufacturers it is impossible for us to test all option boards available to make sure they are all compatible We recommend that people make sure to purchase boards from a dealer who will exchange the board if for some reason it is not compatible In order to make the best use of the option slots available it is recommended to use a multifunction type card with clock calendar serial port and game port Epson offers a multi function board for the Apex computer Model code AP1030 which can be ordered from Epson Accessories Marketing They can be contacted at their toll free telephone 1 800 873 7766 and orders can be placed using your credit card What kind of mouse works with the Apex There are many IBM PC compatible mice which will work with the Apex Some come with their own interface boards which take up an option slot A serial mouse can he used wi
9. in this directory rename the program SHELL BAT to AUTOEXEC BAT This will cause the system to automatically load the Plus menu shell on bootup 12 Finally erase PATCHFMT EXE PREPARE BAT and INSTALL from the root directory of C 13 The HardCard installation is now complete Test the system by rebooting the Plus menu shell should run NOTE The original Plus install program creates a floppy diskette containing the Plus files as above but also performs several other operations to make it what they refer to as the REINSTALL diskette In PC DOS systems this Reinstall diskette can later be used for reformatting the HardCard Using the modified APEX procedure however the Plus Utilities diskette that is created cannot be used as the Reinstall diskette If an APEX user wants to reformat the HardCard the user should use BACKUP to backup the contents run SELECT to format then use BACKUP to restore the files You may want to copy the LIGHT COM and SOUND COM utilities back to the HardCard as these files control visual and audible Signals that are used to indicate HardCard access The visual indicator is a flashing rate sign at the upper right of the display defaults to ON and the audible indicator is a buzzing sound defaults to OFF Page 2 of 2 EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE DEPARTMENT PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN DATE 12 1
10. 4 0 supports up to 32Mb of expanded memory where EMS 3 2 supported only 8Mb EMS 4 0 has been changed to make it easier for applications to share expanded memory In EMS 4 0 page mapping has been streamlined and new functions allow application programs to dynamically increase and decrease the amount of expanded memory allocated to them In previous versions of EMS the page frame was located in an unused 64K block of memory between 640K and 1Mb EMS 4 0 subject to limitations in the system hardware supports the page frame anywhere in the first 1Mb of memory Before EMS 4 0 the page frame held four pages Now you can define a page frame of up to eight pages in memory above 640K The size of the page frame is limited only by the amount of available memory There has also been a change to support the smaller than standard 16K memory pages used by some expanded memory boards Is EMS 4 0 compatible with my old expanded memory board The EMM 4 0 driver works with existing hardware You don t need to buy a new expanded memory board However until you use applications that have been written to take advantage of EMS 4 0 you probably won t notice much improvement in performance over your older version Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 PSB No S 0047C Page 3 of 6 What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity and Equity II The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity and II All Card w MMU Multifunction All
11. 4 87 NUMBER S 0031 SUBJECT Equity Series with Microsoft Word and Serial Printers This bulletin is to inform you of a potential problem when using Microsoft Word certain Equity computers and a serial printer The Situation exists on Equity I BIOS rev 2 21 or earlier Equity I BIOS rev 1 02 Equity II BIOS rev 2 00 Equity III 10 MHz BIOS rev 1 50 or earlier Equity III 12 MHz BIOS rev 2 00 Apex BIOS rev 1 00 When Word is configured to drive a serial printer via COM1 or COM2 it will print a character every 1 to 2 seconds A single line of text may take up to a minute to print Word uses BIOS interrupt 14h serial output function 1 send character to port for driving either COM port The function number is placed in the AH register and the interrupt called On return AH is supposed to contain the line control status However AH is still set to 1 indicating that a character is ready to be received Word then calls interrupt 14h function 2 receive character and attempts to receive the character After 1 to 2 seconds the routine times out and transmission is resumed There are three methods of correcting this situation 1 If the printer supports hardware handshaking redirect the printer output MODE LPT1 COM1 and configure Word for LPT1 This works reliably with Epson printers or similar devices 2 Epson has developed a patch program SERFIX COM This is a TSR that insures that proper status is return
