The Foenix A2560K Integrated Keyboard Model
With the A2560U and U+ nearly complete, Stefany took an ambitious step forward to continue work on an integrated keyboard-based Foenix developed around one of her favorite processors, the Motorola 68040.
Early prototype case
Announced and shown in prototype form (over Zoom) at the October VCF East show in 2021, the A2560K is here in person, today.
What you see in front of you is serial #000, hand assembled and express shipped from Vancouver BC to New Jersey for this April 2022 event.
Stefany describes the A2560K as “the computer I designed for myself”, and it shows. It embodies features of earlier Foenix systems, design elements from prior generation products, and a look forward; with new capabilities and a look of rugged seriousness that retro hobbyists are clambering to get their hands on.
In addition to a densely packed footprint of the audio section (physical ICs plus several FPGA based instances), the ‘K’ includes DIN based MIDI IN/OUT, the SuperIO IC with full featured serial ports, a parallel port, floppy, onboard RJ45 based Ethernet, and the next iteration of VICKY (video) including native dual-head video output.
All of this is supported by 64 MBytes of SDRAM, 4 MBytes of static RAM and an additional 4 MBytes of FLASH. And all of these capabilities are stuffed into a compact and attractive case inspired by the Amiga A600 and its ANSI keyboard, released exactly 30 years ago.
This video, produced by the owner of serial #001 provides a look inside, outside, and around, and discusses many of the features and design considerations of the new machine.
About Foenix Retro Systems
Foenix Retro Systems is supported by a growing community of developers, users, and makers from across the globe. All Foenix machines feature Stefany Allaire’s penchant for classic chip-tune ICs, custom FPGA based tile/sprite & multimode graphics, and plenty of I/O. Whether you are rekindling retro from the 80’s and 90’s or are new to the scene, there is something for you.