A2Heaven continues to bring Apple II hobbyists great new hardware. The Apple II VGA scaler (AIIVGAS) is an Apple II compatible circuit board for converting Apple II, II+, Europlus and Apple IIe video to VGA compatible signals for displaying on a VGA monitor.

The board is compatible with both NTSC and PAL systems. Due to the wide variation in Apple II models, there are some jumpers and in some cases additional jumper wires to be connected to enable full functionality. $85 USD

Mountain View, CA, August 26, 2016 – Manila Gear, makers of the 4soniq quadraphonic sound card for the Apple IIGS, today announced the Apple IIGS VGA Adapter. The adapter lets you connect your Apple IIGS to a VGA monitor that supports 15 kHz. It consists of a DA-15 to DE-15 adapter with an integrated sync separator.

This is a great solution for those of us who have aging AppleColor RGB Monitors, or are still looking for a simpler and better VGA solution.

The adapter has been tested and confirmed to work with a few Benq and Samsung monitors. It can also be used with monitors that do not support 15 kHz, by using the adapter in conjunction with a frequency upscaler such as the Gonbes GBS-8200. A list of supported monitors is maintained here.

The Apple IIGS VGA Adapter retails for $30, and is now available for purchase at https://manilagear.com/product/apple-iigs-vga-adapter.

Review written by Javier Rivera

The apple //c is a little marvel and it is a favorite among retro collectors for its beauty, versatility and size. Lately there has been a lot of development for the platform around storage and display, as media is harder to acquire and slow, and CRT displays are aging and failing. Also there’s the problem of color: a lot of old displays are green or monochrome, and the color options are sometimes hard to get. All these constraints have engaged creative minds around the world, like France, Bulgaria, Japan, Korea, Brazil and US just to name a few, to come with new and creative alternatives.

The video problem for the Apple //c has been a special one: the signal from the video port is not a typical standard, and very few attempts to use the connector have been made. The first was from Video7, who made a “video enhancer” that connected to RGB monitors. Later there was a home-brew from France called “Guimauve 2000” that connected the //c to a VGA monitor.

Lately, Nishida Radio came out with a beautiful adapter that not only worked very well, but was very small and connected to the back of the computer. The only drawback of the last two solutions is that they don’t include protective enclosures, the components are exposed.

Recently, Plamen Vasilyov from Bulgaria, a prolific Apple II hardware creator, came up with his version of a VGA adapter. I had the fortune of getting ahold of the device and it is a simple yet effective VGA converter. The device not only works flawlessly, but is also elegant and simple. Comes in a white plastic printed enclosure, with a rainbow cable that connects to the //c video port (very retro Apple II style) and provides on the output side a three-row 15-pin DB-15 VGA connector.

The feature that sets this adapter apart from the others is a small button next to the connector: by pushing it will provide 8 different video modes: Color, Green, Monochrome, Mono White, Color-scanline, Green-scanline, Monochrome-scanline and Mono White-scanline. The beauty of these modes is that you can emulate different monitors with one button: a color, green, monochrome and white monochrome monitors, and with the addition of scan lines it recreates the CRT look and feel, very popular in the console game scene.

These modes also make working with 80 column and graphic desktop applications very easy, allowing readable and crisp clear text at the touch of a button.

Green | Green w/scan lines | Color | Color w/scan lines

The device sits on the back of the computer out of sight but easily accesible to the switch, is small, light and very well crafted. I’m not surprised as his other creations (//c dclock, Senior PROM, Audio cards and his famous Disk II floppy Emulator) are known for quality and reliability.

I greatly recommend this adapter, as not only does what it is intended very well, but provides extra options found only in high end gaming devices.

At the time of this review, the price of the Apple IIc VGA Adapter had not yet been announced. Separate NTSC and PAL versions will be available.

Koichi Nishida has Apple //c users on Facebook excited about the VGA adapter he is designing. Since the extremely limited run of Gregory Estrade’s Guimauve 2000, the Apple IIc has been without a viable VGA adapter option.

Thank you Koichi — we will be following your progress with enthusiasm!

Gregory Estrade today announced the availability of the Guimauve 2000, a VGA adapter for Apple //c and IIc Plus computers. The Guimauve 2K is essentially a specialized CPLD-based scandoubler, converting 15Khz video signal to 31Khz. It is available now for EUR 75, or USD $115 shipping included. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

Euro-//c models may need to use a slightly different firmware to accommodate 50Hz vertical referesh rate. Be sure to specify what model/region your Apple //c is when ordering.

The Guimauve 2000 was recently unveiled at VieuMikro 2009 (event coverage provided by Obsolete Tears). The site is in French, but the Babel Fish translation is available here.

Ferdinand Meyer-Hermann has announced he will be demonstrating his VGA interface for 8bit Apple II computers at KFest. Additionally, A2Central has learned that the the first version of Ferdinand’s VGA adapter will be for the Apple //c and IIc Plus, followed later by a version for slot-equipped Apple II computers. We’ve heard that a small production run of these adapters may be for sale during KFest at a special, discounted conference-only price.

The adapters will be sold exclusively through ReactiveMicro. A2Central will post pricing and ordering information as soon as details are disclosed at KFest.

Back in April and July of 2008, and again during KansasFest we posted exciting news about Ferdinand Meyer-Hermann’s VGA project. Ferdinand has since been collaborating with ReactiveMicro, leading to design and specification enhancements that have delayed the card. The news isn’t all bad, the VGA card is anticipated to work with practically any 8-bit Apple II, which now includes the Apple //c. Sorry IIGS owners, I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a little longer. You can read Ferdinand’s Apple][VGA updates here.

Ferdinand Meyer-Hermann is very close to releasing his new Apple][VGA card for Apple II, II Plus and //e. The Apple][VGA interface is designed to display crisp text and images, with accurate color rendition on modern LCD monitors. The card does not support any IIGS video modes.

The price is expected to be between $150 and $200 USD plus shipping depending on interest. Contact Ferdinand for details.

Update: ReactiveMicro has made arrangements to demo the Apple][VGA at KansasFest 2008.

Ferdinand Meyer-Hermann is working on an Apple II VGA card (PCB and sample pics) that can accurately display Apple II 80 column text and color graphics on modern VGA monitors. The card seems to be aimed predominately at the 8-bit crowd, as it does not support any of the higher resolution IIGS video modes. If you’re an 8-bit fan, gamer or just want to get rid of your composite monitor, this is a project you’ll want to follow.

Volume 21, Issue 2 (Jun 2016) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped. This issue features coverage of WOzFest ///, where the 4play and 4soniq cards were revealed alongside an updated version of KABOOM!; reviews of the 1983 game Dino Eggs and its 2016 sequel, Dino Eggs: Rebirth; a review of Tulip House’s VGA Adapter for Apple IIGS ROM 3; David Schmenk’s tutorial on creating an auto-updating chat client using PLASMA and Python; Charles Mangin’s detailed analysis of mice bearing the M0100 model number; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s second quarterly issue of 2016, its twenty-first year in print. Subscriptions for 2016 are available at $19 each for United States customers, $24 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $27 for international customers.