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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: mazdaboi on March 10, 2004, 08:19:45 PM
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Hello all,
I recently purchased an A4000 from Ebay to play around with... Sorta to remember the days back when I had an A1200...
In any case, back when I had an A1200, I just used the composite video out and an older Commodore monitor...
Seeing the DB23 connector on the A4000 sorta frightened me. lol...
My question is this -- What's the best way to go about getting a monitor for my newly found A4000? I have several decent MultiSync monitors (NEC's and Sony's) that would probably work if I knew of an adapter (scan doubler? I dunno) that was decent... I guess my other option is to purchase an Amiga monitor from Ebay -- in which case, what models should I be looking for?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I looked at the Amiga-FAQ and found the section on monitors, but it didnt list many specifics as far as manufacturers or models of stuff I should be looking for.
Thanks,
Brad
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Hello and welcome to Amiga.org!!
The quickest and easiest way atm is to hook up an old Amiga monitor. A few models that work are Amiga 1084(s), 1080 and C=2002. When looking for a monitor try to get one bundled WITH the cable, as there are fairly hard to find.
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The Amiga 4000 has two screen-refresh-rates, 15 KHz and 31 KHz. If you want to watch both modes you want to:
1. Get a scandoubler so you could use any regular pecee monitor to view all screens.
2. Get a true multisync/bi-sync monitor like the commodore 1940/1942. There are also some monitors called Microvitec 1438 that are 15/30KHz compatible.
You could also use workbench in 30KHz mode (by using VGAOnly montor driver), but most games use 15KHz, and furthermore you won't be able to see anything until WB is fully loaded. Beware that most multisync monitors, more than 99%, can't view 15 KHz modes.
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And any decent TV or monitor can be used by buying an approprite RGB->Scart cable. There are lots available on Ebay. But you'll miss 30KHz modes that give a sharper picture in higher(AGA) resolutions.
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I thank you both for your replies. That got me on the right track. Seems that Ebay doesnt have any of those monitors listed above.
Unfortunantly I didn't get the little adapter dongle with my A4000 :-/ So it looks like Im at a standstill until I find a monitor.
Any particular model/manufacturer of a scan doubler that I could get somewhat easily?
I also have a Video Toaster card on its way to mess around with -- back when I first heard about Video Toasters I was too young and too poor to even think of getting one... It seems that they are now plentiful on Ebay and low cost. So I ordered one to mess around with too.
Thanks again for the pointers
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You should try on www.ebay.de , there are several sellers there who has sold 200+ items with only positive remarks, so ordering across the atlantic should be no problem :-D
But remember that europe uses 220V, so getting a monitor from europe is a bad idea. But I see there are several RGB->VGA adapters out for around 10 euros, at buy-it-now. Shipping from europe to US should be very cheap for this, it fits in an envelope. 1 euro is roughly 1.20 $? :-?www.vesalia.de sells an internal scandoubler which should fit, but I think you're better off getting it from inside the U.S. You should also try searching for the C=1950/1960 monitors, I think they were more popular in the US than here in europe. They support both 15 and 30 KHz modes. But remember that the amigas native display is 15KHz, so hooking it to a TV or 1080/1084 monitor will be the best option for games...
redrumloa probably knows where you could get a decent scandoubler, maybe he's even selling one :lol:
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Actually...
I would look for a GFX card, Cybervision or Picasso, etc.
It would inprove the GFX and you could use just about any
PC monitor.
I have a Cybervision64 card, best investment I've made.
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Actually...
I would look for a GFX card, Cybervision or Picasso, etc.
It would inprove the GFX and you could use just about any
PC monitor.
I have a Cybervision64 card, best investment I've made.
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Doesnt these monitors also work with an 4000?
AD1970 Monitor
A-1962 Monitor
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>Doesn't these monitors also work with an 4000?
>
>AD1970 Monitor
>A-1962 Monitor
Yes! :-)
Also there was a CTX "CD-1401"
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Everyone:
I found this an internal FlickerFixer:
Power PC Internal Flicker Fixer (http://www.powerc.com/cgi-bin/psearch.cgi?code=650-0008&rn=419&aid=&uid=ssbGrsAulsuNz52&sid=&cid=4&act=gpage)
It says it works on the A4000... Anyone have any experience with this unit? I would have preferred an external one, but they dont seem to carry one...
From what I gather this will allow me to use a semi-normal monitor... Correct?
They also have this:
FlickerFixer bundle (http://www.powerc.com/cgi-bin/psearch.cgi?code=AMBUN&rn=419&aid=&uid=ssbGrsAulsuNz52&sid=&cid=4&act=gpage)
Amy thoughts?
