[comp.sys.amiga.tech] Specs on RGB port

dlleigh@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Darren L. Leigh) (04/27/88)

So, what do we know about the RGB connector on the Amiga?  The signal
specs aren't in the hardware manual or the Schematics and Expansion
specs.

I'd really like to know how all the signals work, especially the sync
inputs.

=============================================================================
 Darren Leigh			dlleigh@media-lab.mit.edu
 362 Memorial Dr.               mit-amt!dlleigh
 Cambridge, MA 02139  "Lost $1000 when I sold my PC clone. It was worth it."

hedley@cbmvax.UUCP (Hedley Davis) (04/28/88)

In article <2391@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> dlleigh@media-lab.UUCP (Darren L. Leigh) writes:
>So, what do we know about the RGB connector on the Amiga?  The signal
>specs aren't in the hardware manual or the Schematics and Expansion
>specs.
>
>I'd really like to know how all the signals work, especially the sync
>inputs.
>

The sync outputs are basically just normal HSYNC and VSYNC outputs,
active low. The hardware is actually tristate logic which is not
driven when the machine first boots. If some signals are driving the
sync inputs at boot time, the system detects this and enters the
infamous genlock mode. In this case the system will allow its vertical
and horizantal beam position counters to be affected by these inputs,
but only over a very small window. Basically you can shorten or lengthen
a horizontal line by 280 ns via by asserting HSYNC in the vicinity
where it would have otherwise been asserted. Similar comments apply
to VSYNC on a line basis. Failure to assert these signals will result
in nothing as the internal counters will simply wrap to zero and thus
the amiga will continue to run and display normal video, but without
syncs.

In addition, there is XCLK, and XCLKEN. XCLKEN is a DC signal which can
be used to tell the amiga to ignore its internal 28.6363 Mhz clock, and
use the signal at XCLK instead. This is the system clock. Driving it
with anything other than something approximating a 28 Mhz clock will
most definitely trash your system. Genlocks phaselock the color burst
signal coming from an external video device up to 28 Mhz to drive this
input. This allows full pixel synchronization between amiga video, and
external video.

Each of these four signals is TTL level.

Hedley