[comp.sys.amiga.hardware] A2320, the 777/888 grey shade problem

hood@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Hood) (02/04/91)

In article <H112706.91Feb3190624@lehtori.tut.fi> h112706@lehtori.tut.fi (Herranen Henrik) writes:
>
>
>I have a question I'd very much like an answer to (and sorry about my
>bad English).
>
>I purchased a Commodore A2320 flickerfixer some weeks ago and almost
>at once noticed a strange problem while toying around with paint
>packages: The grey shades 777 and 888 are almost the same! They are
>so near each others that when paint boxes like this
>
>    +----------+
>    !   777    !
>    +----------+
>    !   888    !
>    +----------+
>
>it is very hard to notice any difference. Same applies to any 7-8
>combination, like 700/800, 070/080 and 007/008. I've been testing
>this with 2 fixers now, and the problems seems to be just as bad with
>both of them. And it doesn't matter if you keep the deinterlacer
>switch in the on or off position.
>
>And no, I have not made a mistake, these colors/grey shades SHOULD be
>noticeably different. When comparing 666 to 777 there is a very
>noticeable difference as with comparing grey shade 888 to 999.
>
>So, is this a bug of the A2320 or have I tested two faulty units? What
>on earth is going on?
>-- 
>Henrik 'Leopold' Herranen  Internet: h112706@cc.tut.fi
>Snail Mail:  TTKK/Paarakennuksen neuvonta/PL527/33101 Tampere/Finland
>
>"I don't need no arms around me, I don't need no drugs to calm me" - PF 1979

 I have confirmed your problem and it affects most of the A2320 to date.
We are looking into a solution for this that the services centers can
also fix for under warrenty units (warrenty period is 1 year I think).
I will let you good folks know as soon as know.

Regards,
Scott Hood

-- 
--
Scott Hood, Hardware Design Engineer (A3000 Crew),  Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!hood   hood@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
  "The views expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer!" 

tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu (Tyler Sarna) (02/06/91)

In article <18529@cbmvax.commodore.com> of
comp.sys.amiga.hardware, Scott Hood <hood@cbmvax.commodore.com>
writes:

> In article <H112706.91Feb3190624@lehtori.tut.fi> h112706@lehtori.tut.fi (Herranen Henrik) writes:
> >[describes the 777/888 problem]
> 
>  I have confirmed your problem and it affects most of the A2320 to date.
> We are looking into a solution for this that the services centers can
> also fix for under warrenty units (warrenty period is 1 year I think).
> I will let you good folks know as soon as know.

Perhaps you could fix the 1/3 line problem at the same time (not
that it bothers me really, but it makes sense to kill two birds
with one stone)

A artifact which I find more anoying is other flicker areas on
the screen. my screen looks like this (out of perspective)

                                                            **+++++	<1
  (1/3 line flicker)                                        **+++++	<1
++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------------------------xxx++	<2
--------------------------------------------------------------xxx++	<2
-WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWxxx++	<2
-WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWxxx++	<2
-WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWxxx++	<2
              ......middle of screen removed....
-WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWxxx++	<2
-WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWxxx++	<2
-WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWxxx++	<2
--------------------------------------------------------------xxx++	<2
------------------------------------------------------------**		<3

* = flickers a lot
+ = flickers some
- = normal video, unused
x = normal video, can't be used (WHY NOT!?!?)
W = normal video, occupied by workbench (massively overscanned)

The 2 stuff crawls upward but isn't too bad. The 1 and 3 stuff is very
annoying.

Also ("you mean there's more?"), I have what I beleive is an
actually defective 2320. When I first turn on the machine after
it's been sitting for a while (> about 4-5 minutes) the whole
video signal is "spattered" with red and cyan (not blue, cyan) dots in a
repeating, but difficult to describe, pattern. If it turn the
machine off and then back on (after >safety time but <4-5
minutes) then everything is fine. It sounds to me like something
a capacitor isn't getting charged in time on the first try or
something (...based on my limited hardware knowledge, I'm a
"software type" :-). Any ideas? I haven't taken it to a dealer
yet since the closest one is quite a ways away. Help! :-)

> >"I don't need no arms around me, I don't need no drugs to calm me" - PF 1979

We don't need no indirection,
We don't need no flow control,
No data typing or declarations,
Did you leave those lists alone?

Hey! Hacker! Leave those lists alone!

