What is it?

MockingBoard Gold is a modern reproduction of the legendary 1983 MockingBoard stereo synthesizer card. It plugs into any 50-pin Apple II slot (or the auxiliary connector of the //c with the included adapter) and adds three-voice square-wave music plus white-noise generation to games, demos and music software. The board carries two vintage MOS R6522A VIA chips for timing and I/O, and two genuine General Instrument AY-3-8910 programmable-sound generators, giving six voices in total, fully compatible with every title that supported the original MockingBoard.

Why did you make it?

Original MockingBoards are scarce, expensive and often suffer from tin-plated edge connectors that corrode after 40 years. I wanted musicians, collectors and classroom users to experience Apple II audio without hunting eBay or risking static damage to irreplaceable hardware. A new board with modern PCB tolerances, gold fingers and socketed vintage ICs keeps the authentic sound alive while surviving thousands of insertions.

What makes it special?

100 % gold-immersion edge connector: zero corrosion, zero wear, rated for >10 000 hot-plug cycles. 1.6 mm FR-4 substrate with beveled edges slides smoothly into slots without shaving fingers.
All ICs socketed; two original-date-code R6522AP VIAs and two New-Old-Stock GI AY-3-8910 PSGs.
Works in Apple II, II+, EuroPlus, //e, //c (with short adapter cable) and most clones; draws <150 mA from +5 V rail, leaving power supply cool.