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Re: Vintage Computing Advice
On 2009-04-28 19:03:35 +0700, Steven Hirsch <snhirsch@gmail.com> said:
Jason wrote:
Video: I'd like to use an existing LCD panel display I have (with VGA
input). I note that several companies manufacture composite video to
VGA converter boxes for $40-$60. Can anyone comment whether this
produces an acceptable display? I'd prefer to avoid dealing with an
older CRT if I can avoid it.
I do not think you'll be very happy with the picture from a
composite-to-VGA converter. This has been discussed to death on
earlier threads.
I did a bit of digging with Google and found a few threads that touched
on it. I couldn't find any reference to something like this:
http://www.ambery.com/vitoxgacoscs.html It seems like the perfect
solution to avoid using an old monitor or waiting around for some FPGA
jockey to come up with a hack to read the display memory directly and
then output a VGA signal. The question is, does it work as well as the
manufacturer claims?
Program storage: I understand some people may enjoy the swishing sound
the Disk ][ drive makes when loading programs, but I can live just fine
without managing a large stack of floppies and worrying about keeping
them away from magnetic fields and wondering when they may go bad on
me. I see there is a CFFA adapter for the larger Apple // computers,
and there has been some talk of creating one for the //c, but it is
still presumably vaporware and some time off, no? Are there any
alternatives? I see the 8-bit Atari platform has a nice adapter
(SIO2PC I belive it's called) that allows the Atari to connect to a
modern PC with the PC emulating many different peripherals
simultaneously. Is there anything analagous that will work on a //c?
The SVD is designed to connect directly to a Disk ][ controller.
AFAIK, the //c has a different electrical interface that's closer to a
SmartPort (is this correct, or am I getting mixed up with something
else?)
Folks around here seem to be FPGA-happy. Might it not be faster (from
a development standpoint) to use an inexpensive PIC or AVR
microcontroller to interface an SD card to the //c or is the added
flexibility of an FPGA really necessary?
In the meantime, the SVD looks like just the ticket...
I have an SIO2PC for my Atari 800XL and agree that something of this
sort would be helpful for a //c. It would have been ideal if the //c
had a functional LocalTalk interface. There is some stub code in the
ROM for LocalTalk support, but I don't think it's complete or
functional.
From everything you've said, I suspect you'd be happier with a //e
(although that does not solve the video issues).
I always wanted a //c. Given the lack of room in my tiny study, I
think I'd be better off with a //c right now, though I suppose if I
really get bitten by the vintage computing bug I might pick up a //e as
well. The //c+ computers are way overpriced these days and the //gs
isn't my cup of tea either.
--
Jason