The ACE 2000 series consisted of three computers the 2000, 2100, and the 2200.
The 2000 had no disk drives, the 2100 had one disk drive, and the 2200 had
two disk drives. All featured a detachable keyboard, the same 1.02 MHz
65SC02 processor, the usual scattering of expansion slots around the motherboard
and the half-height case.
Graphics modes and sound capabilities were in line with the Apple ][e. On the front panel,
it had a row of LEDs for Power, Diagnostics, Double-high-res Graphics Mode,
Hi-res Graphics Mode, and CPU Activity.
The back panel featured RS-232 serial ports (2), 1 DB-25 parallel port, 15-pin RGB video, and the power cable. The case and power supply had integrated fans. The case had the
indentations for areas of expansion cards to poke out and provide new
connectors; however, these expansion slots were not located in a nice row,
1-6. Slot 1 was missing (this was the parallel port on the back), slots 2
and 4 were combined into one slot (it was one or the other set via a jumper,
not both), slot 3 was located near the rear and ran left to right, not from
to back, slot 5 was located on the right side of the case and faced outward
towards a screwplate covering the connector face and ran perpendicular to
slot 3. Slot 6 was also missing, as it controlled the two disk drives.
Low-res graphics mode provided 16 colors in a 320x200 array, with a 2-4 line
'text window' at the bottom of the screen. Hi-res graphics gave you 512 x 384
pixels at either 4, 6, or 7 colors (depending on which software
was used). There was supposedly another graphics mode, dubbed
'Double-High Resolution' which was supposed to give you 16 colors at
512x384, but there was a dearth of information about how to program in it.
The Franklins could run AppleSoft BASIC and DOS 3.3, but they shipped with
the Franklin DOS 2 floppy FDOS 2. This allowed for such things as
programmable function keys. Otherwise, there wasn't a whole lot different.
FDOS and BASIC were the keys to the enhanced graphics modes. If you had it,
you could run Integer BASIC through a convoluted process. Booting Integer
BASIC had an interesting secret: if you 'peeked' and 'poked' enough, you'd
find the memory address for a reset. When Integer BASIC was reset, it
displayed 'Apple ][' across the top of the screen. There were also numerous
references to 'S. Wozniak' and 'S. Jobs' embedded in many of the programs Franklin delivered for it.
The Ace 2000 series was in fact the last Apple II compatibles made by Franklin. (~ 1987). Franklin then tried manufacturing PC clones before finally devoting themselves to pocket translators.
Thanks to Nathan Shrider for all this info.
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