A4000T monitor

[SirGraham]

Hi.

I have recently purchased a second hand A4000T as follows:

Tower case: Micronik
CPU: 68060, 50 mHz
Motherboard: Micronik 6960 Rev 4.0
Video: ImpactVision 24 and CyberVision 64/3D (includes scandoubler module)
Memory: Unknown but I saw three cards by opening the tower.
Hard disc: SCSI but size is unknown. Possibly 4.6 gb

Also has two disc drives and an read only CD-ROM, UltraPlex 40max, and Workbench 3.1

I'm now about getting a monitor. I'd love to get one that allows the enhanced resolutions of one of both graphics cards. I've tried several PC monitors like Philips 105S, TFT's and even a couple of TV's.

I can hear the Amiga booting and see the hard disk LED on and off and, a while after, the workbench desktop appears.

Plugging the normal output of the CyberVision 64/3D, with every monitor tested, the image is not stable and the left and right sides of the screen move. Plugging the scandoubler output only one image is perfectly displayed with an image of a burning CPU and a text: Light my fire. Does anybody know why this happens? With the scandoubler, almost any PC monitor should work, shouldn't it?

Tests with ImpactVision 24 have given me no image at all.

I have NOW the chance to buy a Commodore 1942 monitor but I don´t know if I can use it with any of both graphics cards (I'd love to have the enhanced resolutions) or I will have to plug it into the back video output of the tower case (limited to AGA video modes).

Please, any ideas?

Thx

[SirGraham]

What really warms my head is that any SVGA monitor SHOULD work with the CyberVision but the fact is that it doesn't. Why? The card sends a 31kHz signal and most monitors can handle such a frequency. According to what I've read on many sites on the Internet I should have no problems with all this having a CyberVision with a scandoubler module. For example, here http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/monitor.html

In 1990 I owned an A500. No hard disk nor external disc drive and 1 mb only (because I expanded years later). Danbeaver, it's true I want my new Amiga for games but I have bought it in order to see many great applications I missed or use just a little like Imagine and such, a good C/C++ compiler, Deluxe Paint and more. It would be wonderful to see them running. I need them.

Are you telling me any multisync monitor will work? That would be really good. Will Dell SR2320L & ST2320L work with my machine? Imagine ordering a monitor, pluging it and getting the same unstable image.

What's CybergraphX? I don't know what is loaded when booting but, of course, Workbench 3.1

[SirGraham]

The situation right now is the next one: I've plugged monitor Philips 105S into the scandoubler module (CyberVision) and an LG Flatron L1919S into the other port of that card. The first monitor stays with 'Light my fire' and the other shows the workbench correctly or almost.

I've changed the resolution to 1280x1024x8 and the Philips monitor shows the workbench as the other is all black.

Everything seems to be more logical now. I'm looking for CyberGraphX

[SirGraham]

I've found CyberGraphX. I want to have just one monitor on the system. I've enabled the variable on the second tab from the left but can't remember its name. I don't know whether it's NOPASSTHROUGH or PASSTHROUGH.

The problem now is that I just get the image with 'Light my fire' and nothing more. Even if I plug two monitors, that image appears in both and I can't go any further. I can't load Workbench.

What can I do? Removing the "bridge" connecting the scandoubler module of the Cybervision with the other could do the system to boot?

I can't do anything now.

Please, help.

Thx.

[SirGraham]

Hi, again!!!

Everything is ok again. What I've done is to remove that bridge of the Cybervision, plug the Philips monitor in the scandoubler port and the Amiga has booted up with only one monitor. I've made no changes in CGXMode

By the way, I have NOPASSTHROUGH to enabled and PASSTHROUGH to disabled. Should it be the other way round?

Thank you very much for your help.

Salutes from Spain.

:laugh1:

[SirGraham]

Hi, again.

I wrote something wrong in my last post. NOPASSTHROUGH and PASSTHROUGH are both enabled. The bridge is removed and you say it should be plugged for the signal pass from the CyberVision through the bridge TO the scandoubler? Is that?

I'm using now a TV LG 50PG1000 with the Amiga. It only displays PAL video modes, not CyberVision ones. Why? Besides, that PAL modes aren't ok: a vertical line has in and outs.

No tried mode works with CGXMode.

Thanks.

[SirGraham]

Hi again.

NOPASSTHROUGH is now disabled, PASSTHROUGH is enabled and the bridge is on. This way, CyberVision should send the signal to the scandoubler and this one to the connected TV.

Please, note that I can plug the bridge in two ways, with the red line of the grey wide cable to each side. However, I have appreciated no changes between them. In the pic, that line is seen easyly and is now closest to the back of the tower.

Here are my tests:

1.- In order to install the bridge, I had to remove ImpactVision 24 card. Under this situation, I booted the computer and saw better than before: vertical lines are really vertical. This is the best image so far.

2.- I decided to install ImpactVision 24 and switching on the computer. I couldn't believe when I saw that I had a worse image quality: vertical lines had in and outs again. So, I removed again the ImpactVision.

I have uploaded a file containing an image of the card. The half bottom is the scandoubler. You can see the bridge by the center of the image and a couple of jumpers in two red circles.

Scandoubler manual says both jumpers, JP1 and JP2, should be closed for one monitor configuration. They are that way, aren't they?

I've been trying several modes with CGXMode successfully so I can choose now between PAL and Cybervision modes in ScreenMode. I have now my desktop at 1024x768x16 bits. I have PERFECT images on my TV. Wonderful!!!

