The latest firmware update (which I did wrong) actually fixes the two different volumes so they're at the same level. Then you can just adjust the overall volume on your speakers/monitor.
Yeah, and the amazing thing is that most of that demo is apparently Applesoft BASIC! I haven't done anything more than the demo, but it seems very cool. Too bad it was never adopted more widely.
@@CT6502 That's a shame, too... any 3rd-party card would have had that niche battle to fight to get a user base. Imagine how nice a IIgs would have been with an official Apple card that was 320(640)x400 with a sprite engine.
It was difficult to capture with my camera, but the view at 5:29 is probably the best. The effect was subtle, but really captured the "feel" of an old school CRT.
Daaaaaang! That Looks amazing! I wanna find one, my older cousins had one, I Loved it. Being a Flea Market PC Kid, I would go IIgs just to max out the MoBo lol
You didn't show any IIgs stuff running with the card... I know you showed both the IIe and the ][+... I was just wondering what the IIgs video looked like as I don't think Joe did that either in roundtable vlog.
Nice review. I have a VidHD card but not a Mocking Board. I think I will get just the Mocking Board. As for firmware update, I have other FPGA gadgets and you normally just plug them in the computer, they show as a drive and you just copy the update file to its root directory, the update occurs normally on next power cycle. I wonder why it has to be like you just demonstrated. Thanks again for the video
Good question on the firmware update process. I'm not sure if it's the particular board that they chose? wiki.sipeed.com/hardware/en/tang/tang-nano-20k/example/unbox.html
Hey Chris! Hope all is well, good to see another upload. I’d love to see some sort of dock for the IIc joystick/mouse port, which allows to plug in the new GABE, and a mouse at the same time! Possibly also have that doovi wicker thing that Jav created (that also plugs into the mouse/joystick port and displays stats on the blue OLED) incorporated into the part? Possibilities? 👋
@@CT6502 thx. I never did FB, and was hoping it’s something you or Jav wanted to do. You guys will always have the support of many enthusiasts and followers, and I know time is always a factor. Firstly would it actually be possible? 👍
Actually, Joe Strosnider did some testing on the Apple IIGS on his channel. I might do more testing once they've added more features, and I could do the IIGS.
Definitely! It doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the VidHD (with the fancy graphics modes), but it also doesn't erase your floppy disks like the VidHD is prone to do ;-)
I see that the actual fpga is on this daughter card, right? I can't help but think that this could be adapted for a //c. That's the machine that I have.
Yes, I imagine it would be possible - it's a small form factor. They would just need to piggyback on top of one of the other chips, similar to how the Mockingboard 4c works.
Great review! Can it emulate multiple cards at once? Example, do you give up Mockingboard support if the FPGA is acting as a supersprite card? Any idea how the super serial card support would be added so that a db9/db25 connector can be provided?
From Joshua: All functionality is supported simultaneously. So no, users don’t have to change modes or configuration to switch between things. We listen directly to the bus and the video RAM on the entire Apple II family, and then point instructions and data where they need to go. Super Serial Card support is currently offline in the current version of the firmware as we had picked up a couple of problems with it. If we are able to close those issues, the intent here was to support USB to USB serial connections so that things like ADT or VDrive didn’t have to go through a mess of different serial adapters and connectors. DB25 or DB9 RS-232 interfaces were not part of our original design goals - just a cleaner path for ADT or comms with modern machines.
Brother this is very exciting ! if i purchase this card and they update it to include Ethernet will I need to purchase a module for that or would it be a completely new version of this card that would replace this? I also use Apple iie BOOTI in slot 7 and wondered if you had any issues or conflicts ? Many thanks ! Sando
If they change the firmware to include ethernet, you would just need to update the firmware, you would not need a new card. I think the Booti should work just fine, but I have not done extensive testing.
@@sandyd6602 I guess? It doesn't have ethernet support yet, so I'm not sure how they might plug in the cable. I guess we'll have to just wait and see...
I am intrigued by this card... I am wondering if it has any issues with the RomXe chip I have installed on my ][e like the V2 Analog VGA PicoPal card I have that wouldn't work fully because of the RomXe
I asked the team, and Joshua said: "Likely to be fine with the RomXe CD and EF ROMs. Could be a potential problem with the optional 32-font video ROMs though as the a2n20v2 Multicard has its own copy of the //e character ROM that it uses for display." Both product are sold by ReactiveMicro so you might reach out to Henry and see what he says.
could you tell the brand and model of the small LCD display sitting on the disk ][ ? i've been looking for something that small for several projects. thanks.
