4 Aug
2006
4 Aug
'06
5:05 p.m.
--- Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
Hehe... abracadrabra.
d
> snip <<
I know how the CPU works and runs everything
, in theory, but I can't program in machine
language yet.
As for how the CPU and everything else works
physically, I don't really know anything, but
There are, unfortunaely, very few books that
actually explain how the CPU
works. Most introductory hardware books explain
things like the AND and
OR gats and flip-flops (don't worry if these terms
mean nothing to you,
they're just the basic building blocks of computer
circuits), and then
tell you the CPU exists. It's almost as if the CPU
runs on some kind of
magic.
I can assure you that it doesn't, and that many
older, simpler CPUs are
understandable at the gate level (or even the
transistor level).
I know how _I_ learnt this stuff. I had already
understood how to use
gates, flip-flops, etc. I mamaged to get the servi
ce
manuals for an old
minicomputer, and I sat down for a couple of
_months_ until I understood
it all. Of course back then there was no classiccm
p
list, I didn't have
anyone to ask. I was very much on my own.
Perhaps there are service manuals for the
Amiga??
I know I wanted to get my hands on the Amiga
RKRM's (Rom Kernel Reference Manuals), but
they will be hard to find in paper form.
[Mains voltages etc]
> > voltage is lethal. It's also likely to appear
on
> > metal heatsinks, etc, in
> > such supplies. Don't work on one of those unle
ss
y
a
ou
It's only heatsinks in high voltage circuits (like
the mains side of
SMPSUs, or the horizontal scan section of monitors
and TVs) that might be
at a dangerous voltage. Heatsinks, say, on top of really know what you
are doing.
Ok... no heat sinks in my A600 :) CPU chip, or a
regulator IC on a motherboard, are very likely to
be at ground
potential. But if in doubt, ask.
Ok.
> Monitors are often claimed to contain lethal
> voltages. Well, there's
> mains (and most colour monitors use an SMPSU>
circ
> uit, so the hazard I've
> > just mentioned is there). But the even higher
> > voltages to the CRT are
> > generally only able to supply low currents, an ar
No RGB cable for the Amiga and the SCART
socket is already used:
I have a 3 way SCART box which is plugged
into the TV's SCART, with SCART's from the
VCR, DVD player and my Dreamcast plugged
into that.
I have used the old Sega Megadrive (aka
Genesis) RF switch box (the one that lets you
switch between "Game" and "Aerial") and
plugged that into the aerial socket on the TV.
Into the switch box I have the aerial (for
terrestrial TV) and my Amiga RF cable.
The A/V sockets at the front are used by
my Nintendo 64 (which is sat ontop of the TV),
or Gamecube (sat next to Dreamcast under TV,
but ontop of VCR and DVD player) depending
on which Nintendo console I want to play.
It's a nice setup.... but loads of cables :(
Besides, it's not like I'm gonna try and do
Hi-Def stuff on the Amiga! (NB: I know that
ain't possible, unless you count the 2 colour
super-hires screen mode - and before anyone
asks I know nothing about Hi-Def screens and/
or widescreen TV's, but thats ok coz I don't
want them).
Regards,
Andrew B
aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk
e
> unlikely to be fatal.
> Don't take risks, though, 25000V is darn
unpleasan
t.
No problems there either, as I don't use a
monitor. I plug my A600 into my TV via the
RF cable. The picture quality is good enough
for me.
Well, a TV is essentially a monitor with an extra
bit -- the radio
receiver circuit -- added. It also contians high
voltages to operate the
CRT. And most, if not all, modern TVs use a SMPSU
circuit.
Doesn't your TV have a SCART socket? Can't you
connect the RGB outputs of
the A600 there?
-tony