12. Computers Inc Liberty PC Quadram Corporation Mini Magiccard EV 138 Everex Systems Inc AST SixPak Premium AST Research AST Rampage AST Research What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity Ill The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity III Grande Byte STB Systems Intel Above Board AT Intel Corporation Liberty AT Quadram Corporation AST Advantage AST Research AST Rampage AT AST Research AST Ramvantage AST Research What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity 64 256KB Expansion Option IBM Above Board PC 1985 Intel Corporation Fastcard IV 1 6 Thesys What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity le The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity le 64 256KB Expansion Option IBM Quad Board Il Quadram Fastcard IV Thesys RAMpage AST Research Note The Intel Above Boards do not currently operate reliably with the Equity le Q10 Will Q11 PSB No S 0047C Page 4 of 6 What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity Il and Equity Ill 10MHz models The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity Il and Equity Ill 10MHz models Advantage Premium AST Research Rampage 286 AST Research Above Board 286 Intel Corporation Above Board 286 p s Intel Corporation Grande Byte E STB Systems Rio Grande STB Systems Elite 16 Profi
13. Expanded Memory Manager handles the job of mapping the pages in and out of the page frame as they are needed However in order to make use of expanded memory the software must be written to take advantage of the EMS Software such as Lotus 1 2 3 Microsoft Windows and Borland s SideKick Plus make use of expanded memory EMS is limited to 8Mb of expanded memory What is EEMS A superset of EMS AQA EEMS AST Quadram Ashton Tate Enhanced Expanded Memory Specification provides greater flexibility in the mapping of expanded memory However it also uses the technique of bank switching and has its own memory manager which accommodates such specially written software as Quarterdeck s DESQview EEMS is also limited to 8Mb of expanded memory Q3 Q4 Q5 PSB No S 0047C Page 2 of 6 Wee about the 155Mb RAM listed as the maximum for the Equity This larger amount of RAM is the maximum usable memory range for an 80286 microprocessor and generally refers to extended memory Extended memory starts at the 1Mb boundary and extends out to 16Mb As it requires a 24 bit address to access memory in this range extended memory is handled by the protected mode of the 80286 Examples of currently available software that can switch into protected mode to use extended memory are Framework Il AutoCAD the VDisk RAM disk and Xenix OS How does LIM EMS 4 0 the latest version differ from the earlier version LIM EMS 3 2 EMS
14. Hz Equity III 6 8 10 12 MHz 80287 8 8 MHz Product enhanced with increased CPU speed of 6 8 12Mhz starting with all units manufactured in the U S A Page 1 of 1
15. M and 1 44M or normal 860K and 720K disk drives The Equity Ill was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 144M or normal 860K and 720K disk drives The Equity 386SX was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 144M or normal 360K and 720K disk drives The Equity 386 20 was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 360K and 720K disk drives The Epson APEX was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 860K and 720K disk drives The Epson APEX was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 860K and 720K disk drives APEX 100 APEX 200 NOTE PSB No S 008B Page 3 of 3 The Epson APEX 100 was found compatible with the OmniBridge controll
16. Product Support Bulletin Subject Equity Apex Compatibility with the SOTA 386si Date 3 02 90 PSB No S 0111 Page 1 of 3 Originator KAS a5 The purpose of this bulletin is to provide the 80386 Accelerator board test results conducted oy the Computer Product Support Center involving the SOTA 386si from SOTA Technology inc The Equity models tested were the Equity Equity Il Equity and Equity le The Apex models tested were the Apex Apex Plus and Apex 100 All were tested with Norton Utilities and MS DOS The table below shows compatibility and the Norton SI rating of the various systems Model Norton Sl Compatibility Equity 12 0 Functioned normally with Norton Utilities and MS DOS 2 11 Equity l 12 0 16 9 Functioned normally with MS DOS 3 3 and Norton Utilities at both CPU speeds Equity le NA Unable to boot at 10MHz Performance erratic at 4 77MHz Equity Il 14 3 Functioned normally with MS DOS 3 2 and Norton Utilities Tested only at 7 16MHz Apex 15 9 Unable to boot at 4 77MHz Functioned normally at 8MHz with MS DOS 3 2 and Norton Utilities Apex Plus 11 5 Unable to boot at 9 54MHz Functioned normally at 4 77MHz with MS DOS 3 2 and Norton Utilities Apex 100 12 0 16 9 Functioned normally with MS DOS 3 3 and Norton Utilities PSB No S 0111 Page 2 of 3 Installation of the board in most of the units was quick and simple to do when following the installation instructions accompany
