A2FPGA: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:28, 29 April 2024

The A2FPGA is primarily an HD video and Mockingboard-compatible sound card for the Apple II, II+, //e, and IIgs. It's a small, Apple II peripheral card that can be installed in any Apple II computer II, II+, //e, IIgs. See Slots below for compatible slot locations by system type. The A2FPGA uses a modern FPGA (field-programmable gate array or "programmable logic") to provide precise timing-accurate interfacing to the Apple II bus. This allows the card to capture all access to Apple II display memory in order to faithfully generate Apple text and graphics in crisp 720p 60Hz HD as well as providing the functionality of a number of popular peripheral cards in a single Apple II slot. The A2FPGA has been tested with Apple II, II+, //e, and IIgs models and brings the classic Apple II experience to a whole new level on any monitor or television.

Product Status: Actively sold by ReActiveMicro.

Support: Post on the Discussion page (link above) or email ReActiveMicro Support.

Sales: Visit the ReActiveMicro Store.

Features

As of April 2024 the standard features currently are:

720x480 @ 60Hz HDMI output supporting all Apple II, II+, //e, & IIgs display modes.*
Mockingboard sound compatibility
Both Apple II system speaker audio AND Mockingboard audio are output to your HDMI display's speakers
Synetix SuperSprite and Ciarcia EZ-Color TMS9918a compatibility

If your monitor doesn't support 720x480 resolution, or some older "CCTV" type monitors, then you may not receive video. More common and newer HDMI monitors should not have any issues.
All functionality is supported simultaneously. Users don’t have to change modes or configuration to switch between features.

Slots:
II/Plus/e - Any Slot, We recommend Slot 7 for better HDMI cable routing
IIgs ROM0 - NOT TESTED, But Slot 3 ONLY
IIgs ROM1 - Slot 3 ONLY
IIgs ROM3 - Any Slot 1-6 but WILL NOT function in Slot 7

WARNING! This board MUST be installed with the HDMI connector facing the forward keyboard end of the chassis! Failure to do so will result in damage to your Apple II as all bus lines are active.

NOTE:

The A2FPGA is fully DMA compliant and cards such as the MicroDrive/Turbo do work with DMA mode enabled.
If Mockingboard is enabled, NO other card may be physically present in Slot 4. For IIgs, you must set the control panel slot 4 to "My Card"
The FPGA used on A2FPGA takes ~2 seconds to power on and sync to an HDMI display. During this time the Apple II system is held in RESET, meaning the II will do nothing (not even beep) until the A2FPGA board has been fully setup and synched. The initial Apple II power on "beep" will be missed, but all subsequent Apple II sound can be output to HDMI if SW2 is ON.
The A2FPGA is NOT an emulator. It is a full and complete implementation of all of the original logic for these hardware components plus bus decoding, memory shadowing, and the full range of video modes for the entire Apple II family. Plus a complete implementation of the TMS-9918A VDP and the SuperSprite and Ciarcia compatible means to hook into it.

Reviews

On April 27nd, 2024 Chris Torrence of Assembly Lines posted a review video of the A2FPGA in a II Plus and IIe environment. Chris also reviews and does a firmware update in real time. Skip to 9:56 to see it and follow along!

Chris Torrence: Can One Apple II Card Replace Them All?

The Review Breakdown In 1 Minute

On April 22nd, 2024 Joe Strosnider of Joe's Computer Museum posted a review video of the A2FPGA in a IIgs environment. Joe also reviews and does a firmware update in real time. Skip to 15:03 to see it and follow along!

Joe Strosnider: Reviewing the A2FPGA!

The Review Breakdown In 1 Minute

DIP Switch Settings

The A2N20v2 has a 4-switch DIP switch that controls the following settings:

SW1: Enable Scanline effect when set to ON (default).
SW2: Enable Apple II speaker sounds via HDMI when set to ON (default).
SW3: Set to ON (default) for Power-on-Reset Hold - Delay Apple II start-up until FPGA is initialized and running.
SW4: Apple IIgs - Set to ON when installed in an Apple IIgs. OFF for II, II+ and II/e systems.

If Mockingboard functionality is enabled, no other card may be physically present in Slot 4 on any Apple II system. Further, if you have a IIgs, you must configure slot 4 as "My Card" in the Apple IIgs control panel.

Firmware / FPGA Core

The A2FPGA firmware is easily updated on any PC or Mac and is based on open-source code so that new functionality and bug fixes from the developer community can be added over time.

You can learn more about this exciting project on its public GitHub repository: https://github.com/a2fpga/a2fpga_core.

The team also maintains a presence on X (formerly Twitter) here: https://twitter.com/a2fpga.

UPDATING THE A2N20-V2 FPGA FIRMWARE

All versions of the firmware for this product are listed below and organized by date.

A2n20v2-04252024.zip a2n20v2 Multicard Firmware Version 04-25-2024 (LATEST STABLE RELEASE).

