Well, not even a 60-line Ann Arbor Ambassador can compete with a 120 line xterm with even higher-res fonts, so my desktop 4K LCD monitor is where I display the output of serial connections.

All my microcomputer video output is currently done on a Sony PVM-9045Q monitor (sold as the 8045 in some countries). This is a very handy little unit, with relatively high resolution for a 9" colour monitor, composite, YUV, RGB and component video inputs (with separate sync input usable with any of these), and supporting NTSC, PAL, SECAM and NTSC 4.43 display formats. As well as not taking up much space in my tiny flat, it's small and light enough to bring out to meet-ups without too much trouble. I've been using just a little breadboarded resistor network to convert digital RGB video to analogue for it, but a friend of mine has a board design in the works to do a better job of that and handle RGBI.

For anybody who needs to display any form of 15.7 kHz video, it's well worth looking around for the more flexible CRT professional video monitors (PVMs) that happen to be up on auction sites in your area. They tend to be fairly common, cheap, and high quality. For 80-column display, though, you'll want to try to find one with 400 or more TV lines of resolution, if you can. (This is easy for the larger monitors, but with the 9" ones a lot of them, such as the PVM-9042Q, are 250 lines.)

I also have a 9" monochrome monitor and 5" B/W TV, since I wanted a higher-resolution display than my colour display is capable of doing. (Colour display resolution is limited by the aperture grille or shadow mask.) Unfortunately, neither is working properly at the moment; they're both waiting for me to find the time and bravery to open them up and try to trace down the problem.

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Curt J. Sampson - github.com/0cjs

In a now deleted post, someone mentioned "cheap video with...only a few extra ICs," and this reminded me that a good monitor can make life easier in this respect.

My PVM-9045Q has a switchable separate sync input: it can take sync for any input channel from that rather than needing combined sync on the input channel. Usually the level is unimportant, sync can be anything from composite video levels to TTL (+5 V). If you use this facility, you no longer need to worry in your video circuit about combining sync and signal and getting the sync levels right.

And of course if you're wanting to generate colour, it's much easier to generate RGB+sync than an NTSC or PAL colour signal, as well as producing a much cleaner display. Even just on/off for each of R, G and B gives you 8 fairly nice-looking colours, though if you've got a TTL output you'll need to reduce the output levels to get the correct brightness/colour on the display.

It's also neat that the sync input on my PVM-9045Q accepts even a standard composite video signal and extracts the sync from it. I've used this to avoid building a sync combiner for my FM-7 RGBHV output by just plugging the computer's composite video signal (which displays the same thing as the RGB output) into the sync jack.

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Curt J. Sampson - github.com/0cjs

Retrocomputing requires a genuine CRT monitor for the right feeling from old times.

I use a little B/Wchinese TV bought new for SEK249 (about USD25), sold out as useless when analogue transmissions ceased. It was easy to add composite input and the tube produces a sharp image. Of cource generated the old way by a 6845 and a heap of other chips. Absolutely neccessary for real retrocomputing.

I also have an old monitor with green phosphour, unfortunately it's too bulky for my current setup. It was bought back in time and still working. Branded Kaga Denshi and has a tube made by japanese NEC.

I've got two Apple Mac monitors that I bought and will eventually get to building a video card for. One is black and white and the other is trinitron color. They both need retrobriting to bring back to looking ok. The video is similar to VGA, but 30 MHz instead of 25.125. I've worked out the numbers for a 6845/6545 and if I use a Rockwell 6545EAP it can go fast enough (up to 3.7 MHz pixel clock for the E speed grade). But currently I'm thinking of using a CPLD instead, it's not as authentic but it is a more useful path to future extensions such as graphics or more hardware assistance. I'm going to build a character version first as 640 x 480 graphics is going to be quite challenging.

I've got a couple of other projects planned before this, so it'll be a while before I get to it. Especially at present where I'm spending a lot of time just waiting for parts to arrive.


I think I used one of these with an Apple ][ back in the 80's.

All of the above as well as LED digit displays (SYM-1, Heathkit ET-3400A, Elf) and blinkin' lights (IMSAI 8080 simulator, Altair 8800 reproduction). Although all of those (except the Elf) have and can be hooked up to a terminal or PC running a terminal emulator.

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Bill

I can almost guarantee you did. The discovery years ...

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Bill

I have far too many to list... And most of these are various CRT and LCD 4:3 VGA monitor types, which get used with, err, my older PCs or which are stored. Although I do have some RGB to VGA converters to use if I wish. I won’t list the newer larger monitors that get used with the modern PCs...

Of the remaining 4:3 CRT displays:
A couple of Atari ST mono monitors
A couple of metal cased CUB colour monitors (RGB inputs, designed for use with Acorn BBC Micros or similar)
An Amstrad colour monitor that came with a CPC computer
Some other 15kHz monitors (the colour ones use RGB)
A colour CRT bought surplus many, many years ago (metal frame, but no case, so I don’t use it much)
A analogue colour CRT TV (stored, retired from TV use after it was replaced with a modern TV)

But most of these only get occasional use.

The regular use displays are:
One (of two) cheap ‘own brand’ 4:3 colour (14” or 15”) LCD TVs that can take composite video or RGB via SCART. The other is stored.
One (of two) Sharp Aquos LC-19D1E-BK 16:9 colour LCD TVs is the most often used. The other is used occasionally. These have UHF, composite, component, S-video, SCART (incl. RGB), VGA and HDMI. Hence they can handle nearly all the video outputs that I throw at them.

I also have a SCART RGB to HDMI converter box.

For systems that don’t have their own video system, that would be via RS232 to a Linux PC or to a Windows machine running a terminal application. In the past, I have also used an Atari ST for this, or a Psion Series 3A/3c. Connection is either directly via RS232 or via a microcontroller. Although some projects have various LEDs or sometimes I hook a character based LCD up to a project.

Mark

I just edited the head post to fix a typo, noticed I'd mentioned a 50kg CRT, and thought that a bit high, so I checked and replaced with 30kg because that's a 21" NEC Multisync, which is I think what we used to use at work.

Then I noticed Gordon said...

and of course that makes my edit confusing. Anyhow, I checked, and a 36" flatscreen Sony is 90kg. Wow!

(edit: large CRT monitors are heavy in part because of lead in the front glass, to protect you from X-rays. Those relativistic electrons come to a stop very rapidly. Also, large flat vacuum vessels need thick walls.)

Yeah. I don’t actually know if there is lead in the glass. Don’t remember that being mentioned when I did a TV servicing course. But that was back in 1986/7 so I may have forgotten...

There is also the shadow mask (made of steel) just in front of the front glass for colour CRTs.

I believe that the majority of the weight is the glass, plus the required supporting metalwork. With the LOPT and any other auxiliary transformers adding that bit extra...

Mark