Sun Monitor (UK) (2) - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

21 Jul 1999

Have a look below, plz.

Dick

-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Duell &lt;ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk&gt;
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 1999 1:05 PM
Subject: Re: Sun Monitor (UK) (2)

...
 >  The Sony GDM1950 designation is strange. Yours
was a Sun, mine is a SuperMac
...
 > and in searching the net I also found references
to a Radius version, whom I
...

That monitor was used/badged by a lot of companies. There have been other
common workstation monitors as well - Hitachi made one (HM4119), KME made
a number of monochrome ones that turn up on all sorts of UK machines,
etc. Very few companies designed and built their own monitors.

> had thought manufactured their own monitors. There seem to be 19-21"
versions
...
 > and now I find also 3 and 5 BNC editions. Makes
finding specs difficult. I
...
 > found this reference in the Sync on green FAQ :
>
>  "For example, a STORM 1280/256 will drive a Sony GDM-1950 at 640x480,
800x600,
...
 > 1024x768, 1280x1024 and DOS modes (this monitor is
rated at 63.34Khz Horizontal
...
 > sync. and the card runs at 64Khz Horizontal
sync.). This card uses an S3
> graphics accelerator. See also PC Magazine/April/13/1993."
> The easiest way to stay within the range of the fixed frequency while
switching video modes as this one does is to play with the fonts.  If you
use a large font (lotsa pixels) you generate fewer lines of text and fewer
characters, yet don't change the actual sweep rate at which the monitor
operates.

Unfortunately, most cards don't allow enough character generator
flexibility.  That might mean drawing the fonts manually, or at least in
segments potentially supportable by the features of the graphics chip.
...
 >
>  Now what kind of bloody "fixed frequency" is this. On another site ISTR
they
...
   even had a
different scan rate. 
Fixed frequency != known scan rate :-(.

Fixed frequency means that the scan frequencies are set when the monitor
is built and can't (easily!) be altered afterwards. But different
monitors may have been built for different frequencies. I've got monitor
manuals that cover (say) 50kHz and 64kHz versions of the chassis. They
all go under much the same model number though.

-tony