Sapient Technologies, a company focused on the Apple Lisa, has announced a series of boards intended to extend the life of the Lisa computer nearly indefinitely. The team members is a who’s Who of the Lisa computing world and brings a great wealth of knowledge and expertise to the project. The team includes:
Some of the boards which are being developed include the new Lisa1, Lisa 2/5 Motherboard , the Lisa 2/5 Input-Output board, and the Lisa 1, Lisa 2/5, Lisa 2/10(XL) CPU Board.
The new Lisa1, Lisa 2/5 Motherboard features some design changes. An interrupt switch has been added and a fan has been built in. The fan can be removed if not wanted. Of course ALL components are new. The board is totally compatible with the old hardware. And unlike all the old MBs for this model, there is NO corrosion!
The new Lisa1, Lisa 2/5 Input-Output board features some design changes. First, there is NO BATTERY PACK to corrode the whole system. The number of components has been reduced. A new EPROM was developed to allow the use of 400K, 800K and Twiggy Disk Drives. The user can, of course use his original eprom if he wishes. The new EPROM is optional. A jumper beside the EPROM can be used to engage the R47 Resistor and activate the Twiggy Drive Controller. Then, if you have Twiggy Drives, you can use them as a Lisa 1. Outlines on the board were added to assist the user with the installation of the MacWorks Plus II PFG Board and the installation of the X/COPS daughter board. The board is totally compatible with the old hardware.
The Lisa 1, Lisa 2/5 and Lisa 2/10 all use the same CPU Board. This new board is compatible with all these models and features a number design changes, including: component elimination or consolidation. A hidden feature of the Lisa, Inverse Video, was brought back to life and is active. A variety of new EPROMS have been developed to combine the normal “H” ROMS and the Lisa 1 “D” ROMS. But the user can install their original EPROMS with no problem.
According to John Woodall, curator of Vintagemicros.com, ”
Two years ago I was in contact with Todd Meyer of Sapient Technologies. We were discussing the fact that Lisa hardware was vanishing. After more than 30 years it was corroding away. Todd suggested we form a team and build all new Lisa Boards. With Todd as the team leader, we enlisted the help of James MacPhail of Sigma Seven Systems Ltd. and Rick Ragnini (long time Lisa enthusiast).That made four of us. We begain recreating and adding some new features to the original board design. Now we have boards reaching the finish line!All the new boards are hand built by VintageMicros. James MacPhail and Rick Ragnini take care of Design and Engineering. All four team memebers participate in testing. So far we have eight different new Lisa Boards. Four of which are listed in the VintageMicros web store.
The availability of these new products will be announced through VintageMicros.COM
