Augusto Baffa's Baffa-X2 Upgrades the Baffa-2 Microcomputer to MSX2+ Compatibility
Building on the Baffa-2 project, this upgraded board set brings full compatibility with the 1985 MSX2+ standard.
Maker and vintage computing enthusiast Augusto Baffa has unveiled a new set of board designs which build on his earlier Baffa-X microcomputer system to offer full ASCII MSX2+ compatibility: the Baffa-X2.
"Baffa-X2 project is an update to the Baffa-X MSX1 Computer project that turns it into an MSX2+," Baffa explains. "It can be used to directly create an MSX2+ on the Baffa-2 platform or to update the previous project. The new set brings Sunrise Compatible IDE, Serial Wi-Fi Modem, 1MB Ram, RTC, MSX Music (OPLL — FMPAK) and V9958 boards and is compatible [with] Nextor and MSXDOS2 [Disk Operating Systems]."
The Baffa-X2 builds on Baffa's earlier Baffa-2, a multi-board microcomputer based on Grant Searle's breadboard CP/M project and heavily inspired by the popular RC2014. The Baffa-X board set connect to the Baffa-2 to make it compatible with Microsoft and ASCII's MSX standard, launched in 1983 for the Japanese market and boasting sales of up to nine million worldwide prior to its discontinuation in 1993.
"Now, it's possible to upgrade the Baffa-X from MSX1 to MSX2+," Baffa says of the new boards, which bring the project up to the second generation version of the standard released in 1985. "It replaces the VDP v9958 (compatible with other Baffa-2 projects), memory of 64kB by [a] 1MB RAM Board (MegaRAM), and adds ROM/Slot Expansion and RTC [Real-Time Clock] Boards."
In addition to the above, the upgraded board set includes an Espressif ESP32-based Wi-Fi modem. "It's similar to the original Baffa-2 SIO board," Baffa explains, "and compatible [with the] BadCat Card software/terminal. The project also uses the original Z80 CPU, 64kB RAM, clock, and TMS9918 Boards from Baffa-2."
A full write-up on the project is available on Baffa's Hackaday.io page.