Re: Arcade board

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Ralfe Cookson wrote:

>mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon) wrote in message
>news:<20040814033629.04913.00001694@mb-m05.aol.com>...
>> Steven N. Hirsch wrote:
>> 
>> >Michael J. Mahon wrote:
>> >
>> >> I had my eye on it for almost a week.  An interesting combo
>> >> of 9918 sprite card and AY-3-8910 sound chip.
>> >> 
>> >> Also interesting that they didn't find a way to route the video
>> >> output on the PC board.  ;-)
>> >
>> >I missed the run-up to this.  A friend of mine who I have not seen in 
>> >years designed a board called the "Sprite-n-Stereo" card. Is that what 
>> >you have?  If so, quite a rarity.
>> 
>> It's pretty close!  There is one AY-3-8910, so it's a "Sprite-n-Mono"
>> card.  ;-)  I note from the picture, though, that there's some 2-channel
>> funny business at the audio end, so maybe it _is_ stereo...that would
>> mean that the video is available only at the RF modulator connector.
>> 
>> I've never seen this combo before, and am looking forward to seeing
>> how the 9918A and the '8910 are interfaced, since there's nothing
>> but "glue" logic on the card.
>
>My newsreader does not have the first messages of this thread, so I am
>not sure what board you are talking about. But because the subject is
>"Arcade Board" and there was a board with TMS9918A and AY3-8910 on it
>marketed as the "Arcade Board" by Third Millennium Engineering around
>1983 - 1984, I am wondering if this might be it. If so it has some
>programmable filters (low pass, high pass, band pass) on the PSG
>outputs.  It only has mono outputs and the Apple interface bus timing
>for the AY3-8910 was a little flakey.

Yes, this is the Third Millenium Engineering Arcade Card.

If you have more info about the card, or its software, I would be very
interested.  It has two RCA connectors.  I assumed one was audio
and one was video, but that appears to be incorrect.

It also has a "flying lead" with a single-pin connector on the end, which
I took to be a video coax, but it isn't.  What is this and what does it
connect to?

There is also a 4-pin Molex connector like the Apple II modulator
connector.  Is this the only video output?  Are the two RCA's audio
outputs?  ???

I haven't started to dig into it yet, so if anyone has any information
on this card, I would be delighted to hear more.  ;-)

I was surprised that the '8910 was interfaced without benefit of latches,
so your remark about marginal interface to the Apple bus sounds
right.  Did it work OK, or were there intermittent glitches?

-michael

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