I have kept an eye on Ebay the past few days and havent seen a decent monitor come up yet. I went to the .de version of Ebay and saw a lot more stuff, but I dont want to particularly run a 220VAC circuit from my laundry room behind my dryer to my computer room. lol.
Thanks!
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restore2003 wrote:
Doesnt these monitors also work with an 4000?
AD1970 Monitor
A-1962 Monitor
Yes, I have a CTX AD-1970 hooked to the standard 23 pin RGB port on my A4000T. (My Samsung 753DF 17" monitor is connected to my CyberVision gfx card.)
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A couple people suggested to get a new video card and be done with it...
But I'm such an incredible newbie with this thing that I dont even know where to start...
I wanna just putz around on my Amiga... Play around on it... Maybe mess around with games a little...
Mostly I want to play around with its video capabilities with the Video Toaster 4000 card I have...
I'm not sure what sort of slot the VT4000 goes in -- I put it in the bottom one in my A4000... Is that the video slot?
If I get a video card, wouldnt that need to go there instead? Or can it go in another slot?
Im such a newbie. :(
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@mazdaboi
Are you in the USA? I may have a monitor I can sell you. Do you have any monitor cables?
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If you look at www.vesalia.de you should be able to pick up the FlickerMagicT for €88.90 (£60): so you could save mousands of pounds.
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My guess is that most monitors are switchable between 110 and 220 volt so all you'd need would be a new power cable. (or am I thinking of computer power supplies) :-?
Anyway, I'd think shipping would be the killer. I just paid a guy in Germany 35 Euros to ship 2 aminet sets plus one regular aminet disk (total 9 CDs plus packaging). Equals about $42 US or Can$56! He said that was the cheapest shipping rate, but seems awfully pricey to me. I could eat at MacDonalds for 10-12 times for that price. I'd hate to think what a monitor would cost to ship. :-(
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For a rough idea, the cheapest I could ship an empty case over from the UK to germany was £55.
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I believe the 4000 Desktop has only one video slot.
The 4000T has two. The C=1084 or eqiv. are really
well suited for toaster work, but you will only be
able to use NTSC or PAL on the system side of things.
I am not sure if the toaster can be connected to
a multisync monitor, if so then you can use all the
AGA modes.
C Snyder
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Actually most graphics cards will go in the Zorro 3 slots, but best to check before you buy. Cybervision 64s should go in Zorro 3 slot, however without the Scandoubler module, it's probably no good for Toaster work (which is AGA/ECS only). No worries ^_^
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@redrumloa
Yes, I'm in the USA.
No, I dont have any cables. But Ive seen various Amiga video cables on Ebay.
If you have one you are willing to sell, I'd be willing to buy. Just let me know if you're willing to part with one.
Also sort of off topic but Im curious. On Ebay about the same time I bought my A4000 and the Video Toaster 4000 card, there was an auction for an A2500 and A500, video toaster card, video toaster software, and a bunch of other things. I purchased this, and have tried to contact the seller several times. since then... Not sure if he's gonna answer. In any case, my question is this: if he doesnt answer back, I'm going to have to purchase the software to play with... When I go to NewTek's site, all I see are several VT[3] bundles with hefty price tags around $5,000.00 USD... Are these what I would want?! (If thats the case, I might as well pack it in before I start because I can't pay anywhere near that much for just a hobby). Wow.....
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Hi aardvark
I just paid a guy in Germany 35 Euros to ship 2 aminet sets plus one regular aminet disk (total 9 CDs plus packaging).
Seems expensive to me. I recently bought a Catweasel from KDH in Germany and even including shipping it was cheaper than buying one from a dealer here in the US (especially since I was paying in Sterling and the low value of the dollar vs the pound right now). Premium shipping and packaging on the Catweasel was only 25 Euros.
I've never had CDs shipped from Germany to the US, but in my experience getting media shipped from the UK often isn't much more expensive then getting it shipped around the US (and is often quicker).
A monitor would be very expensive to ship across the pond. I seriously doubt that it would be worth it.
Cheers,
Rich
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@mazdaboi
When I go to NewTek's site, all I see are several VT[3] bundles with hefty price tags around $5,000.00 USD
I imagine that's the PC version of the toaster - hardware and all.
The Toaster software for the Amiga has recently been made open source. Have a look at OpenVideoToaster.org (http://www.openvideotoaster.org/)
Cheers,
Rich
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Wow!! That's awesome!!
They've exceeded their bandwidth for the month, so I ordered the CD...
That's very cool of NewTek to open-source it. Props!!