dsd@hpsadla.HP (Donald St. Denis) (06/29/87)
An guy just stopped by and asked me about some graphics utilities for the use of a monochrome monitor connected to a CGA card. The names are SETCGA and SIMCGA. Anyone heard of them? Are they Public Domain or not? Please respond to me via email, I'll summarize anything interesting. Donald St. Denis Signal Analysis Division Hewlett Packard email: <lots of places>!hplabs!hpccc!hpsrla!hpsadla!dsd
cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (07/03/87)
> An guy just stopped by and asked me about some graphics utilities for the > use of a monochrome monitor connected to a CGA card. The names are > SETCGA and SIMCGA. Anyone heard of them? Are they Public Domain or not? > > Please respond to me via email, I'll summarize anything interesting. > > Donald St. Denis > Signal Analysis Division > Hewlett Packard > email: <lots of places>!hplabs!hpccc!hpsrla!hpsadla!dsd Just a reminder: the TTL monochrome monitors (like the IBM Monochrome Display) are electrically incompatible with the CGA card. (Smoke and everything apparently results). Clayton E. Cramer
paul@cgh.UUCP (Paul Homchick) (07/04/87)
/* From <2490007@hpsadla.HP> in comp.sys.ibm.pc
by dsd@hpsadla.HP (Donald St. Denis) */
>
>An guy just stopped by and asked me about some graphics utilities for the
>use of a monochrome monitor connected to a CGA card. The names are
>SETCGA and SIMCGA.
>
I'm not sure what SETCGA does, but SIMCGA and a similar file: HGCIBM.ARC
are programs that simulate the behavior of the CGA on a Hercules mono card.
Since they use software to do what the CGA does in hardware, they are slow
but I have been told by many folks that they DO work. They are public
domain, and have been flying around the BBS circuit since last Fall.
I wouldn't think that you could easily run a monochrome monitor with a
CGA, as the scan rates are different. Several companies do make cards
that will show CGA graphics on a mono card tho, Paradise comes to mind.
--
Paul Homchick
Chimitt Gilman Homchick, Inc.; One Radnor Station, Suite 300; Radnor, PA 19087
{seismo!bpa | ihnp4!cbmvax} !vu-vlsi!cgh!paulallbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) (07/06/87)
As quoted from <1685@kontron.UUCP> by cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer): +--------------- | > An guy just stopped by and asked me about some graphics utilities for the | > use of a monochrome monitor connected to a CGA card. The names are | > SETCGA and SIMCGA. Anyone heard of them? Are they Public Domain or not? | | Just a reminder: the TTL monochrome monitors (like the IBM Monochrome | Display) are electrically incompatible with the CGA card. (Smoke and | everything apparently results). +--------------- Mine didn't smoke, it just didn't work. Then again, I was VERY careful when I tried it. BTW, SIMCGA does not use the CGA card; it translates BIOS calls for the CGA into equivalent Hercules card commands, allowing CGA programs that go through the BIOS to run unmodified on Hercules monitors. (I assume it's BIOS only, since it's doubtful that software could deal with writing directly to the CGA.) ++Brandon -- ---- Moderator for comp.sources.misc and comp.binaries.ibm.pc ---- Brandon S. Allbery <BACKBONE>!cbosgd!ncoast!allbery (NOW!!!!) aXcess Company {ames,mit-eddie,harvard,talcott}!necntc!ncoast!allbery 6615 Center St. #A1-105 {well,sun,pyramid,ihnp4}!hoptoad!ncoast!allbery Mentor, OH 44060-4101 necntc!ncoast!allbery@harvard.HARVARD.EDU (Internet) +01 216 974 9210 ncoast!allbery@CWRU.EDU (CSnet -- if you dare) NCOAST ADMIN GROUP Brandon Allbery on 157/504 (Fidonet/Matrix/whatever) * ncoast -- Public Access UN*X -- (216) 781-6201, 24 hrs., 300/1200/2400 baud * * ncoast is proud to be carrying alt.all -- contact me for more information *
broehl@watdcsu.UUCP (07/06/87)
In article <2801@ncoast.UUCP> allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) writes: > >BTW, SIMCGA does not use the CGA card; it translates BIOS calls for the CGA >into equivalent Hercules card commands, allowing CGA programs that go through >the BIOS to run unmodified on Hercules monitors. (I assume it's BIOS only, >since it's doubtful that software could deal with writing directly to the >CGA.) Not quite true. SIMCGA takes advantage of the fact that Hercules cards and compatibles have memory at both B000:0 and B800:0; SIMCGA wakes up on clock interrupts (approx 18/sec) and copies scan lines from stuff from B800:0 to B000:0, swapping them scanlines as it does so to allow for the difference in interleave. It's an extrememly clever solution to the problem, and works with virtually all the software I've tried (regardless of whether that software uses the BIOS calls or not). The only programs it *won't* work with are ones that either disable interrupts, trap the clock interrupt vector without chaining, or attempt to directly access the CGA's 6845 registers (which of course are not physically present unless you have a CGA or compatible). Just for the record, SIMCGA was written by someone named "C. P. Guzis"; unfortunately I don't know any more than that, but if he's out there listening, he deserves some congratulations on a brilliant piece of code.
smvorkoetter@watmum.UUCP (07/06/87)
In article <2801@ncoast.UUCP> allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) writes: >BTW, SIMCGA does not use the CGA card; it translates BIOS calls for the CGA >into equivalent Hercules card commands, allowing CGA programs that go through >the BIOS to run unmodified on Hercules monitors. (I assume it's BIOS only, >since it's doubtful that software could deal with writing directly to the >CGA.) I ran a program with it that I know for a fact does NOT use the BIOS, but writes directly to the screen (I wrote it). It worked with SIMCGA on some sort of a Hercules clone. Well almost. Everything I wrote on the screen showed up, except the frames of my windows, and the windows would not go away. The only thing that the window frames, and the windows going away have in common is that large amounts of info are written to the screen in a very short time. Stefan Vorkoetter
markg@amdcad.AMD.COM (Mark Gorlinsky) (07/06/87)
> An guy just stopped by and asked me about some graphics utilities for the > use of a monochrome monitor connected to a CGA card. The names are > SETCGA and SIMCGA. Anyone heard of them? Are they Public Domain or not? > > Please respond to me via email, I'll summarize anything interesting. > > Donald St. Denis > Signal Analysis Division > Hewlett Packard > email: <lots of places>!hplabs!hpccc!hpsrla!hpsadla!dsd SIMCGA, SETCGA and SETMONO are all Public Domain! They do not allow you to connect a CGA card to a monochrome monitor. They do allow some programs, which use CGA graphics, to use the Hercules compatible monochrome graphics. SIMCGA is the "real" program, the others just switch SIMCGA in and out. The results of running SIMCGA is reasonable for what you are trying to do. If you want a copy, let me know. I will either post it or email it you. -- Mark Gorlinsky - AMD Processor Products Division/APPS SQA UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,allegra}!amdcad!markg or amdcad!markg@decwrl.dec.com AT&T: (408) 982-7811 DISCLAIMER: What's mine is mine, not my employers.