17. X256KB 4X256KB 4X256KB 4MB 4X1MB 8MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB 10MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB 4X256KB 4X256KB 16MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB Note Refer to PSB S 0095 for 18MB RAM Setup information Is there a driver supplied with the Equity 386 20 to allow the use of the extended memory as expanded memory Yes the Equity 386 20 system software includes the device driver EEMM386EXE This driver emulates LIM EMS 4 0 memory using the extended memory supplied by the additional SIMMs It will support only the onboard memory above 1 MB up to 15MB This is the maximum memory that can be installed on the CHET RM Heber It will not support memory installed on memory expansion oards Are there any expanded memory boards that are compatible with the Equity LT No the option slots on the LT require a special connector The hard drive controller and the LT cartridge modem are the only option cards currently available from Epson America What apange memory boards are compatible with the Apex by Epson The Above Board PC from Intel Corporation has been tested by Epson in the Apex Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 PSB No S 0047C Page 6of6 Are there any general guidelines for determining the chip speed to install on the memory expansion boards Yes if the CPU speed is 8MHz or less use 150ns RAM chips If the CPU speed is 10 12MHz use 120ns RAM chips Is there anything that should be kept in mind during the installation procedure for the memory
18. ard for use in IBM PC XT and compatible computers The unit employs controller circuitry from OMTI Scientific Micro Systems and uses 2 7 RLL encoding The HardCard has been found to be compatible with the Apex computer but there has been some confusion among customers who are running through the installation procedures This is due to the HardCard s special installation procedure which has been designed specifically for use with PC DOS Because of certain file name differences between MS DOS and PC DOS the Plus install program will not run using the APEX MS DOS The HardCard is shipped in a partitioned and formatted state with a number of files included on it The directory of files is as follows INSTALL EXE 47479 1 01 80 12 06a HCD BAT 30 1 01 80 12 07a HCD1 BAT 128 1 01 80 12 07a HCD2 EXE 54769 1 01 80 12 07a HCD3 DAT 13440 1 01 80 12 07a HCD3 DIF 704 1 01 80 12 07a HCD6 SCR 4224 1 01 80 12 07a PREPARE BAT 235 1 01 80 12 08a SHELL BAT 18 1 01 80 12 07a LIGHT COM 145 1 01 80 12 07a SOUND COM 145 1 01 80 12 07a PATCHFMT EXE 12670 1 01 80 12 08a INSTALL DAT 425 1 01 80 12 06a These files comprise the installation routine INSTALL EXE INSTALL DAT PATCHFMT EXE PREPARE BAT and SHELL BAT the Plus Development fixed disk menu program HCD and supplemental utilities LIGHT COM and SOUND COM Please refer to the APEX MS DOS manual for details on the specific command functions during the following installation procedu
19. deo board provided with the Apex computer Composite color monitors will only display shades of gray IBM compatible EGA monitors can also be used if an EGA video board is installed available from computer dealers IBM compatible TTL monochrome monitors may be used if a monochrome graphics video board is installed available from computer dealers The Apex video board does not support TTL monochrome monitors A standard television set cannot be used with the Apex although there are some new TV sets being manufactured which can also be used as computer monitors with the proper interface card Check with the dealer to be sure We have not tested any Where can Iget software for the Apex computer Epson America Inc does not supply software other than that which is bundled with the unit as sold You can use virtually all IBM PC XT compatible software available at stores which carry software Can Iuse an IBM enhanced style keyboard with the Apex Yes an IBM compatible enhanced style keyboard can be used Dip switch 1 must be set to the off position We have tested the Datadesk Turbo 101 keyboard with the Apex and it works fine NUMBER 0029C PAGE 5 of 6 How many option cards can be installed in the Apex The Apex has three available option expansion slots as delivered one of them is occupied by the included video adapter board The expansion sfllotts can be used for a wide variety of JIBM PC XT compatible 8 bit option