This file includes the latest stable version of the firmware and a PDF with instructions for performing a firmware update for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. See the review videos above to follow along with a step by step, on screen update process

Testing

The A2FPGA displays video immediately when installed in the correct slot. Sound depends on the DIP Switch setting.

Any diagnostic program can be used to test varying video modes. Other programs, such as games, could also be used. Sound testing can more simply be performed using the Mockingboard Demo disk.

For testing Synetix SuperSprite features, this link https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/ftp.apple.asimov.net/images/hardware/video/StarSprite-SuperSprite-Programs.zip is a ZIP file with images for the Synetix SuperSprite programs. When you unpack it, the Demonstration Disk is probably the best one to use for testing.

History

September 7th, 2023 A2FPGA contacted Henry to discuss their HDMI related project and about ReActiveMicro assisting with distribution and related sales, logistics, and support.

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 *If your monitor doesn't support 720x480 resolution, or some older "CCTV" type monitors, then you may not receive video. More common and newer HDMI monitors should not have any issues.
+*All functionality is supported simultaneously. Users don’t have to change modes or configuration to switch between features.
@@ Line 35: / Line 36: @@
 <br>
 <b>NOTE:</b>
+*The A2FPGA is <b>fully DMA compliant</b> and cards such as the MicroDrive/Turbo do work with DMA mode enabled.
 *If Mockingboard is enabled, NO other card may be physically present in Slot 4. For IIgs, you must set the control panel slot 4 to "My Card"
 *The FPGA used on A2FPGA takes ~2 seconds to power on and sync to an HDMI display. During this time the Apple II system is held in RESET, meaning the II will do nothing (not even beep) until the A2FPGA board has been fully setup and synched. The initial Apple II power on "beep" will be missed, but all subsequent Apple II sound can be output to HDMI if SW2 is ON.
@@ Line 42: / Line 44: @@
 == Reviews ==
-On April 22nd, 2024 Joe Strosnider of Joe's Computer Museum posted a review video of the A2FPGA in a IIgs environment. Joe also reviews and does a firmware update in real time. Skip to [https://youtu.be/rM0Phma_B9o?t=901 15:03] to see it and follow along!
+On April 27nd, 2024 Chris Torrence of Assembly Lines posted a review video of the A2FPGA in a <b>II Plus and IIe environment</b>. Chris also reviews and does a firmware update in real time. Skip to [https://youtu.be/Wt-DLSyuBCw?t=596 9:56] to see it and follow along!
-{{#ev:youtube|rM0Phma_B9o|400|center|Joe Strosnider: Reviewing the A2FPGA!|frame|start=102}}  {{#ev:youtube|rM0Phma_B9o|400|center|The Review Breakdown In 1 Minute|frame|start=6208}}
+{{#ev:youtube|Wt-DLSyuBCw|400|center|Chris Torrence: Can One Apple II Card Replace Them All?|frame}}
+{{#ev:youtube|Wt-DLSyuBCw|400|center|The Review Breakdown In 1 Minute|frame|start=921}}
+<hr>
+On April 22nd, 2024 Joe Strosnider of Joe's Computer Museum posted a review video of the A2FPGA in a <b>IIgs environment</b>. Joe also reviews and does a firmware update in real time. Skip to [https://youtu.be/rM0Phma_B9o?t=901 15:03] to see it and follow along!
+{{#ev:youtube|rM0Phma_B9o|400|center|Joe Strosnider: Reviewing the A2FPGA!|frame|start=102}}
+{{#ev:youtube|rM0Phma_B9o|400|center|The Review Breakdown In 1 Minute|frame|start=6208}}
@@ Line 55: / Line 67: @@
 If Mockingboard functionality is enabled, no other card may be physically present in Slot 4 on any Apple II system. Further, if you have a IIgs, you must configure slot 4 as "My Card" in the Apple IIgs control panel.
@@ Line 64: / Line 77: @@
 The team also maintains a presence on X (formerly Twitter) here: https://twitter.com/a2fpga.
-==UPDATING THE A2N20-V2 FPGA FIRMWARE==
+=== UPDATING THE A2N20-V2 FPGA FIRMWARE ===
+All versions of the firmware for this product are listed below and organized by date.
+[https://wiki.reactivemicro.com/images/3/3c/A2n20v2-04252024.zip A2n20v2-04252024.zip] a2n20v2 Multicard Firmware Version 04-25-2024 (LATEST STABLE RELEASE).
+This file includes the latest stable version of the firmware and a PDF with instructions for performing a firmware update for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. See the review videos above to follow along with a step by step, on screen update process
-[[a2n20v2-05252024.zip]] a2n20v2 Multicard Firmware Version 05-25-2024 (LATEST STABLE RELEASE)
-This file includes the latest stable version of the firmware and a PDF with instructions for performing a firmware update for Windows, Mac and Linux systems.
 == Testing ==