A2FPGA

The A2FPGA is primarily an HDMI video and sound for the Apple II, II+, //e, and IIgs. It's an Apple II peripheral card that can be installed in any Apple II slot (slot-7 recommended except for the IIgs which requires slot 3) that 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 480p HDMI 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 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 HDMI output supporting all Apple II, //e, & IIgs display modes.
Mockingboard sound compatibility
Both Apple II system audio AND Mockingboard audio are output to your HDMI display's speakers
Synetix SuperSprite and Ciarcia EZ-Color TMS9918a compatibility

Slots: II/Plus/e - Any Slot, Recommended Slot 7 IIgs ROM1 - Slot 3 ONLY IIgs ROM3 - Any Slot

NOTE:

If Mockingboard enabled, not other card can be used in Slot 4.
A2FPGA takes about 2 seconds to power on and sync to HDMI. During this time the Apple II system is held in RESET, meaning the II will do nothing (not even beep) till the A2FPGA board has been fully setup and synced. The inital Apple II power on "beep" will be missed, but all proceeding sounds can be output to HDMI should SW2 be ON.

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/e systems.

If Mockingboard enabled, not other card can be used in Slot 4.

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.

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.