Prolific hardware developer Mike Willegal has handed off management of his original Apple-1 clone, the Mimeo 1. The boards were first made commercially available in 2010 and "have been sold to vintage computer buffs around the world", writes Willegal. "However, the learning part of the process, which is one of things that keeps me interested in my hobbies, has not been there over the past few years."

Henceforth, the Mimeo 1 will be developed and distributed by Corey Cohen, an Apple-1 enthusiast who was previously profiled in the New York Times for his work on restoring an original Apple-1 sold at Christie’s auction house. Find the Mimeo 1’s new home at Cohen’s website.

With all the recent news about Apple-1 computers fetching the 21st century equivalent of a king’s ransom seemingly every few months, and more and more units emerging from storage units, garages and attics, Mike Willegal decided it was time to give his Apple-1 Registry a facelift.  The new layout features a clickable table of units in an easier-to-read format and now includes recently-discovered machines updated information, with more improvements coming.

Check it out here.

This month on Open Apple, the Apple II community’s only monthly podcast, Mike and Ken chat with Mike Willegal, Apple-1 and Apple II reproduction expert extraordinaire. His topic is hot this month: five Apple-1 computers were simultaneously on display at the History San Jose museum; one is being auctioned online; Willegal was interviewed for a Kickstarter-funded book about the Apple-1; and his clones are appearing in a feature-length film about Steve Jobs — what a guy! He even went to Vintage Computer Festival Southeast this spring, though he’ll be absent from VCF Southwest, KansasFest, and Oz KFest, all occurring this summer. Mike, Mike, and Ken watch the trailer for the Jobs movie and find we all have different reasons to see (or skip) Ashton Kutcher in the title role. They may or may not have dressed up to see the recent Star Trek and Man of Steel films; maybe they’ll fit the part by wearing some Apple t-shirts from 1986 to see Jobs.

Find the show at the Open Apple Web site or in the iTunes and Zune podcast directories.

The latest batch of Mike Willegal’s Mimeo-1 Apple-1 replica kits is scheduled to go on sale shortly.  Willegal has upped the revision number to 1.01 to go with some changes he made to the latest version:

What follows is summary of changes.

1) I changed the solder mask to matte. I’ve had a few people bugging me for years to do matte, and have finally been convinced to change. I did a matte run a few years ago on the Apple II rev 0, but thought the glossy look gave a superior “look”, though not quite as authentic. I have been doing glossy since then. Even a board made with matte solder mask will not exactly match with an original board, as PCB manufacturing technology has changed and is not possible to replicate exactly with modern processes. I suppose someone could attempt to replicate old manufacturing process, but keep in mind that many of the raw materials going into a PCB have changed since the 70′s, not just the solder mask. In any case, once you populate the board with components, the difference isn’t very noticeable. If I had to pick which bare board I was going to frame, I’d pick a glossy board, since it just looks a bit flashier. Be aware that he matte boards also look awesome, and will be a step closer to the original in appearance.

2) A few minor changes were made to the silk screen, to better replicate an original board. Some of these minor differences from the original were found by me and some reported by other people. Most of the differences I’ve known about, are so minor, that no one other than me, ever noticed them.

3) A few minor changes were made to the copper layer on the front. Same comments as with the silk screen layer.

4) The board grid coordinate numbering and lettering along the edges has been slightly reduced in weight, to better match to original.

5) Mounting holes were shifted ever so slightly to better match up with original Apple 1 mounting holes.

Visit Mike’s Mimeo-1 blog pages for the latest information.

Mike Willegal announced that he is now selling his SUPERPROTO Apple II prototyping kits and PCBs:

I’m going to open up general sales of SUPERPROTO kits and PCBs.

Price will be $65 for a SUPERPROTO kit.

Bare PCBs (no components) are going to be $35 each.
I’m also offering a bundle deal of 4 bare PCBs (no components) for $125.

Shipping will be a flat $10 to anywhere in the world. When I get busy, I often ship on Monday after packing during the weekend. Because of this, shipping may take up to a week after payment, though usually it’s less.

For detailed ordering information, send an email to: mike@willegal.net.

The latest iteration of the Vintage Computer Festival East is taking place this weekend in Wall Township, New Jersey.  At 9:30 am on Saturday, May 5, VCF East 8.0 kicks off a weekend of retro-computing fun at the InfoAge Science Center.  The festivities run through Sunday evening and this year looks to be a great one.  For Apple fans, Daniel Kottke’s Sunday keynote speech will be of special interest, as will Mike Willegal’s “Introduction to Apple II Maintenance” workshop.  To check out the full schedule of events, visit VCF 8.0’s web page. Tickets are $10 for one day, $15 for both days, and FREE for ages 17 and younger. Parking is free.

Howard Cantin is the artist who laid out the PCB designs for the Apple-1 and the first Apple IIs, as well as several early Atari products for Nolan Bushnell.  Mike Willegal, creator of the Brain Board and the Mimeo 1 Apple-1 replica kit (among other things), interviewed Cantin by phone yesterday.  While the conversation wasn’t recorded or transcribed, Mike has posted extensive notes on his blog.  Definitely worth a read if you’re interested in the design of very early Apple boards.

Mike Willegal has announced that as of today, a limited quantity of bare Mimeo PCBs is available for hobbyists who want to put together their own Mimeo 1, Mike’s Apple-1 replica.  Full kits are expected to be available later this summer.    A bare PCB can be had for US $150.  More details are available at Mike’s Mimeo 1 page here.