20. ed from INT 14h function 1 This program is available from CompuServe Epson and Microsoft Forums and the Product Support Center BBS 3 A revised ROM BIOS has been developed for the above systems This is a limited release and will only be supplied on an as needed basis Method 1 is the easiest solution Method 2 is effective and is recommended for individual users Method 3 should be reserved for large multi unit upgrades on an as needed basis Please contact the Systems Support Group if you need additional information Page 1 of 1 EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN PSB NO S 0029C IDATE 10 10 88 ORIGINATOR REM PAGE 1 of 6 SUB ECT APEX PERSONAL COMPUTER ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS Where can I obtain help regarding software or hardware questions on the Apex computer PFS First Choice applications software Software Publishing Corp provides the warranty and end user support for the First Choice software Please refer to Appendix E of the First Choice User s Guide for customer support information The telephone number for PFS First Choice support is 415 962 9002 Apex Hardware and MS DOS GW BASIC software support Epson America Inc provides technical support for questions regarding the MS DOS GW BASIC software and the Apex computer Apex printer and Apex monitors hardware Customers can obtain Support by calling our Product Support Department 213 539 9955 or by writing to
21. er It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 360K and 720K disk drives The Epson APEX 200 was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 360K and 720K disk drives The recommended switch settings for the OmniBridge controller are as follows 1 1 DOWN DOWN 2 1 1 2 DOWN 2 2 DOWN 1 3 DOWN 2 3 UP 1 4 DOWN 2 4 UP These settings select NO ADDRESS for the OmniBridge BIOS and allow it to coexist with the internal FDC of the computer in which it is being installed This way you do not need to disable the internal FDC or connect any cables from the OmniBridge to internal floppy drives This was found to be a universal setting for all of the computers listed above as compatible with the OmniBridge controller Product Support Bulletin Subject Tape Backup System Test Results Date 6 13 89 PSB No S 0087 Page 1 of 2 Originator MWT JAR The Epson America Product Support Center has recently tested four tape backup systems Archive VP 150i Internal 150MB Mountain Series 4000 FileSafe External 40MB Tallgrass TG 4060 External 60MB Tecmar QT 60e External 60MB The tape drives were tested on a variety of systems please see the notes below
22. es computers and the part numbers of the keyboard subassemblies used with these keyboards The Apex and Apex Plus computer keyboards are to be replaced as whole units The Equity series keyboards are repaired to the subassembly level The Equity Ill keyboard PCB assembly is the only one that comes with the key top set attached Since some of the keyboards have the same model numbers the difference can be determined by the FCC ID number in those cases The chart below provides a quick reference to determine the part number of the main keyboard PCB assembly key top set control logic subassembly and keyboard cable Apex Apex Plus Equity Il Ill Keyboard Keyboard Key Top Keyboard Model Unit Model PCB Assy set Cable Apex A265091A Equity I II Y145501001 Y145501021 Y144305000 Apex Plus 93553905410 Equity Ill KAFLZ3AEPS1 attached KACCL600UCA Equity Il Ill 386 20 Keyboard Control Key Top Keyboard Model Code FCC ID PCB Assy Board set Cable Q203A AA BKM9A8Q203A Y127501001 attached Y127501022 Y127501031 Q303A AA BMK9A8Q303A Y127501001 attached Y127501022 Y127501031 Q203A A103A AA C9S4D7Q203A Y163502001 none Y127501022 Y163502020 Q203A A103A AA C9S4DB4701 Y163504007 Y171501017 Y127501022 Y163504006 Equity le Keyboard Control Key Top Keyboard Model Code FCC ID PCB Assy Board set Cable E1160A C9S4D84701 201 Y163504007 Y171501017 Y171501007 Y171501006 EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN
23. expansion boards Yes when installing the memory boards in the Equity Il and Equity Ill 12MHz models remember that the bus speed is 12MHz For example the Intel Above Board 288 and Above Board Plus allow you to set up the bus speed and chip speed in their installation programs What is meant by backfilling memory when using software such as DESQview Backfilling is a function of many expanded memory boards which allows a portion of the board s memory to be used as conventional memory In this way you could turn a 256K system into one with 840K memory or more In certain situations you may want to disable some of the computer s conventional memory and the use the memory on the expansion board i e DESQview Which Epson computers have memory settings that allow backfilling memory The Equity Equity Equity Il and Equity III allow backfill The Equity comes with 256K standard and the Apex comes with 512K thus allowing backfill The Equity has DIP switch settings allowing system memory to be disabled to 256K or 512K The Equity Il and Equity Ill have jumpers on the system memory boards to allow memory to be disabled to 256K and 512K EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE DEPARTMENT PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN DATE 1 26 88 NUMBER S 0035 SUBJECT USING THE PLUS DEVELOPMENT HARDCARD WITH THE APEX PC The Plus Development HardCard 20 is a single slot 20 MB fixed disk mounted on an expansion slot c
