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LGR Oddware - Diamond Trackstar, Apple II on PC
🕑 Added 2023-07-06 02:40:22 +0000 UTChttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-6AKe2pvsQ
This one's been a long time coming! For years I've been curious about the Diamond Trackstar series of cards from the 80s. And after a couple of pricey purchases and some items courteously on loan for this video, we've finally got a nice Oddware episode to show for it.
So let's take a look at the Diamond Trackstar cards! These are effectively Apple II computers on an ISA card, bringing near-perfect compatibility to DOS PCs. The idea of slapping a whole computer inside of another computer is delightful, especially when we're talking legends like the Apple II and the IBM PC. It's one thing to run an emulator or a virtual system through software years after the systems were relevant, but this hardware was out during the heyday of each platform. The concept is brazen and awesome, I can't help but be enamored by these kinds of things! And the educational details I uncovered along the way were pretty fun, too.
Hope y'all enjoy this one! I'll be back next week with a donations unboxing, it's been like... seven months since the last one? Yee. And $5+ patrons can expect the LGR Wrap Up for June pretty soon, too!
Comments
CubicleNate
Such a cool device! Thanks for this video. I like the time in the 80s and 90s when computers would play the part of multiple machines through emulation or hardware trickery. Such a neat time!
LGR
Hehe, indeed! Can't imagine it did anything here at all with that thick steel-enclosed IBM PC XT, the Trackstar worked just fine without foil too. But yes, certainly ain't stupid if it works in the situations that need it :D
Daniel Aufmann
That is really hilarious about the manual recommending putting tinfoil under the monitor. I recently got an Apple IIe setup and found that the TV I was using as a monitor was interfering with the disk drives and giving me all sorts of I/O errors. The solution I came up with? Take a board, wrap it in tinfoil, and put it in between the monitor and the drives. It looks ridiculous, but it actually does work, so yeah, I guess if it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid, right? :)
LGR
Could always corner the market on Quadram Quadlink coverage? :)
Jim Leonard
Beat me to it! Guess I'll send my cards back :-D
