tee@mtuxo.UUCP (T.EBERSOLE) (08/18/87)
Here are the results of my July request for information on monitors to use with the C128. Thanks to everyone who responded. One helpful suggestion from BJ Hudson concerned the Garden State Commodore Users Group (GSCUG), which has meetings every third Thursday of the month. The next one is August 20, and meetings start at 7:30. I recommend these for anyone who has questions on Commodore hardware and software. If Ocean Township, NJ, is not close enough, I strongly suggest finding the closest Users Group. Quality of the discussions varies as in any other group, but everyone is happy to give useful advice. They had a meeting a few months ago where different monitors were compared. The consensus was that all the monitors more than adequately showed graphics and text, and I should look for the least expensive one with RGBI. One person suggested the Thompson monitor, which has four different interfaces. He is very happy with his. Having the interface switch on the front was also mentioned as highly desirable. Several people mentioned an inexpensive cable which allows connecting the RGBI interface to the RCA jack input of the 1701. I bought a Recoton cable for $5 at Best; many stores carry these. It will suffice until I buy a new monitor (probably a Thompson or a Magnavox); 80-character resolution is better than with the C64 VT52 emulator, but not by much. The intensity appears to be overdriven, as the monitor's intensity must be turned to minimum to read the characters, and even then they are somewhat bright. Since the messages I received were fairly short, and had information which I thought others might find interesting, I am merely appending them without summary. The messages seemed to back up the GSCUG suggestion that many monitors have good graphics and text capabilities. Thanks again to everyone who responded. I hope this posting will help others in their hunt for the perfect monitor. ============================================================================== The messages: From: BJ Hudson MT x5697 2D-401 mtgzz!bjh I am not sure I can help you with monitors, but I wanted to tell you about the Garden State Commodore Users Group meeting this Thursday night at the Ocean Township _JR_ High School on West Park Ave. at 7:30. Visitors are welcome and you can ask for advice there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gatech!dcatla!mclek (Larry E. Kollar) >I've missed any discussions on the relative merits of various monitors >for use with the C128. Is the 1902 the best choice? I don't really think so... read on... >CMO advertises an >Amiga 1080 to C128 adapter cable. Is the 1080 a better monitor than >the 1902? Recent ads list the 1902 at costs of $250 to $290 and the >1080 at costs of $260 to $370, so I presume there is some added value >to having a 1080. I wouldn't bother. The 1080 is "analog" RGB, which means it can display many different shades. The 128 uses RGBI, where the "I" stands for Intensity. It gives you the eight "primary" shades of black, white, red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow -- and eight half-intensity colors. The adaptor just converts RGBI to analog RGB for the Amiga monitor. >What about non-Commodore monitors (e.g., Amdek, NEC >Magnavox, ...) in the $250 to $400 range? Any I should avoid or >be attracted to? Any limitations (or added value over 1902) when using >these with the C128? > Any monitor that can be used with the IBM CGA can be used on the 128. In fact, I've heard of people who have actually gone & hooked IBM monitors to their 128. Expensive -- but monitors are one of the few decent IBM products. :-) I have a Magnavox, which I'm pretty happy with. It has inputs on the back for composite (64-style) and RGBI (80-column), and a button on the front to switch between the two. I've also hooked it to my VCR through the composite jack -- only a 13-inch screen, but it's about as clear & sharp as TV can be... I paid $350 for it a year ago; it's down to $289 nowadays. No connection with Magnavox etc. Larry Kollar ...!gatech!dcatla!mclek ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: rutgers!hawk.cs.ulowell.edu!sbrunnoc (Sean Brunnock) I also own a C-128 with a 1702 monitor and therefore suffer from hazy characters. I would not consider buying the 1902 or any other RGB monitor. I'm going to keep the 1702 and buy an 80 column monochrome monitor and leave both hooked up at the same time. Of course I'll have to build a new hutch, but I won't be bothered having to flip a switch every time I go from 40 columns to 80 columns. S. Brunnock ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Path: mtuxo!homxb!ihnp4!alberta!mnetor!uunet!seismo!gatech!ukma!psuvm.bitnet!tuccvm!ncsuvm.bitnet!dispatch From: DISPATCH@NCSUVM.BITNET The one that is being sold now by Commodore for the 128, 64, and PC-10 is the 2002. The place here that sells commodore stuff is selling it for $299.00. It is a pretty good monitor. The composite is surprisingly sharp. I know of one person that is using it with an Apple II, and is very pleased. Hal ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ihnp4!gargoyle!oddjob!uwvax!seismo!ms3!isns01 (Jim Chappell) I got a 128 back in the spring and suffered using my Montgomery Ward monitor/TV is 40 column mode until I noticed a RGB to RCA cable at Best Products. I got it for < $10 and am now happily using the VT100 emulator I got with the commodore 1670 modem I got for $120. While it's B&W and not too colorful, it's a lot cheaper than a upgrade model you're considering. Regards, Jim ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green) in article <199@mtuxo.UUCP>, tee@mtuxo.UUCP (T.EBERSOLE) says: > I've missed any discussions on the relative merits of various monitors > for use with the C128. Is the 1902 the best choice? Well, it DOES seem to be cheaper than most IBM-type monitors, and accepts all the signals that the C128 produces, including the composite signal. I think Magnavox also produces a similar monitor (or maybe the same monitor in their own case :-), because a friend here has a non-Commodore monitor with that desirable feature (ability to use the 40 column output as well as the RGB output). > CMO advertises an > Amiga 1080 to C128 adapter cable. Is the 1080 a better monitor than > the 1902? To be brief: NO. Not for the C128, at least. The 1080 has analog RGB capabilities. But since the C128 only produces IBM-style TTL-level RGB signals with a "brightness" line, analog RGB is of no utility. > What about non-Commodore monitors (e.g., Amdek, NEC > Magnavox, ...) in the $250 to $400 range? Any I should avoid or > be attracted to? Any limitations (or added value over 1902) when using > these with the C128? Be sure that it will accept a color composite input as well as an RGB input. Otherwise, you won't be able to see 40-column text. If you just want to read 80 column text, you might just want to get a monochrome monitor... I'm typing this at a NAP amber-screen monitor that I got at Service Merchandise for $50. Finally found a use for that TV/Monitor switch-box that came with the computer -- ripped out the inductance coil, and use it to switch between 40 column and 80 column mode (after a brief trip to Radio Shack to outfit the box with another RCA input jack). Eric Green {ihnp4,cbosgd}!killer!elg elg@usl.CSNET ============================================================================== Again, thanks to those who responded. -- Tim Ebersole ...!ihnp4!mtuxo!tee