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.

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 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.