It's actually a "no-name" brand. The label on the back says 11.6" monitore, OHM-1106. I got it from ReactiveMicro: wiki.reactivemicro.com/12-inch_LCD_Display
@@CT6502 thanks. it still might work for what i need it for. i did find a spec sheet for it. part of a whole family of fixed-resolution monitors made for security systems. atlasgentech.co.nz/media/wysiwyg/OHM-1106A_Data_sheet.pdf
Great video on this card! In the terminal on your Mac, were you using Bash? My MacBook terminal has asked me switch to ZSH, but I have no idea how use ZSH.
Hmm, I don't recall where I bought it. I looked on my Amazon orders and it's not there. I do recall that it was just a bit big for the case opening, and I had to widen the opening with a dremel. So it wasn't perfect, and maybe it's better for you to just look on Amazon and find a different one.
No, unfortunately. It sounds like they got the FPGA code for the Mockingboard from somewhere else, and that person hadn't implemented the speech chips...
@@CT6502 yeah, but the chips are known and the schematics are somewhere. Maybe a firmare update in the future will add it. I ordered the card. I always wanted to get the sprite card, but couldn't ever find it.
I would suggest that when booting any Apple II series computer from an actual floppy drive, turn on the computer THEN insert the disk, otherwise the power surge when the Apple is powered on can destroy the disk sometimes.
Interesting, I've never heard of that happening, and I don't recall ever seeing that happen when I was a kid. But perhaps it depends upon the machine or the floppy drive. I had a II+ with a Disk ][ growing up.
Thanks for featuring this awesome card - added to my wish list! Agreed that volume control would be helpful.
The latest firmware update (which I did wrong) actually fixes the two different volumes so they're at the same level. Then you can just adjust the overall volume on your speakers/monitor.
Just amazing. The sprite card compatibility blew my mind! 🤯
Yeah, and the amazing thing is that most of that demo is apparently Applesoft BASIC! I haven't done anything more than the demo, but it seems very cool. Too bad it was never adopted more widely.
@@CT6502 When I get the card I'll do some tests and make them available.
@@CT6502 That's a shame, too... any 3rd-party card would have had that niche battle to fight to get a user base. Imagine how nice a IIgs would have been with an official Apple card that was 320(640)x400 with a sprite engine.
Thanks for this! I would have liked to have seen more of the scanline effect in different applications.
It was difficult to capture with my camera, but the view at 5:29 is probably the best. The effect was subtle, but really captured the "feel" of an old school CRT.
Daaaaaang!
That Looks amazing! I wanna find one, my older cousins had one, I Loved it.
Being a Flea Market PC Kid, I would go IIgs just to max out the MoBo lol
Nice! Hope you get one.
You didn't show any IIgs stuff running with the card... I know you showed both the IIe and the ][+... I was just wondering what the IIgs video looked like as I don't think Joe did that either in roundtable vlog.
Yeah, I thought Joe was actually going to cover that in his video, but I didn't see anything either. Maybe I'll do a followup.
Nice review. I have a VidHD card but not a Mocking Board. I think I will get just the Mocking Board. As for firmware update, I have other FPGA gadgets and you normally just plug them in the computer, they show as a drive and you just copy the update file to its root directory, the update occurs normally on next power cycle. I wonder why it has to be like you just demonstrated. Thanks again for the video
Good question on the firmware update process. I'm not sure if it's the particular board that they chose? wiki.sipeed.com/hardware/en/tang/tang-nano-20k/example/unbox.html
Wow!! Excellent product and review! Thanks for sharing
Thanks Rudy!
Hey Chris! Hope all is well, good to see another upload.
I’d love to see some sort of dock for the IIc joystick/mouse port, which allows to plug in the new GABE, and a mouse at the same time! Possibly also have that doovi wicker thing that Jav created (that also plugs into the mouse/joystick port and displays stats on the blue OLED) incorporated into the part?
Possibilities?
👋
Those all sound like cool projects! Maybe post these on the Facebook page or the Slack Apple2Infinitum and see if you can drum up some support!
@@CT6502 thx. I never did FB, and was hoping it’s something you or Jav wanted to do. You guys will always have the support of many enthusiasts and followers, and I know time is always a factor.
Firstly would it actually be possible?
👍
Very nice review! Would it be possible to see a Part 2 where the card is tested on a Apple IIGS too? 🙂
Actually, Joe Strosnider did some testing on the Apple IIGS on his channel. I might do more testing once they've added more features, and I could do the IIGS.
Great job reviewing this! Intriguing card, especially if you don't already own a VidHD.
Definitely! It doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the VidHD (with the fancy graphics modes), but it also doesn't erase your floppy disks like the VidHD is prone to do ;-)
I see that the actual fpga is on this daughter card, right? I can't help but think that this could be adapted for a //c. That's the machine that I have.
Yes, I imagine it would be possible - it's a small form factor. They would just need to piggyback on top of one of the other chips, similar to how the Mockingboard 4c works.
