Hi, I'm a ZX Spectrum guy and saw a photo of the Panasonic MSX2 FS-A1 on the SpectrumComputing forum...
There's a couple for sale on eBay but they're in Japan.
Is there much difference between the A1 and A1mk2?
Nice one! You also could consider de Panasonic FS-A1F. This one also has a floppydrive or can be replaced with a Gotek. Very nice compact MSX2!
Yep, it's better to have the MSX2 with a floppy drive or a Gotek. If you need an adapter for A1F to install Gotek or PC floppy drive, contact me by email.
After buying A1F it's wise to replace the caps on the HIC board.
I will have FS-A1 and FS-A1F in the next batch (currently being repaired). Actually the FS-A1 is mostly a reliable machine and I just have the firmware removed so it is easier to use. The diskdrives in the FS-A1F are not that great and mostly break down beyond repair, so mostly I have the original drive replaced with a Gotek.
If you want the machine with the firmware intact I have them available immediately.
I'm completely baffled with the firmware situation!
I'd like a working kit - PSU etc that I can just plug&play.
Sure, a complete boxed set would be lovely to have but...
Many Japanese MSX came with some firmware that would start automatically. It can be bypassed by holding a key mostly but some don’t have that. For non Japanese users these firmwares can be quite annoying and I really recommend getting a machine where it is disabled.
Btw. the latest beta Carnivore2 boot menu v2.54 should be able to bypass the firmware launching for quite a few computers, thanks to the joined efforts of certain users of this forum.