24. ht The Table A I on page A 3 is correct An errata sheet has been placed in the manuals since this error was discovered I can t find some of the programs referred to in the MS DOS 3 2 manual on the MS DOS diskette Where are they The GW BASIC diskette contains many of the utility programs which are referred to in the MS DOS manual Will my Apex work in foreign countries The Apex computer can be used in both the United States and internationally simply by selecting the appropriate input voltage on the voltage selection switch located on the rear of the unit The Apex will operate on either 115VAC or 230VAC at 50 60 Hz power One thing to be aware of if taking an Apex overseas is that the voltage on the power outlet on the rear of the computer is the same as the input voltage of the computer If you have a monitor or other device plugged into this outlet make sure it is capable of operating on the same voltage and frequency that the computer is connected to Most monitors and printers are not set up to operate on dual voltages and will be damaged if plugged into the wrong AC voltage This applies to the Apex monitors and printers as well EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN PSB NO S 0028A DATE 6 29 88 PAGE 1 of 1 SWB ECT EPSON 3 5 720KB FLOPPY DISK DRIVE COMPATIBILITY The purpose of this bulletin is to provide information regarding the compatibility of the Epson 3 5 720KB floppy disk dr
25. imize the use of available option card slots Epson offers a multifunction board Epson Part No AP 1030A AA which has a serial interface port a game port interface and a Clock Calendar The board is available from some Apex retailers or t Can be purchased directly from Epson s Accessories Marketing at their toll free telephone 1 800 873 7766 and orders can be placed using your credit card Can a hard disk drive be installed Yes you can either replace the lower floppy disk drive with a half height hard disk drive or install a hard disk card One nice thing about installing a hard card is that you keep both floppy drives which comes in handy for disk copying In either case you will lose an option slot because the hard disk drive requires a separate hard disk controller card We recommend a hard disk which draws 14 watts or less Another thing which you must consider if you decide on using a hard card is the size width of the hard card Most hard cards take up more than one slot usually 1 1 2 slots which means they will fit in one slot if the board next to them is a half length board The Plus Development hardcards are very thin so they will fit no matter what type of board is in the adjacent slot A less expensive 1 1 2 slot hard card which we have tested in the Apex is the Standard Brand Flashcard 20 We have heard reports from a few customers who have had difficulty in getting them operating correctly Since we did not have a proble
26. ing the boards Installation of the SOTA 386si in the Equity and the Equity Il is rather difficult Due to the amount of disassembly required we strongly recommend that only Authorized Service Centers install the board in the Equity and Equity II Installation Instructions Equity 1 Remove the following from the main unit a upper case b rear panel c front panel d FDD power supply block 2 Follow instructions for a standard installation for the SOTA 386si in an 8088 based system Take care to fold the SOTA connector cable so as n ie prevent reassembly The cable is sturdy and will tolerate being olded 3 Reassemble the main unit and go through the testing and initialization procedure outlined in the SOTA manual Equity Il 1 Remove the following from the main unit a upper case b rear panel c front panel d FDD power supply block 2 Follow instructions for a standard installation for the SOTA 386si in an 8086 based system Take care to fold the SOTA connector cable so as not to prevent reassembly This will necessitate routing the cable so that it does not conflict with the power connection to the main system board The cable is sturdy and will tolerate being folded 3 Reassemble the main unit and go through the testing and initialization procedure outlined in the SOTA manual PSB No S 0111 Page 3 of 3 Our Computer Product Support Center receives numerous calls requesting information and recommenda
27. ive Product Code Al12A AA with the Apex and Equity series computers The 3 5 floppy disk drive must be used with MS DOS 3 2 or higher Please refer to the following table for compatibility information special setup required Equity supported Equity I E Must include DRIVPARM D 1 F 2 in CONFIG SYSI HI Not supported Equity I No special setup required Equity II No special setup required Equity M No special setup required The Epson 3 5 floppy disk drive is not compatible with the Equity I or the Equity M Manzana Microsystems Inc offers a 3 5 720KB floppy disk drive which is compatible with the Equity III computer when used with their 3FIVE device driver Refer to Product Support Bulletin S 0027A for detailed information on using the DRIVPARM command to configure Equity II systems for using the 3 5 floppy disk drive EPSON AMERICA SERVICE 23610 TELO AVENUE TORRANCE CALIF 90505 Product Support Bulletin Subject Apex Computer 640KB Memory Upgrade Procedure Date 6 7 89 PSB No S 0022 2 Page 1 of 2 Originator REM The Apex by Epson comes standard with 512KB of RAM memory This can be expanded to 640KB by installing additional RAM chips on the Apex memory piggyback board in the I C sockets provided The memory board is attached to the CPU board This upgrade requires 4 each 4464 21464 or 41464 4 x 64 DRAMs 150ns which are available from Epson s Accessories Marketing department
