Panasonic FS-A1F
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| Panasonic FS-A1F, with the floppy drive in the front edge below the keyboard. Photograph from the MSX Resource Center wiki; no freely licensed photograph has been found. | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) |
| Type | MSX2 home computer |
| Released | 1987 (Japan) |
| Intro price | ¥54,800 |
| CPU | Z80A |
| Memory | 64 KB RAM, 128 KB video RAM |
| Storage | Built-in 3.5-inch 2DD floppy drive (720 KB), MSX cartridges, cassette |
| Display | Yamaha V9938 |
| Sound | PSG in the Yamaha S1985 MSX-Engine |
| Power | AC 100 V 50/60 Hz, 14 W, internal switching supply |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Predecessor | Panasonic FS-A1MK2 |
| Model no. | FS-A1F |
The Panasonic FS-A1F is an MSX2 computer made by Matsushita Electric Industrial and sold in Japan from 1987 at ¥54,800. It has a 3.5-inch floppy drive built into the front edge of the case below the keyboard, a numeric keypad, a pause key, a kanji ROM and Panasonic's built-in menu software, which starts at power-on. It was sold in black, and Kawai sold the same machine as the KMC-5000.[1][2]
The MSX Resource Center describes the FS-A1F as an FS-A1MK2 with a floppy drive. The two machines share the HIC-1 video board, but the FS-A1F has its own main board (DFUP0199ZAP), a mains power supply inside the case in place of the FS-A1MK2's external adapter, and a floppy controller.[1][3][4]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]The main board carries a Zilog Z80, the Yamaha V9938 VDP with 128 KB of video RAM, the Yamaha S1985 MSX-Engine, an NEC μPD65013GF375 gate array, the Toshiba TC8566F floppy disk controller and 64 KB of main RAM.[1][3] The system software is in a 128 KB mask ROM at IC18 (DA1024D0365R), which holds the main ROM, sub-ROM, disk ROM, kanji driver and the built-in menu software; the kanji character ROM is a separate chip (DA531P336616-0).[5] The floppy controller's motor signal passes through the gate array, which keeps the drive motor running for a few seconds after each access so that it does not stop and start between sectors.[4]
The HIC-1 daughterboard (Mitsumi EMC-NX0039, Panasonic part DAMCNX0039XT) holds the video encoder, a Sony CXA1145, together with the cassette interface and the sound amplifier, and runs from +5 V alone. It is the same board as in the FS-A1MK2, and its three surface-mount electrolytic capacitors leak with age.[4][6][1]
The main RAM can be taken to 128 KB by fitting two 64K × 4 DRAMs (4464 type, such as the MB81464-12) at IC14 and IC16 and two 100 nF ceramic capacitors at C49 and C51.[5][1]
Power
[edit | edit source]The FS-A1F takes 100 V mains directly and is rated 14 W.[2] Its power supply is a switching supply on a separate board inside the case, beside the floppy drive.[4][7] On 220 to 240 V mains, run it from a step-down transformer. Forum members advise against modifying the 100 V switching supply for a higher input voltage.[5] The RBSC group has published a small replacement supply (TinyPSU) that runs from an external 9 to 12 V adapter, with 3D-printed mounting parts for the FS-A1F.[8]
Floppy drive
[edit | edit source]The drive is a belt-driven Matsushita EME-212M connected by a 26-way flat cable.[4] The MSX Resource Center gives the belt as rubber, 0.3 mm thick, 58 mm in diameter and 3 mm wide.[1] The FS-A1FM uses the same drive.[9]
Backup cells
[edit | edit source]The clock and settings are kept by two AA cells, type R6P (SUM-3), in a compartment in the base.[2] The MSX Resource Center recommends lithium cells or Eneloop rechargeables and advises against alkaline cells, which leak in time.[1]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]No Panasonic service manual for the FS-A1F has been found. The HIC-1 Hybrid Board Schematic covers its video board. The Panasonic FS-A1 Schematic covers the earlier FS-A1's main board, which is a different design.
