Apple Composite Monitor

The AppleColor Composite Monitor is Apple's 14-inch composite colour monitor for the Apple II family. It was first sold as the ColorMonitor IIe (beige) and ColorMonitor IIc (white), and was renamed the AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe and IIc when the cases changed to platinum. Apple's July 1987 data sheet lists the AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (order number A2M6021) for the Apple II, II Plus and IIe, and the AppleColor Composite Monitor (A2M6020). The monitor takes a composite signal through a phono jack.

AppleColor Composite Monitor
AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe (platinum)
Manufacturer	Apple Computer (two outside vendors, Series "S" and Series "H")
Type	14-inch composite colour monitor
Interface	Composite video, RCA phono jack
Compatible	Apple II, Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc
Model	A2M6021 (AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe); A2M6020 (AppleColor Composite Monitor)
Power	108-132 V AC, 50-60 Hz; 50 W typical, 75 W maximum

The monitor has a colour CRT, and the Series "H" Rev. B chassis is live to the mains neutral (see #Two designs). Read CRT Discharge Procedure before opening it.

Two designs

Two vendors built the original ColorMonitors to their own internal designs, which Apple calls Series "S" and Series "H". Each made both the IIe case (beige) and the IIc case (white). The series can be told apart from outside: Series "S" has two plastic hinges with metal pins on the control door under the screen, Series "H" three all-plastic hinges that bend along a crease. With the change to platinum, production was split: the AppleColor Composite Monitor IIc is Series "S" only and the AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe is Series "H" only. Apart from case colour, each composite model is identical to the matching ColorMonitor series.

Series "H" main logic board revisions (Technical Procedures p. 1.5)

Rev. A	Rev. B
Rear panel, power cord and AC assembly is one module, soldered to the logic board	Power cord assembly detaches from the logic board (two modules)
Separate power supply board	Power supply on the logic board
Separate video board	Video on the logic board
Isolation transformer in the mains circuit	No isolation transformer

Apple calls the Rev. B design "AC/DC transformerless": the chassis is connected to the mains neutral, so if the plug is inserted backwards or the outlet is wired backwards the chassis carries a lethal current. Apple's instructions are to use only a properly earthed three-pin outlet, never an adapter plug, and to run the monitor from an isolation transformer when working on it. A Rev. B monitor or service board is recognised by having no separate power supply board.

Specifications

AppleColor Composite Monitors (data sheet, July 1987)

Item	Value
Screen	14-inch class; data sheet gives 13 in (33 cm) diagonal; 0.52 mm dot pitch, slot pattern
Input	Composite, 1.0 V ±0.1 V p-p, negative sync, internal 75 Ω termination; RCA phono jack
Resolution	Up to 640 × 200 with the Apple II, II Plus, IIe or IIc
Video bandwidth	3 MHz in colour mode, 8 MHz in black-and-white mode
Scan rates	15.7 kHz horizontal, 60 Hz vertical
Controls	Front: brightness, contrast, colour intensity, tint, high-resolution text switch (WHITE ONLY), power. Rear: horizontal hold, vertical hold, vertical size
Mains	108-132 V AC, 50-60 Hz
Power	50 W typical, 75 W maximum
Operating temperature	5-30 °C
Weight	27.5 lb (12.5 kg)

The WHITE ONLY switch, called the high-resolution text switch on the data sheet, shows everything in white; Apple's chart checks it first when a monitor shows no colour. On the IIc version the power switch is on the top right side of the case; on the IIe version it is at the front, lower right. The frequently used controls sit behind a door under the screen and the rest are on the back.

Hardware

Service modules by series (Illustrated Parts List pp. 5.3-5.9)

Part	Series "S"	Series "H"
Main logic board	661-0308	661-0317
CRT assembly	076-0173	076-0194
Power supply	PS/panel/AC cord assembly: 970-1278 (IIe, 110 V), 970-1279 (ColorMonitor IIc, 110 V), 970-1305 (Composite IIc, 110 V)	On the logic board (Rev. B)
Mains fuse	F871 on the power supply board, 3 A 250 V slow-blow 3AG (740-0102)	F901 on the logic board, 4 A 125 V medium time-lag (740-0401); F902 1 A fast-blow (740-0304)
Other	Control PCB 970-1277, WHITE ONLY switch 937-0005, on/off switch 937-0006	Switch bracket 948-0016, LED assembly 930-0003

Both use the smoke-coloured video cable 590-0539.

Series "H" monitors were built with a 3.15 A 250 V fuse at F901. Apple found a one per cent failure rate and ordered every 3.15 A fuse replaced with a 4 A 125 V fuse when it failed or whenever the monitor came in for any repair, with new labels inside the case and on the board. The Rev. B logic board also reverses the polarity of the LED circuit, so a Rev. A monitor fitted with a Rev. B board shows a dead power light until the two LED leads are swapped in their connector.

Apple presets the yoke and forbids tilt, ring or geometry adjustment. Inside, the Series "S" monitor has bias, drive and sub-brightness controls behind the power supply board and a service switch (SW800); the Series "H" has background and drive controls on the CRT socket board and no service switch.

Known faults

Apple's symptom chart works at module level. The cheap fixes in it: a missing raster can be the external brightness control or the mains fuse (F871 on Series "S", F901 on Series "H"); a single horizontal line on a Series "S" can be the internal service switch SW800 left out of its normal position; no colour can be the WHITE ONLY switch left in; and flashing or a wavy picture is cured by gently crimping the metal tabs of the video connector. See Apple Composite Monitor Troubleshooting Guide.

Apple's service documents give no schematic or component values for either series.

Documentation

Apple's Technical Procedures, the owner's guide and the 1987 data sheet are hosted and described on Apple Composite Monitor Documentation.

Related pages

• Apple Composite Monitor General Maintenance
• Apple Composite Monitor Troubleshooting Guide
• Apple Composite Monitor Documentation
• Apple Color RGB Monitor, the analogue RGB monitor for the Apple IIGS
• Apple Monitor II, Apple Monitor IIc
• CRT Discharge Procedure