Hmm, but what about UHF and composite signals? Also can these multisyncs do very low resolutions like 256x192? -- Kevan Old Computer Collector: http://staff.motiv.co.uk/~kevan/

--- <SNIP> ---- ALso, Mitsubishi AUM-1371's (also sold under the Thompson label) will accept composite too. I need to get mine repaired so I can use it with my PLaystation . . . . Jeff

kevan(a)heydon.org wrote: I have found that the NEC Multisync coupled with one of the Commodore color monitors make a great setup. With those two monitors, just about everything is covered. While I haven't checked, the NEC may also be capable of composite video input but I use the Commodore for that since it also has an audio input.

Lawrence Walker wrote: I wasn't aware that the NEC 2A came with a 15 pin connector as the one I have uses a DB9 connector. The monitor is capable of both analog and TTL inputs which is why I like it. I can't imagine why it wouldn't work with the ST ... but then again, my knowledge of the ST is a bit sparce.

Due to massive amounts of caffeine & sleep deprivation, Lawrence Walker said: Tho I hate to tell folks they're wrong, but in this case, you may wish to hear this... the Multi 2a *should* work fine with your ST, unless the 2A cannot handle negative sync signals. If that's the case, all you'll need is a one-chip solution to invert the sync signals with (IIRC) a 7404 (or whatever the hex inverter chip number is... databooks at home, me at work, and I'm *bad* with remembering numbers). AFAIR, the 2A *will* sync down to 15.75KHz, which is what the CoCo3, Amiga and Atari ST require for their video signals. The person who could tell you more about this is Dr. Marty Goodman... post a message on news://bit.listserv.coco/ and you should receive lots of good information. Tell everyone "Merch" sent you. Hope this helps! Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- Roger Merchberger | Why does Hershey's put nutritional Programmer, NorthernWay | information on their candy bar wrappers zmerch(a)northernway.net | when there's no nutritional value within?

On Tue, 28 Oct 1997 kevan(a)heydon.org wrote: This seems to be becoming a FAQ here... Some machines, like workstations _need_ their original monitor. Something like a PERQ 3 has part of the keyboard/mouse interface in the monitor stand. And the scan rates of all the PERQs are fairly non-standard. Another case is when the original monitor is sufficiently interesting to be worth preserving in its own right. One of my machines came with an ex TV-company Barco and its service manual. That monitor is built like a tank, gives a very good picture, and is a joy to work on. But a lot of home micros seem to need one of 4 types of monitor, all of them essentially hackable into each other, thankfully. In most cases, the original monitor, if it existed at all (a lot of them plugged into a normal TV set), is an uninteresting thing. The 4 classes are : 1) RGB at TTL levels (like CGA, but without the I line) 2) RGB at analogue levels 3) Composite colour video 4) UHF modulated colour video (TV RF signal). Now, you can feed TTL level signals into an analogue monitor. I do it all the time. If you are a purist you put resistive attenuators in the line to reduce the 5V signals to 1V. But very few monitors seem to object Some monitors will take either RGB or composite PAL inputs. Philips make/made one. One of the Acorn monitors is that chassis without the PAL decoder - one day I'm going to add the extra components, tweak it up, and essentially upgrade it to the better model. It shouldn't take too long. Velleman do a very nice (although expensive) PAL - RGB encoder/decoder. It's called the K4600, and is available as a kit from Maplin. It works well, it's quite small, and it's easy to put together. This is (IMHO) one of the best ways to drive an RGB monitor from a composite output. UHF outputs are a pain. I generally ignore them and tap the signal off before the modulator. If you insist on not modifying your computers, then you can use the tuner/IF strip from an old VCR to demodulate it. There have been kits to do just that, but I've not seen one on sale for a few years - Maplin _used_ to do one, but it's been discontinued, alas. What about using a small (12", 14"), good quality portable TV? That would give you the UHF input, composite PAL and RGB on the SCART socket, and some of the better portables (i.e. _not_ a no-name piece of trash) actually have decent CRTs in them and will display 80 columns quite clearly from the RGB inputs. Well, I doubt my PC would take one (all the slots are already full), my video card certainly couldn't display the output, and most (all?) of these cards don't come with drivers for my OS of choice. So I've not tried one. I can't see the point - a PC is considerably more hassle to move onto my workbench than a monitor... -tony