The Sup 'R' Mod II was an

RF modulator An RF modulator (or radio frequency modulator) is an electronic device whose input is a baseband signal which is used to modulate a radio frequency source. RF modulators are used to convert signals from devices such as media players, VCRs and ...

sold by M&R Enterprises in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It allowed the connection of computers and other devices with composite video outputs to a television.

History

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

wanted to provide users of their

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-mol ...

computers with a way to view color output on a television, but they had trouble getting

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...

approval, because the RF modulation solution they were using was too noisy. Apple made an arrangement with a small nearby company, called M&R Enterprises, to manufacture and sell the devices. While Apple could not sell the modulator and computer as a package, retail computer dealers could sell both devices to the end user. Marty Spergel, who ran M&R Enterprises, was told by

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a m ...

that it might sell as many as 50 units a month. Spergel later estimated that he had sold about 400,000 units. The Sup 'R' Mod II began selling in April 1978, for $29.95.

Technical features

The Sup 'R' Mod II kit came with a small printed circuit board, an antenna switch, and a coaxial cable with a

ferrite core In electronics, a ferrite core is a type of magnetic core made of ferrite on which the windings of electric transformers and other wound components such as inductors are formed. It is used for its properties of high magnetic permeability couple ...

and RCA connectors. Composite video was received by the circuit board through a short cable terminating in a

molex connector Molex connector is the vernacular term for a two-piece pin and socket interconnection. Pioneered by Molex Connector Company, the two-piece design became an early electronic standard. Molex developed and patented the first examples of this connect ...

, which plugged into a header on the Apple II motherboard. Input could also be provided through an RCA connector. The output of the RF modulator went out through a coaxial cable to the antenna switch. The antenna switch allowed the user to select between television broadcasts and computer output. The television antenna was connected to inputs on the switch, and the switch output was connected to the back of the television. The connections used screw terminals with spade lugs. Moving the switch from "TV" to "GAME PLAY" selected the computer output. The board and antenna switch came with a bit of double-sided tape to allow the user to attach them to the inside of the computer case and the side of the television, respectively. The modulator presented a color signal on

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

channel 33.

References

{{reflist Audiovisual connectors Consumer electronics Computer-related introductions in 1978 Apple II peripherals