The timing is perfect for the 6502 jubilee. I'm doing the final evols to the whole design (case adjustment, hardware and firmware).At the time I'm writing, the specs are :
- //c case form factor
- WDC 65C02
- 128K RAM
- 32K ROM (//e ROM (no mods) + SSC)
- Onboard A2DVI with Apple //c keyboard switches integration
- Disk ][ controller
- 4 slots (with 2 horizontal risers for 2 boards)
- No Slot Clock (DS1315)
- Super Serial Pro (FT245 chip with USB-C connectivity)
- Tape input port
- Joystick
- 5V USB out for small external display
Still to be tested on current board release :
- On board amplifier for mockingboard. Waiting for a potentiometer from eBay since almost one month :-(
To be tested on next board release :
- Onboard Fujinet !
- Some mecanical ajustments : Some components under the floppy were too tall : PGA 2040 will be replaced with QFN-56 chip and TH EPM7128 support will be replaced with SMD one. 3 oscillators format will be supported. Disk ][ controller chips will be directly soldered.
I cannot call it Apple II (I'm pretty sure to receive a mail from Apple lawyers if I even think to do so). A lot of names were possible :
- Apple //x or //cx (for extended since this is almost a all in one Apple II)
- Apple //p (p stand for Plamen since a lot of a2heaven boards are just fitting inside the //c case)
- Apple //h (for hybrid)
- Apple //a (for alternative)
- Apple //f (for full & fast)
- Apple //j (for jubilee, but Apple ][j already exists)
For now I choosed to name it 'Spirit ]/' since I wanted a tradeoff between the multiple Apple II designs and modern components. So the result is a motherboard with the Spirit of the Apple II. The initials specs were :
- Use as many real components as possible. I just didn't want to build a full CPLD or software emulation.
- Do not use MMU/IOU/KBD chips since they are no more sourcable.
- Floppy support
- Slots
- Pico ATX Power Supply
- WAF compatible form factor with modern display support. //c is great for that.
Two chips are no more sell : EPM7128 (cpld GLU) and 74LS323 (Disk ][ controller). But they can be easily found on eBay.
As I wrote in another post some months ago, my goal was not to be fully compatible with the Apple II. Unfortunately ;-), my first tests are showing a fairly very good compatibility :
- ADTPro over USB
- Floppy creation through Cassette input with Apple ][ Disk Server
- A2Heaven FASTChip is almost 100% working. I discussed about a DMA problem with Plamen and found a vicious bug on 65C02 bus management (BE pin).
- A2Heaven MegaAudio
- Disk ][
- A2Pico
- XDrive
- Prodos ROM drive
- SP ][ SD
- SoftSP card
- Total Replay : Drol, Airheart, Lode Runner, ...
- Pascal UCSD
- AppleWorks 2.0
- Prodos 2.4.3
- No Slot Clock support with Prodos
- Joystick
- Internal Speaker
- ...
Next PCB release
I will test more A2heaven boards with my next PCB release (RAMFactor & Liron). And Z80/CPM compatibility with A2Pico.
I do not plan/want to sell boards. All files will be freely available as soon as a first design will be finalized with a minimal documentation.
Great work!