28. m and we have spoken to other customers who have not had problems we believe those who did have problems either had defective hard cards or did not have them installed correctly Some hard disk manufacturers recommend that the computer have at least a 110 watt power supply This is correct when installing them in an BM PC XT and many compatibles but Epson uses many custom low power LSI chips which leaves plenty of power for added peripherals with its 80 watt power supply To be on the safe side we recommend using a hard disk which draws less than 12 watts The Plus Development hard card only requires 8 watts of power The most commonly used hard drive is the Seagate ST 225 20MB drive We recommend using a Western Digital Model WD1002A WX1 hard disk controller card as that model has been tested with the Apex Customers have reported having problems with other cards such as the Western Digital XT GEN board NUMBER 0029C PAGE 3 of 6 What kind of Disk drives does the Apex have and what kind of floppy di ttes should use The Apex comes standard with two half height 5 1 4 360KB floppy disk drives Make sure to use only double sided double density soft sector 48 TPI floppy diskettes The diskette boxes are usually marked DSDD or 2S8 2D Soft Sector 48TPl New blank diskettes must be formatted in the computer before being used Can use other types of floppy disk drives with the Apex 1 2MB half height floppy disk drives
29. normal 360K and 720K disk drives The Equity Il was found to be totally incompatible with the OmniBridge controller The Equity IIl was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 360K and 720K disk drives The Equity was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 360K and 720K disk drives The Equity le was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support only one external floppy drive unlike the other models tested The drive could be used as a high density 1 2Mb and 1 44Mb or normal 360K and 720K disk drive Equity Il Equity lle Equity Ill Equity 386SX Equity 386 20 APEX APEX PSB No S 0088B Page 2 of 3 The Equity Il was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or normal 360K and 720K disk drives The Equity lle was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2
30. re Page 1 of 2 HARDCARD INSTALLATION MODIFIED FOR THE EPSON APEX 1 After installing the HardCard in one of the option slots boot the computer using the APEX MS DOS disk in drive A 2 Enter SYS C to transfer MS DOS system to the HardCard 3 Copy COMMAND COM and F ORMAT COM from the MS DOS diskette into the root directory of the HardCard 4 Remove the MS DOS diskette and insert a blank diskette in drive A Log onto C and enter FORMAT A to format the disk 5 copy all files from the HardCard to the formatted diskette Label this diskette Plus Utilities 6 Remove the Plus Utilities diskette and press the RESET button on the APEX The system should reboot from the HardCard 7 Reinsert the Epson MS DOS diskette log onto drive A run FDISK to partition the dHardCard for MS DOS and then run SELECT to format the HardCard When finished remove the APEX diskette and reset the system Ensure that the APEX boots from the HardCard 8 Reinsert the Plus Utilities diskette Copy all the files from the Plus Utilities diskette back into the root directory of the HardCard Remove and store the diskette in a safe place 9 Copy all files from the Epson Apex diskette s into the root directory of the HardCard 10 Log into the root directory of drive C and enter the command PREPARE This will run a batch file that will create 16 empty subdirectories on the HardCard into which applications software will later be loaded 11 Also
31. red from mail order sources which advertise in computer magazines such as PC Magazine You should be certain to order the 4464 type 150ns RAM chips as there are other types of 64K RAM chips which will not work Since this is not the standard configuration of the Apex as it is offered Epson will not provide warranty support of this upgrade If service is required these RAM chips should be removed before returning the Apex for repair NUMBER A 0029C PAGE 4 of 6 Can I use the Apex Monochrome Monitor with other IBM PC compatible computers The Apex 12 Monochrome monitor uses a composite video signal using an RCA type connector which is compatible with the video board supplied with the Apex computer We have not tested it with other video boards but it should operate reliably with boards providing a composite video output Can Iuse the Apex color monitor with other IBM PC compatible computers and what are the specifications The Apex color monitor is an BM PC compatible 16 color RGB dual function monitor which can be set up for either color or green screen mode with a switch on the rear panel It has a 640 x 200 black and white or 320 x 200 4 color graphics dot resolution It can display 16 colors in 80 column x 25 row text mode The dot pitch is 52mm What other monitors are compatible with the Apex and is it possible to use a television set 1BM PC compatible RGB color or composite monochrome monitors work with the vi