All in all it's just a pure-LISP function call.
All in all it's just a pure-LISP function call.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

------///------------------------------------------------------------
     /// Tyler "Ty" Sarna            E-Mail: tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu 
 \\\///    "...from France, Iraq, and other Arab nations..." - CNN
--\XX/---------------------------------------------------------------

JKT100@psuvm.psu.edu (JKT) (02/06/91)

In article <43816@nigel.ee.udel.edu>, tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu (Tyler Sarna)
says:
>
>A artifact which I find more anoying is other flicker areas on
>the screen. my screen looks like this (out of perspective)
>
>                                                            **+++++     <1
>  (1/3 line flicker)                                        **+++++     <1
>++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------------------------xxx++     <2
>--------------------------------------------------------------xxx++     <2
>-WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWxxx++     <2
> ...
>* = flickers a lot
>+ = flickers some
>- = normal video, unused
>x = normal video, can't be used (WHY NOT!?!?)
>W = normal video, occupied by workbench (massively overscanned)
>
>The 2 stuff crawls upward but isn't too bad. The 1 and 3 stuff is very
>annoying.

Well, your're not alone.  My A2320 is EXACTLY the same as you described
above, and I know of two other A2320 owners who describe the same
performance.

If I may quote from page 1 of the A2320 manual:  "The A2320 Display
Enhancer board ... provides an alternate video display output that
yields an image with no flicker or visible scan lines in interlaced
or non-interlaced Amiga graphics modes."  Well, my A2320 does not do
this.  If nothing else, that 1/3 line at the top contradicts this
statement, but I, like Tyler, find the top right and bottom right 1/8
much more annoying.

Scott: I believe a correction of these video artifacts should be
a warranted fix/upgrade.  The A2320 unit requires the upgrade to
become what we agreed to buy and what we paid for.

                                                            Kurt
--
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
|| Kurt Tappe   (215) 363-9485  || With.   Without.   And who'll       ||
|| 184 W. Valley Hill Rd.       || deny it's what the fighting's       ||
|| Malvern, PA 19355-2214       || all about?    -  Pink Floyd         ||
||  jkt100@psuvm.psu.edu         --------------------------------------||
||  jkt100@psuvm.bitnet  jkt100%psuvm.bitnet@psuvax1  QLink: KurtTappe ||
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------

peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) (02/06/91)

In article <43816@nigel.ee.udel.edu> tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu (Tyler Sarna) writes:
>In article <18529@cbmvax.commodore.com> of
>comp.sys.amiga.hardware, Scott Hood <hood@cbmvax.commodore.com>
>writes:
>
>> >"I don't need no arms around me, I don't need no drugs to calm me" - PF 1979
>
>We don't need no indirection,
>We don't need no flow control,
>No data typing or declarations,
>Did you leave those lists alone?
>
>Hey! Hacker! Leave those lists alone!
>
>All in all it's just a pure-LISP function call.
>All in all it's just a pure-LISP function call.

Great! Applause, applause! I love it!

-- 
Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel  // E-Mail to  \\  Only my personal opinions... 
Commodore Frankfurt, Germany  \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk

hood@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Hood) (02/06/91)

In article <43816@nigel.ee.udel.edu> tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu (Tyler Sarna) writes:
>In article <18529@cbmvax.commodore.com> of
>comp.sys.amiga.hardware, Scott Hood <hood@cbmvax.commodore.com>
>writes:
>
>
>Perhaps you could fix the 1/3 line problem at the same time (not
>that it bothers me really, but it makes sense to kill two birds
>with one stone)
>

Stuff deleted.... (Wow, this VI editor really works!)

>
>Also ("you mean there's more?"), I have what I beleive is an
>actually defective 2320. When I first turn on the machine after
>it's been sitting for a while (> about 4-5 minutes) the whole
>video signal is "spattered" with red and cyan (not blue, cyan) dots in a
>repeating, but difficult to describe, pattern. If it turn the
>machine off and then back on (after >safety time but <4-5
>minutes) then everything is fine. It sounds to me like something
>a capacitor isn't getting charged in time on the first try or
>something (...based on my limited hardware knowledge, I'm a
>"software type" :-). Any ideas? I haven't taken it to a dealer
>yet since the closest one is quite a ways away. Help! :-)
>

The 1/3 flicker line problem is a different artifact than the level 7 to
level 8 transistion problem.  Also, it sounds as if you are having a
fine tuning adjustment problem that is manifested during power-up.
Please follow the directions in your user's manual for this ajustment.