Great review! Can it emulate multiple cards at once? Example, do you give up Mockingboard support if the FPGA is acting as a supersprite card?
Any idea how the super serial card support would be added so that a db9/db25 connector can be provided?
From Joshua:
All functionality is supported simultaneously. So no, users don’t have to change modes or configuration to switch between things. We listen directly to the bus and the video RAM on the entire Apple II family, and then point instructions and data where they need to go.
Super Serial Card support is currently offline in the current version of the firmware as we had picked up a couple of problems with it. If we are able to close those issues, the intent here was to support USB to USB serial connections so that things like ADT or VDrive didn’t have to go through a mess of different serial adapters and connectors. DB25 or DB9 RS-232 interfaces were not part of our original design goals - just a cleaner path for ADT or comms with modern machines.
Great Job👍
Thanks!
Niiice! ❤
Amazing Card !!
Definitely very cool!
Brother this is very exciting ! if i purchase this card and they update it to include Ethernet will I need to purchase a module for that or would it be a completely new version of this card that would replace this?
I also use Apple iie BOOTI in slot 7 and wondered if you had any issues or conflicts ?
Many thanks ! Sando
If they change the firmware to include ethernet, you would just need to update the firmware, you would not need a new card. I think the Booti should work just fine, but I have not done extensive testing.
@@CT6502 thanks brother. So would you need to get a usb ethernet adaptor to plug into this card? I dont see ethernet port on the card itself. thanks
@@sandyd6602 I guess? It doesn't have ethernet support yet, so I'm not sure how they might plug in the cable. I guess we'll have to just wait and see...
I am intrigued by this card... I am wondering if it has any issues with the RomXe chip I have installed on my ][e like the V2 Analog VGA PicoPal card I have that wouldn't work fully because of the RomXe
I asked the team, and Joshua said: "Likely to be fine with the RomXe CD and EF ROMs. Could be a potential problem with the optional 32-font video ROMs though as the a2n20v2 Multicard has its own copy of the //e character ROM that it uses for display." Both product are sold by ReactiveMicro so you might reach out to Henry and see what he says.
This thing is super cool! Any way to make it mimic monochrome output amber/green/white?
Not out of the box, but I'll pass along that idea to the developers.
The FPGA board has an SDCard slot. Hopefully, they can wake that up someday.
Yes, I agree - there's lots more that could be done.
This is amazing!
could you tell the brand and model of the small LCD display sitting on the disk ][ ? i've been looking for something that small for several projects. thanks.
It's actually a "no-name" brand. The label on the back says 11.6" monitore, OHM-1106. I got it from ReactiveMicro: wiki.reactivemicro.com/12-inch_LCD_Display
@@CT6502 thanks. it still might work for what i need it for.
i did find a spec sheet for it. part of a whole family of fixed-resolution monitors made for security systems. atlasgentech.co.nz/media/wysiwyg/OHM-1106A_Data_sheet.pdf
Great video on this card! In the terminal on your Mac, were you using Bash? My MacBook terminal has asked me switch to ZSH, but I have no idea how use ZSH.
I'm using ZSH. I can't even remember why I switched, I guess it had some fancier features. The syntax is very similar to BASH, so it's an easy switch.
That’s good to know that it’s an easy switch!
Chris could you post a link to the panel mount HDMI cable that you are using? Thank you.
Hmm, I don't recall where I bought it. I looked on my Amazon orders and it's not there. I do recall that it was just a bit big for the case opening, and I had to widen the opening with a dremel. So it wasn't perfect, and maybe it's better for you to just look on Amazon and find a different one.
No problem. Just wondered. Found one on Amazon that looks like it might work. Oh and thanks for replying.
Does it support mockingboard speech?
No, unfortunately. It sounds like they got the FPGA code for the Mockingboard from somewhere else, and that person hadn't implemented the speech chips...
@@CT6502 yeah, but the chips are known and the schematics are somewhere. Maybe a firmare update in the future will add it. I ordered the card. I always wanted to get the sprite card, but couldn't ever find it.
@@berighteous yep, I think they just need to prioritize what features they add. And it's true, just need a firmware update!
Add mouse support
yes, that would be good!
Does it do speech synthesis?
Unfortunately, no. I'm sure it's possible, just whether the team wants to put in the effort.
@@CT6502 bummer, still pretty awesome
Apple II? I'd replace it with smoke and ashes.
I would suggest that when booting any Apple II series computer from an actual floppy drive, turn on the computer THEN insert the disk, otherwise the power surge when the Apple is powered on can destroy the disk sometimes.
Interesting, I've never heard of that happening, and I don't recall ever seeing that happen when I was a kid. But perhaps it depends upon the machine or the floppy drive. I had a II+ with a Disk ][ growing up.
Immediate placed order.
Good choice! I just bought mine as well.