[comp.sys.cbm] Using non-CBM monitor with C128

bub@rlgvax.UUCP ( Mongo Mauler) (05/13/87)

	Having been loaned an ITT-Xtra PC-clone by my company's
	Powers That Be, naturally the first thing I did upon
	getting it home was to connect the monitor to my C128
	to check out this ultra-groovy 80 column stuff.  It was
	indeed pretty slick, but after a very short while, the
	monitor would emit loud static discharge-like noises,
	with the screen characters being intermittently 'zapped'
	also (almost too fast to see - mostly just visible as
	peripheral light flashes).

	I have tried another monitor as well, with exactly the
	same results: intermittent loud pops and zaps.  Both
	monitors however, still work just fine (and silently)
	when used with the PC for which they were intended.

		Any ideas on the cause of the problem?

dean@hyper.UUCP (Dean Gahlon) (05/14/87)

in article <448@rlgvax.UUCP>, bub@rlgvax.UUCP ( Mongo Mauler) says:
> 	But after a very short while, the
> 	monitor would emit loud static discharge-like noises,
> 	with the screen characters being intermittently 'zapped'
> 	also (almost too fast to see - mostly just visible as
> 	peripheral light flashes).
> 
> 	I have tried another monitor as well, with exactly the
> 	same results: intermittent loud pops and zaps.  Both
> 	monitors however, still work just fine (and silently)
> 	when used with the PC for which they were intended.
> 
> 		Any ideas on the cause of the problem?


	It sounds as though your C-128 may have the same problem my old
one did -- an 80-column chip that is on its way to going bad. My 128 had
the same symptoms, plus after a while the memory for the 80-column
characters started flaking out as well. I finally took it back to Sears
and got a loaner while my original is being repaired (the maintenance
agreement is probably one of the best purchases I ever made).

	You may want to think about having your 128 looked at, although
they probably can't do anything until it flakes out more severely.


					Dean C. Gahlon
					...ihnp4!umn-cs!hyper!dean

elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green) (05/16/87)

in article <448@rlgvax.UUCP>, bub@rlgvax.UUCP ( Mongo Mauler) says:
> 	Having been loaned an ITT-Xtra PC-clone by my company's
> 	Powers That Be, naturally the first thing I did upon
> 	getting it home was to connect the monitor to my C128
> 	to check out this ultra-groovy 80 column stuff.  It was

Uh, bad thing to do. An IBM monochrome monitor is NOT NTSC compatible. It runs
its vertical sweep at a faster rate, I believe.... since I'm not an IBM guru,
I'm not exactly familiar with WHAT the difference is, just that IBM isn't NTSC
when it comes to monochrome.

If you really want to see 80 columns, I picked up this NAP amber screen that
I'm using right now for $50 at the local Service Merchandise store... works
great (and once I get around to running a cable from here to my stereo, it'll
sound great, too :-).
--
Eric Green   elg%usl.CSNET     CS student, University of SW Louisiana
{cbosgd,ihnp4}!killer!elg      Apprentice Haquer, Bayou Telecommunications
Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191      BBS phone #: 318-984-3854  300/1200 baud
Lafayette, LA 70509            I disclaim my existence, and yours, too.