Regards,
Scott Hood


-- 
--
Scott Hood, Hardware Design Engineer (A3000 Crew),  Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!hood   hood@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
  "The views expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer!" 

tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu (Tyler Sarna) (02/07/91)

In article <859@cbmger.UUCP> of comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Peter Kittel GERMANY <cbmger!peterk> writes:

> In article <43816@nigel.ee.udel.edu> tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu (Tyler Sarna) writes:
> >In article <18529@cbmvax.commodore.com> of
> >comp.sys.amiga.hardware, Scott Hood <hood@cbmvax.commodore.com>
> >writes:
> >
> >> >"I don't need no arms around me, I don't need no drugs to calm me" - PF 1979
> >
> >[Very silly Pink Floyd "Brick in the wall" parody]
> 
> Great! Applause, applause! I love it!

Just to clear this up... I should mention that this isn't my own
creation; it's simply one of my favorite Unix fortune cookies.
The correct name is "Another Glitch in the Call"

If anyone cares, I've got an "Elanor Rigby" parody as well.

Say, shouldn't we move this to comp.sys.amiga.pfloyd? ;-)

------///------------------------------------------------------------
     /// Tyler "Ty" Sarna            E-Mail: tsarna@polar.bowdoin.edu 
 \\\///    "...from France, Iraq, and other Arab nations..." - CNN
--\XX/---------------------------------------------------------------

jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup) (02/08/91)

In article <91036.230607JKT100@psuvm.psu.edu> JKT100@psuvm.psu.edu (JKT) writes:
>Scott: I believe a correction of these video artifacts should be
>a warranted fix/upgrade.  The A2320 unit requires the upgrade to
>become what we agreed to buy and what we paid for.

	Please realize that our presence here is not official, and that even
if it were, we are not the ones who have any say over warantee issues (those
are handled by the sales company in question).

-- 
Randell Jesup, Keeper of AmigaDos, Commodore Engineering.
{uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!jesup, jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com  BIX: rjesup  
The compiler runs
Like a swift-flowing river
I wait in silence.  (From "The Zen of Programming")  ;-)

jita@polaris.utu.fi (Marko Katajisto) (02/14/91)

In article <18529@cbmvax.commodore.com> hood@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Hood) writes:

> I have confirmed your problem and it affects most of the A2320 to date.
>We are looking into a solution for this that the services centers can
>also fix for under warrenty units (warrenty period is 1 year I think).
>I will let you good folks know as soon as know.

I've noticed this same bug and it's quite annoying e.g. when you try to view
pictures with 16 gray shades, they look somehow horrible :( I haven't verified
this by comparing original signal to A2320's signal though. Since I've planned
to make a review about A2320 to C-Lehti (Finnish Commodore magazine) it would
be nice to fix this problem soon. I'd hate to mention such bug in that
review... :(

>Regards,
>Scott Hood
>
>-- 
>--
>Scott Hood, Hardware Design Engineer (A3000 Crew),  Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
>   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!hood   hood@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
>  "The views expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer!" 

--
Jita - Marko Katajisto    University of Turku  Department of Computer Science
   jita@utu.fi  jita@nic.funet.fi  jita@firien.bitnet  Tel: +358 21 325910

hood@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Hood) (02/14/91)

In article <JITA.91Feb13190907@polaris.utu.fi> jita@polaris.utu.fi (Marko Katajisto) writes:
>In article <18529@cbmvax.commodore.com> hood@cbmvax.commodore.com (Scott Hood) writes:
>
>> I have confirmed your problem and it affects most of the A2320 to date.
>>We are looking into a solution for this that the services centers can
>>also fix for under warrenty units (warrenty period is 1 year I think).
>>I will let you good folks know as soon as know.
>
>I've noticed this same bug and it's quite annoying e.g. when you try to view
>pictures with 16 gray shades, they look somehow horrible :( I haven't verified
>this by comparing original signal to A2320's signal though. Since I've planned
>to make a review about A2320 to C-Lehti (Finnish Commodore magazine) it would
>be nice to fix this problem soon. I'd hate to mention such bug in that
>review... :(
>
>>Regards,
>>Scott Hood
>>
>>-- 
>>--
>>Scott Hood, Hardware Design Engineer (A3000 Crew),  Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
>>   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!hood   hood@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
>>  "The views expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer!" 
>
>--
>Jita - Marko Katajisto    University of Turku  Department of Computer Science
>   jita@utu.fi  jita@nic.funet.fi  jita@firien.bitnet  Tel: +358 21 325910

I stated something beyond my area in suggesting that this may be a
warrenty fix.  I do not know and all I can say is ask your dealer.  I
have also posted some very valuable information on this subject to one
of the other newsgroups on "Re: CBM de-interlcer" article.  Please read
it and see if this helps answer your questions.

Regards,
Scott Hood

-- 
--
Scott Hood, Hardware Design Engineer (A3000 Crew),  Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!hood   hood@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com
  "The views expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer!"