32. t Systems run at 8MHz not at 10MHt What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity Il and Equity Ill 12MHz models The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity II and Equity Ill 12MHz models Rampage 286 Plus AST Research Elite 16 Profit Systems Above Board Plus Intel Corporation NOTE Previously boards from Micron Technology were listed as compatible Q12 with the 12MHz models of the Equity Il and Equity Ill They have been removed from the list because Micron no longer produces ISA memory boards How do you expand the memory of the Equity 386 20 Memory expansion in the Equity 386 20 can be accomplished by adding SIMMs single in line memory modules to the CHET RM board Both 256K and 1Mb SIMMs are available from Epson America The 256K SIMMs are sold in 1Mb kits and the 1Mb SIMMs are sold in 2Mb kits Compatible third party 1Mb SIMMs are available from Matsushita Toshiba and CDC Enterprises You can also use third party memory expansion boards such as those listed above for the Equity II Ill Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 PSB No S 0047C Page 5of6 Are there any guidelines to installing the SIMMs in the Equity 386 20 Yes when SIMMs are installed to increase memory beyond 1Mb they must be installed so that banks of SIMMs are installed as matched pairs See the matrix below Memory BankO Bank 1 Bank 2 Bank 3 1MB 4X256KB 2MB 4X256KB 4X256KB 4MB 4X256KB 4
33. th the Epson Multifunction board See your local computer dealer for more information What kind of joystick can Iuse with the Apex and where do you connect it There are many IBM compatible joysticks available and some have different types of connectors The joystick connector must match the connector type on the board it is being used with An IBM compatible joystick with a 15 pin IBM compatible connector must be used with the Epson Multifunction board We recommend using the Kraft Premium joystick as we have tested it with the Apex using the EPSON Multifunction board NUMBER 0029C PAGE 6 of 6 What type of modem can be used with the Apex IBM PC XT compatible internal modems can be used as well as external modems which connect to a Serial interface port A serial interface board or multifunction option board must be installed to use an external modem Epson manufactures both types of modems which are available from Epson computer dealers The Epson Link 1200 external 1200 baud modem Epson P N C202A A and the Epson Link 1200 PC internal modem Epson P N C203A A My computer would not work when I set the dip switches as described in the User s Guide but it worked when Iset them in the opposite setting Why An error was made in the original Apex User s Guide Appendix A page A 2 for setting the dip switches The book indicates that the switches are OFF when set to the right The switches are actually ON when set to the rig
34. tions on 80386 Accelerator boards for use with the Equity and Apex 8088 and 8086 based personal computers We have found that the SOTA 386si may meet your requirements and are competitively priced Although these boards were tested by qualified product support specialists Epson America makes no representations that these third party products are compatible with all hardware configurations or software applications We recommend that you certify these products with your specific hardware and software requirements and consult with the third party vendor to ensure reliable operation SOTA Technology can be reached at SOTA Technology Inc 657 N Pastoria Ave Sunnyvale CA 94086 Phone 408 245 3366 Subject Date Page Product Support Bulletin Equity and Apex Series Compatibility with the System OmniBridge Controller and BridgeFiler External Floppy Drives 04 11 90 PSB No S 0088B 1 of 3 Originator KAS Kar The purpose of this bulletin is to provide the results of compatibility testing conducted by the Computer Product Support Center with the Sysgen OmniBridge controller and Bridge Filer external floppy disk drives Model Equity Equity Il Equity Ill Equity Equity le Comments The Equity was found compatible with the OmniBridge controller It was able to support one or two external disk drives daisychained together The external drives could be used as high density 1 2M and 1 44M or
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