beaucham@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (03/08/89)
I recently purchased a Princeton MAX-15 monochrome display for about $200, which I think is a great deal considering its attributes: 1024 x 768 resolution, autoscan at 15-36 KHz horiz./45-120 Hz vert., works with any PC, PS, or Mac SE/II, 8"x10" flat nonglare screen, swivel base, analog input for "infinite" gray shades. My only complaints are: very skimpy documentation and a slight but perceptible "bend" in horizontal lines displayed in the lower part of the screen. I am currently using it as a replacement for my old Zenith amber monitor, driving it with a Hercules graphics adapter, and am finding it MUCH easier on the eyes. My question is this: How can I fully utilize the capabilities of this display? I am thinking about obtaining a "Super VGA" board which is backwards compatible with Hercules. Does anyone know of a board which is compatible with Hercules and which will also allow a substantial improvement in display quality using another display mode? (The usefulness of the board would also depend on software available. My feeling is that monochrome VGA is not a big improvement over Hercules unless I can up the resolution beyond 640x480.) Here is a different, mostly unrelated question: Will the analog output of a VGA board work with an IBM Professional Graphics Display? It seems like the scan rates are close and they are both analog, but I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is no. The reason I'm interested is that we have two PGD's in our lab, which supposedly only work with PGC adapters, and because of the dirth of software available for them, we are cut off from most commerical graphics packages. If we could switch to VGA adapters, we would be much more flexible, and could save the price of VGA monitors. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has looked into these problems or who has had experience with the MAX-15. Jim Beauchamp beaucham@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu