kim@amdahl.amdahl.com (Kim DeVaughn) (09/21/87)
[ "Send lawyers, guns, and money ..." ]
Several people have mentioned the possibility of modifying Commodore 1902
monitors to "reactivate" the RGBA capability that is latent in these units.
There is a short, one page article by Larry Phillips in the latest issue of
the Transactor magazine (November 1987; Vol. 8, Issue 3), that describes how
to perform the modifications.
Apparently, the monitor was "crippled" simply by ommitting a few components,
as the traces and silk-screening are present on the PC board. According to
the article, all that's needed is to add 6 resistors, 5 capacitors, 3 diodes,
and 3 jumper wires to restore the RGB analog capability.
So, if you're comfortable with a soldering iron, or know someone who is, you
might want to check it out (see below).
Note: This modification will NOT work on a 1902A monitor!
In the same issue is a nice little utility program called "eventmaker", that
allows you to simulate mouse, keyboard, and diskchange input events with a
CLI command. Nice for providing "no-hands" demos, and such. (They even
give the sequence that allows you to see the "R-rated" hidden message in
the WB title-bar :-) )!
WARNING: Commercial information follows ... don't read it if such things
annoy you!
Since the Transactor has stopped newsstand sales, and is now available only
by subscription, here are the relevant addresses, etc:
US: The Transactor Canada: The Transactor
PO Box 338 Station 'C' 501 Alden Road
Buffalo, NY 14209-9990 PO Box 3250
Markham Industrial Park
Markham, Ontario
L3R 9Z9
Phone: 416-764-5273
Back issues are $4.50 (US or Cdn, and Ont. residents should add 7% PST).
Sorry, they don't mention a Foreign price.
Subscriptions are $15 US, $19 Cdn, $21 (US) Foreign, and $40 (US) Foreign Air.
No, I'm not associated with The Transactor, other than as a reader/subscriber.
Their Amiga coverage, although limited, is usually fairly technical, and quite
good, in my opinion.
/kim
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