Repair guides
[edit | edit source]- Panasonic FS-A1F General Maintenance
- Panasonic FS-A1F Troubleshooting Guide
- Panasonic FS-A1F Capacitor Replacement Guide
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Inside, with the power supply board at the upper left and the drive at the lower left -
Main board DFUP0199ZAP, with the HIC-1 at the upper left -
Rating label and backup cell label
Related pages
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Panasonic FS-A1F, MSX Resource Center wiki, 7 March 2026—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Community page: described as basically an FS-A1mkII with a built-in 3.5-inch drive in the front of the case below the keyboard; black; Japan; 1987; ¥54,800; also released by Kawai as the KMC-5000; 64 KB RAM in slot 3-0, 128 KB VRAM, V9938, PSG in the S1985; 720 KB drive, pause and reset buttons, kanji ROM level 1, kanji driver ROM, DESKPAC firmware started at boot and skipped by holding DEL until a beep; Z80A from Zilog (Z08400-04PSC), S1985, NEC gate array μPD65013GF375, Toshiba TC8566F floppy controller; RAM upgradable to 128 KB with two MB81464-12 and two 100 nF capacitors; drive belt rubber, 0.3 mm thick, 58 mm diameter, 3 mm wide; the HIC-1 daughterboard has three SMD electrolytics that leak in time and badly damage the board round them; do not unscrew the drive's optical sensor during a belt change, unsolder it instead; lithium or Eneloop backup cells recommended, alkaline advised against.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rating label on the underside of an FS-A1F: "MODEL NO. FS-A1F, 電源入力 AC 100V 50/60Hz 14W", Matsushita Electric Industrial, Made in Japan; the backup cell label beside it gives R6P (SUM-3), two cells. File:Panasonic FS-A1F rating label.jpg, from the MSX Resource Center wiki (uploaded by Mars2000you, 15 September 2020).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 File:Panasonic FS-A1F main board DFUP0199ZAP.jpg, photograph uploaded to the MSX Resource Center wiki by Gdx on 11 December 2015: board printed DFUP0199ZAP and "© Matsushita 1987", with the V9938, a Zilog Z0840004PSC, the S1985, the NEC gate array at IC19, the TC8566F, the BASIC ROM DA1024D0365R at IC18 and the HIC-1 at the upper left; this board has been upgraded with DRAMs at IC14 and IC16.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 FS-A1Fの改造 前編– niga2—link(accessed 2026-10-21) In Japanese. The FS-A1F sold for ¥54,800 and has a kanji ROM; the HIC is Mitsumi DAMCNX0039XT, the same board used in the FS-A1mk2, with surface-mount electrolytics that need replacing urgently (one 100 µF 6.3 V and two 10 µF 16 V); the FS-A1F uses a switching power supply, where the later FS-A1WX to turbo R models used transformer supplies; the navy-blue Matsushita electrolytics on the supply had leaked brown electrolyte, which had run down their legs onto the board and begun to corrode the tracks, so all were replaced and the electrolyte washed off, with low-ESR types recommended for a switching supply; the main board electrolytics are less urgent but worth replacing given their age; the main board is double-sided with plated through-holes and very fine lands and tracks, harder to rework than other MSX machines of the time, and several through-holes were damaged removing the V9938 with a 30 W iron and a solder sucker; the system software is in a 1 Mbit (128 KB) 28-pin mask ROM; the HIC's video encoder is a Sony CXA1145; the built-in drive is a Matsushita EME-212M, belt-driven, with an orange eject button and a 26-pin interface particular to Panasonic, and the stripe on the flat cable from the main board is on the pin 26 side; the floppy controller's MEN0 motor signal passes through pins 98 and 99 of the μPD65013GF375 gate array, which holds the motor on for a few seconds after each access; RAM was upgraded to 128 KB in the 1990s.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 MSX2 Panasonic FS-A1F wiki tutorials, January 2014 to February 2026—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Two pages. gdx, 21 September 2018: the DA531P336616-0 holds the kanji ROM, and the DA1024D0365R (128 KB) holds the main ROM, sub-ROM, disk ROM, kanji driver and firmware. Wierzbowsky, 7 July 2021: the right-hand ROM is IC18; RAM can be upgraded to 128 KB by fitting two 4464-series DRAMs at IC14 and IC16 and two 100 nF ceramic capacitors at C49 and C51, with no other changes. DataPro, 26 June 2024: asks about replacing the original 100 V power board with a 230 V one; Sebbeug tried a published conversion twice and it failed for him; gdx: "This method seems ideal for making your FS-A1F broken"; Wierzbowsky, 27 June 2024: a 100 V switching supply should be run on 220 V only if it was designed for it, and he would not modify one for a higher input voltage. plxbollo, February 2026: fitted the 128 KB upgrade with two sockets, two ceramic capacitors and two DRAMs.
- ↑ BABAX, Mitsumi Hybrid IC EMC-NX0039 (Panasonic parts no. DAMCNX0039XT), revision 02. File:Mitsumi EMC-NX0039 HIC-1 schematic (BABAX, Rev 02).pdf; see HIC-1 Hybrid Board Schematic. RGB-NTSC encoder (Sony CXA1145M), cassette interface, sound amplifier, pause and power muting; +5 V supply.
- ↑ File:Panasonic FS-A1F inside, main board and disk drive.jpg, photograph uploaded to the MSX Resource Center wiki by Keith56 on 30 July 2017: the power supply board with its small transformer and fuse at the upper left, the drive and its flat cable at the lower left (annotated "Red strip is Pin 25"), and the main board.
- ↑ Installing TinyPSU power supply into Panasonic FS-A1F, 8 February 2026—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Wierzbowsky (RBSC): the FS-A1F has a built-in switching supply for 100 V, so a compact low-voltage supply run from an external 9 to 12 V adapter is a reasonable alternative, especially if the original has failed; 3D models and installation instructions at Thingiverse thing 7280392; open-source project files at github.com/RBSC/TinyPSU; also suits the FS-A1 and FS-A1MK2 and other MSX machines.
- ↑ Panasonic FS-A1FM, MSX Resource Center wiki, 7 March 2026—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Gallery captions: "Panasonic FS-A1F/FS-A1FM drive" and "FS-A1F/FS-A1FM drive PCB"; belt specification the same as the FS-A1F (rubber, 0.3 mm, 58 mm diameter, 3 mm wide).