F18A MK1 VDP replacement & VGA ribbon FPC cable
NEW MK1 Model! smaller form factor, custom VGA connector with audio out*
We are able to lower the price due to our first batch helping finance a larger order which brings the per unit price down. While supply/parts availability lasts.
The F18A is a direct pin-compatible replacement for the TMS-9918A VDP Family that was used in many retro-computers and game consoles from the early to mid 1980’s. The F18A’s primary goal is to provide a pixel-perfect output video signal that can be used directly with a modern computer display.
Great effort has been put into making the F18A physically, electrically, and software compatible with the original 9918A VDP, so all existing software should run correctly on a system with an F18A installed.
For new software development, the F18A is programmed exactly like the 9918A, so any existing documentation, techniques, and development environments that work with the 9918A will also work with the F18A.
The F18A also provides many enhancements over the 9918A, and those features will be the focus of this documentation. Having a basic understanding of the 9918A will help understand this documentation, since there is a lot of information covered in the original datasheet and programmer’s guide (see links above) that might not be repeated here.
The original F18A, or just “F18A”, was released in 2012 and continued to be available until late 2017. In total, around 550 F18A boards were produced. The F18A was physically larger than the DIP-40 package of the TMS-9918A IC, mostly due to manufacturing limitations of the time at the production quantities of the F18A. This MK1 Model resolves the size issue and is basically the same dimensions as the original 9918A IC. We will have stock as long as there is demand for these so if they are out of stock please pre-order and more will be made to meet demand.
USR1 - sprites per line: on=32, off=4
VDP USR3 USR4
SYSTEM USR3 USR4
SV328 on off
More information:
https://dnotq.io/f18a/f18a.html
https://dnotq.io/f18a/pinout.html
NABU info: https://github.com/masto/nabu-info/wiki/F18A
FPC CABLE INSTRUCTIONS: https://omronfs.omron.com/en_US/ecb/products/pdf/x...
* NOTE: Audio Out requires internal audio connection to the A (pin1) on the F18A MK1
FPC cable included is now 12"
