EPSON EPSON AMERICA, INC. SERVICE PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN PSB NO.: S-0029C DATE: 10/10/88 ORIGINATOR: REM PAGE: 1 of 6 SUBJECT: APEX PERSONAL COMPUTER - ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS Q. Where can I obtain help regarding software or hardware questions on the Apex computer? A. 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: Epson America Inc. Product Support Department 23610 Telo Ave. Torrance, Ca. 90505 Q. Where can I obtain warranty repair service for my Epson Apex products? A. 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. Q. What kind of printer can I use with the Apex? A. 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 T750 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 TEL0 AVENUE, TORRANCE, CALIF. 90505
NUMBER: S-0029C PAGE: 2 of 6 Q. Does the Apex have a serial interface port? A. 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 optimize 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 it can be purchased directly from Epson's Accessories i:rketing at their toll-free telephone # 1-800-873-7766 and orders can be placed using your credit card. Q. Can a hard disk drive be installed? A. 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 problem 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 IBM-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: S-0029C PAGE: 3 of 6 Q. What kind of floppy Disk drives does the Apex have and what kind of floppy diskettes should I use? A. 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 2S-2D, Soft-Sector, 48TPI. New blank diskettes must be formatted in the computer before being used. Q. Can I use other types of floppy disk drives with the Apex? A. 1.2MB, half-height floppy disk drives 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). Q. Can I install a Math-Coprocessor chip and what type do I need? A: 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. Q. How can I increase the Apex RAM memory to 640K Bytes? A. 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 $;zyback) board in the empty sockets pro;d!ed. Four 4464 RAM chips are required. Epson does supply these chips' directly but they are available from electronic parts retailers. They can also be ordered 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 Q. Can I use the Apex Monochrome Monitor with other IBM-PC compatible computers? A. 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. Q. Can I use the Apex color monitor with other IBM-PC compatible computers and what are the specifications? A. The Apex color monitor is an IBM-PC compatible, 16 color, RGB, dual function monitor which can be set up for either ;;l;;so; green screen mode with a switch on the rear panel. 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. Q. What other monitors are compatible with the Apex and is it possible to use a television set? A. IBM-PC compatible RGB color or composite monochrome monitors work with the video 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. Q. Where can I get software for the Apex computer? A. 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. Q. Can I use an IBM enhanced style keyboard with the Apex? A. 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: S-0029C PAGE: 5 of 6 Q. How many option cards can be installed in the Apex? A. The Apex has three available option (expansion) slots as delivered, one of them is occupiedcaiyb;he includedavay;; adapter board. The expansion slots used for variety of IBM-PC/XT compatible (8-bit) option 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. Q. What kind of option cards are available for the Apex computer and where can I buy them? A. 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. Q. What kind of mouse works with the Apex? A. 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 be used with the Epson Multifunction board. See your local computer dealer for more information. Q. What kind of joystick can I use with the Apex and where do you connect it? A. 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: S-0029C PAGE: 6 of 6 Q. What type of modem can be used with the Apex? A. 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). Q. My computer would not work when I set the dip switches as described in the User's Guide but it worked when I set them in the opposite setting. Why? A. 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 right. The Table (A-l) on page A-3 is correct. An errata sheet has been placed in the manuals since this error was discovered. Q: 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? A. The GW-BASIC diskette contains many of the utility programs which are referred to in the MS-DOS manual. Q. Will my Apex work in foreign countries? A. 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.