Epson Apex Product Support Bulletin(s) - Page 22

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 MathCoprocessor may also be used but it will only operate reliably when the slower speed (4.77MHz) is selected. The MathCoprocessor 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.