Now, the question: what ImpactVision 24 is for? A frame grabber? What does that mean? That I can record everything displayed on the screen? How much would people give me for it? 150-200$ or so? I have never seen that card on sale on the Internet.

I have to try to reinsert the ImpactVision to see what happens, but I'm a bit tired. Aren't supposed these cards are independent?

Thank you once more.

[SirGraham]

Hi.

If I plug CV and then IV, the image is not good and moves all the time. If I plug IV and then the CV, the image is better but not perfect with vertical lines having in and outs. I think this is odd.

Because of that, I've decided to have IV unplugged. Everything seems to be OK that way but leaves me the thought of what could be wrong or what with that card.

As far as I know, my Amiga was used at a local TV station and both cards should work well. Seller never told me IV to be broken so I suppose it is not or it is?

By the way, the machine has 64 mb, but I can see three memory banks in the motherboard. I can't see them very well but I think they are all equal, among other things, in capacity. But you can't divide 64 by 3. Any ideas???

Hey, Matt_H, as I said a few posts ago, I bought an A500 in 1990 and sold it in 2000. In 2006 came to my head the idea of owning another and a better one. Auctions on the net are aggresive and a bit expensive. I've been lucky with my machine and you have helped me a lot with the very important issue of the monitor.

I can enjoy again many things, years after like Battle Chess and, of course, I can discover MANY things I missed those years.

Thank you again.

Your friend, Carlos.

[SirGraham]

After a while opening the tower and looking that WEB, here's, a bit better, what it's inside:
 
1.- Phase 5 digital Products CyberStorm Mk2. Those 3 memory banks are inserted in this card. I haven't tried nothing about this.

ShowConfig says:

Node type $A, Attributes $505 (FAST), at $8000000-$BFFFFFF (64.0 meg)
Node type $A, Attributes $703 (CHIP), at $2000-$1FFFFF (~2.0 meg)

A question: if I unplug this card, the Amiga would work? Because it's the CPU what you're removing but, on the other hand, this is an expansion card. Should 68040 work in that case? Do I have two CPU's?

By the way, it should be a 68060@50 mHz. Running the bench SysInfo, it reports me it's 2'05 times faster than a 68040@25 mHz. I think it should be more because the frequency is doubled (25 ---> 50) and my CPU is better (040 ---> 060). What do you think?

2.- Phase 5 digital Products CyberSCSI MK2. Nothing to mention.

3.- There´s something more. Behind the CyberStorm Mk2 and Micronik 6960 cards there's another big one I can hardly see.

Micronik card is screwed to the tower.  By unscrewing it I will be able to see the big card and get more info but this scares me a bit. Everything is working quite fine now and, in that situation, removing it... pufff.... It is supposed this big card has 16 mb leaving 48 to the CyberStorm? I'm a bit confussed with this card because I thought it was the motherboard (CV and IV can be inserted in it) but now, I don't know.

CyberStorm should be plugged to the big card. I see no screws for it but the back side image of that card says so.

[SirGraham]

Technically you don't have a real commodore A4000t. you have a desktop  A4000 motherboard in a micronik tower with their custom slotboard.
Generally "A4000t" refers to the commodore/AT/quikpak towers.

Let's say I have a Frankenstein Amiga. :laugh1:

I've downloaded WhichAmiga. With ImpactVision 24 out and here's the report:

Central Processing Unit: MC68060 50.0 MHz (rev 5)
    Floating Point Unit: 68060 fpu
 Memory Management Unit: 68060mmu running
   Custom graphics chip: AGA Lisa 4203 (rev 0)
  Custom animation chip: AGA PAL Alice 8374, rev 3-4
   Other custom chip(s): Paula 8364 (rev 0), Ramsey (rev 15), Gary (rev 0)
        Graphics system: CyberGraphX
      Graphics board(s): CyberVision 64/3D
         Hardware clock: clock found
 Max. Chipmem available: 2048 K
 Max. Fastmem available: 65536 K
       Rom chip version: 40.68 (Kickstart 3.1)
      Workbench version: 40.42 (Workbench 3.1)
       SetPatch version: 43.6
     Expansion board(s):
8512/67: Phase 5 Digital Products CyberVision 64/3D (@$40000000 256M)
8512/25: Phase 5 Digital Products CyberStorm 64/3D (@$00EA0000 128M)

Your computer is an Amiga 4000

64 mb and three memory banks... hum... I opened the tower yesterday, removed a bank, booted and saw I had 48 mb. Therefore, the removed bank was 16 mb and the other two, I think (because I can't see them), are equal to the first one so I suppose they are 16 mb each. That gives 16*3=48 mb. Where's the rest? The only thing I came up with is that they must be inserted in the motherboard, which I can't see. Perhaps 4 4mb banks giving 16 mb. Perhaps only one 16mb bank. Don't know.

How can I know the manufacturer? Being 68060@50 MHz makes me discard Commodore and think about Escom. The thing is that CyberStorm Mk2 could have been inserted any year and that makes possible to be Commodore.

I also tried the ImpactVision, with the same results. Workbench desktop is ok, but when I load BattleChess, vertical lines are not, having in and outs. As far as I remember, a testing program said this card needs drivers but that's odd because the seller, I suppose, had all installed. Definitely, I'll leave it removed. It's a pity.