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Dean Belfield edited this page Mar 13, 2023 · 19 revisions

Welcome to the Agon Light Wiki

This Wiki is the official source for all documentation regarding the Agon Quark firmware and any third-party software development.

What is the Agon Light

The Agon Light is a modern, fully open-source, 8-bit microcomputer and microcontroller in one small, low-cost board, designed by Bernado Kastrup aka The Byte Attic. As a computer, it is a standalone device that requires no host PC: it puts out its own video (VGA), audio (2 identical mono channels), accepts a PS/2 keyboard and has its own mass-storage in the form of a µSD card.

The main CPU is an eZ80F92, a modern Zilog Z80 microcontroller that is fully backwards compatible with the Z80. As well as running in a traditional 8-bit mode with a 64K address space, it can run in 24-bit mode, and is capable of addressing up to 16MB of RAM without paging, and is also capable of running in a hybrid mode with a mixture of 24-bit and 8-bit code.

The eZ80F92 integrates a number of standard peripherals, including a UART, and hardware timers.

There is a second CPU dedicated to handling video, sound, and keyboard, an ESP32. This co-processor is linked to the eZ80F92 via a UART, and acts as a graphics terminal.

What is the Quark Firmware

The Quark firmware is the official operating system for the Agon Light. It consists of three main components:

  • MOS: Machine Operating System
  • VDP: Visual Display Processor
  • BBC Basic for Z80: A specially adapted port of R.T.Russell's excellent BASIC interpreter

Where can I buy one?

At time of writing there are four official distributers of the Agon Light:

Please note that the Olimex version (Agon Light 2) is lightly customised, yet still fully compatible with the original Agon Light.

What else do I need to buy?

Okay, so you've ordered your Agon Light, and are wondering what else you will need to purchase.

Minimum:

  • A PS/2 compatible keyboard
  • A micro USB card

NB:

  • The orginal Agon Light requires a PS/2 keyboard, or a USB keyboard that supports the PS/2 protocol with a USB to PS/2 adaptor.
  • The Agon Light 2 requires a USB keyboard that supports the PS/2 protocol, or a PS/2 keyboard with a PS/2 to USB adaptor.

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