[net.micro.pc] EGA/Hercules graphics card

dmm@calmasd.CALMA.UUCP (David MacMillan) (08/20/86)

    Does anyone out there have any experience with the VEGA
EGA/Hercules/CGA/MDA card?  (Particularly warnings)  Please
e-mail replies (though as this seems to be the cheapest such
card out (mail order $349.95) experiences might be of interest
to net-people).  A ComputerLand salesperson just tried very hard
to sell one of these to me.  In particular, how Hercules compatible
are they? and how good is their documentation?
     Connected query:  has anyone any experience with
47st Computer?  I seem to recall quite a flurry of net-complaints
about some computer mail-order firm a while back.  I take it that
these are different firms. 

                                                             
                              David M. MacMillan, KB6MPN
 "If feather-dusters are      - UCSD [Lit] (ex-UCSC/Crown)
 made of feathers, what are   - Calma/GE [Info-Sci] (ex IBM)
 crop-dusters made of?"       - UCSD Soaring Club
           - LM, 'cellist     - SSA, USHGA, ARRL

   phone (work) (619) 587-3099
         (home) (619) 452-7761

bright@dataio.UUCP (Walter Bright) (08/24/86)

In article <2057@calmasd.CALMA.UUCP> dmm@calmasd.UUCP (David MacMillan) writes:
>
>    Does anyone out there have any experience with the VEGA
>EGA/Hercules/CGA/MDA card?  (Particularly warnings)
>In particular, how Hercules compatible
>are they? and how good is their documentation?

I have a Quadram QEGA+ board which is the same board as the VEGA. Problems are:

	1) No documented way to tell if this board or an IBM EGA is
	installed.

	2) No documented way to tell if it is set up in Hercules emulation
	mode (this is a TERRIBLE problem, as sending the board Hercules
	commands in EGA mode or EGA commands in Hercules mode will cause
	the machine to crash).

	3) No technical information whatsoever in the manual.

	4) The software that comes with it interferes with the NMI
	vector. This means that you can't debug graphics code (the
	debuggers also all use the NMI). This usage of the NMI isn't
	documented, I found out about it from PC Magazine.

	5) The manual has been made user-friendly by leaving out all
	useful information.

	6) No list of differences between this board an an IBM EGA or
	a real Hercules board. The emulation of either is far from
	perfect, which you will discover after a while.

	7) Microsoft Codeview will cause the machine to crash when
	run with a QEGA board connected to an IBM monochrome display.
	After calling Microsoft Product Support, they told me to buy
	an IBM EGA. I don't know (and apparently neither does Microsoft)
	whether this is a bug in the QEGA or in Codeview.