Mockingboard soundcard

A clone made in Korea and sold by several companies earned the nickname, Mockingboard-K

Sweet Micro System's Mockingboard was a stereo sound card for Apple][ computers. The standard Mockingboard fit all Apple][s except the Apple //c. A //c edition was made especially for that computer. The mockingboard was designed around the General Instruments AY-3-8910 chip, but some units were manufactured with 100% compatible chips in place. The AY-3-8910 is 3-voice Programmable Sound Generator capable of simulation raw PCM samples. So it could do a recognizable playback of human voice and digital music, or decent playback of other types of digital samples. The Mockingboard could have up to 2 of these chips. Up to 6 of these boards could be added to some Apple][ models although Ultima V is the only game that takes advantage of multiple Mockingboards, and it only uses up to 2. Although the Mockingboard could be installed on slots 1-7, Sweet Micro System recommended using slot 4 and some games will not utilize the Mockingboard if it is in any other slot. The card is quite simple in its design and some users made their own versions including ones with many more AY-3-8910 compatible chips. GSE-Reactive.com sold Mockingboard clones until 2005; they now offer the schematics for free. Some of the the Mockingboard models were upgradable with more AY-3-8910 chips and Votrax SC-01 compatible chips. The SC-01 was intended for high quality speech synthesis. The SSI-263 was was and enhanced Votrax SC-01 and 100% compatible with a Votrax SC-02. The Mockingboad came with a cable to add external RCA style jacks to an Apple][. Output was 2 watts. Internal 8-ohm speakers could be added if desired. One model included cabling and a switch to optionally use the apple]['s built-in speaker. All models were easily modified to add or remove features and chips with soldering.

Sweet Micro System models:
Mockingboard Sound I (one AY-3-8910)
Mockingboard Speech I (one SC-01, no AY-3-8910. A Sound I and Speech I could be used together)
Mockingboard Sound II (two AY-3-8910. Could be used with a Speech I)
Mockingboard Sound/Speech I (one AY-3-8910, one SC-01. could be used with other Mockingboards)
Mockingboard A: (two AY-3-8910, two SSI-263 sockets)
Mockingboard B upgrade kit (two SSI-263 for users to plug into the Mockingboard A)
Mockingboard C: (A Mockingboard A with two SSI-263 chips pre-installed )
Mockingboard D for Apple IIc (two AY-3-8913, one SSI-263)
Mockingboard M: (Mockingboard A with only one SSI-263 socket and a switch added to use the internal Apple][ speaker instead of external outputs)
Other compatible models:
ReactiveMicro.com's Mockingboard v1: A Mockingboard D compatible for any Apple][
Applied Engineering Phasor Mockingboard compatible (four AY-3-8913, two SSI-263, two SSI-263 sockets, other hardware for ALF, SMS and Echo+ compatibility. 5 watts external output?. internal speaker output and master volume control for the internal speaker)

Mockingboard soundcards are useful for more than just sound. The Apple ][ has no hardware timers that software can use. It also does not allow software to use 6502's IRQ. This is highly unusual for any computer. It means that software must count something, such as CPU cycles, in order to perform multiple time critical events when they need to be done. Counting CPU cycles uses CPU cycles. So using precise timing will slow everything down. This is why undistorted background music is rare for Apple ][ games. A Mockingboard soundcard has a 4 software readable timers good for music and any other timing critical game events.

"We know lots of companies claim a child can install their products. But, what does one do if no child is available? Sweet Micro Systems has written these installation instructions for adults unable to locate any children." - from a Mockingboard Manual

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Dolby Pro Logic II (Dolby Surround 5.1)
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Mockingboard soundcard
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Environmental Audio Extensions 3 (EAX 3.0;EAX Advanced HD)
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Environmental Audio Extensions 5 (EAX 5.0)
BASS audio library
AtariVox Speech Synthesizer