VBXE Monitor Issues.

[Syfo-Dyas]

I recently had Sloopy put a VBXE in one of my 600's. He tested it on his VGA and all was well, but NONE of my VGA monitors, both old and new, will work with it. Anyone got any suggestions in regards to monitors that will work. Preferably Flat Screen and NO, I do not want to use an Atari ST monitor.

 

Thank you!

[+orpheuswaking]

Are you sure he tested it on VGA? The VBXE puts out RGB not VGA as standard (there is a VGA core, but it has to be flashed and you need the correct cable)

[sloopy]

What i tested it on was a Apple IIgs monitor, and told you that...

 

What you didnt know was, I also took it to work, where i do some consulting/repair work for a private recycling company (as NJ doesnt allow electronics to be put curb side), and looked for old VGA monitors, and finally found one that was capable of a 15khz refresh rate, and it worked fine, i tried it with several VGA monitors with manufacture dates between 1988 through 2004. The only VGA monitors that worked had a date of manufacture between 1988 and 1991, with the exception of a noname LCD TV that had composite, S-Vid, Component, and VGA inputs... and it worked too... I did this to make sure it would work on a VGA monitor that has the correct specs.

 

here is your 600XL working with VBXE output:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/152939-show-your-vbxe-installs/page__view__findpost__p__2233627

 

I also did another VBXE install for another AtariAge member, he chose to have a Atari ST Connector put on his VBXE, and i havnt heard any issues from him, and if he wants he can reveal himself, and say what his experiences are...

 

please read this again:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/152939-show-your-vbxe-installs/page__view__findpost__p__2198535

 

 

Also, the 130XE you had a VBXE installed in, does it work with any of your VGA monitors?

 

And lastly, i have heard that the Sony PVM-20M2MDU has the correct specs for the VBXE (and the ST, Amiga, Apple IIgs, Commodore C128, and will also do Composite, and S-Video, so make nice all around displays...)

 

 

sloopy.

[Syfo-Dyas]

I've not got my 130XE back from Metal yet. Have not spoke to him in a while.

 

Anyhow, this post is not a complaint, and I hope you are not taking it as such. I just want some advice on getting this to work.

 

I noticed that you said you tested it on an old Apple Monitor? How would I go about that? I think at this point my only option is VGA unless I want to change the output plug right?

 

Thankx for the advise.

[sloopy]

I've not got my 130XE back from Metal yet. Have not spoke to him in a while.

 

Anyhow, this post is not a complaint, and I hope you are not taking it as such. I just want some advice on getting this to work.

 

I noticed that you said you tested it on an old Apple Monitor? How would I go about that? I think at this point my only option is VGA unless I want to change the output plug right?

 

Thankx for the advise.

 

I made a custom cable that goes from vga to the DB-15 that is used on the Apple IIgs monitor, and I didnt take it as a complaint, I took it as someone needing info, and questions answered...

 

you can leave that VGA connector on there, and reflash the VBXE for regular VGA use, that wasnt available when I had your machine, or I would have offered to do that for you...

 

sloopy.

[+orpheuswaking]

syfo, honestly the best thing to do is get a monitor that supports rgb. I have flashed my core for vga and have yet to get a monitor to work (however you may have better luck as my machine is pal and ntsc is supposed to work better) but if you do persist with vga first thing you need to do is flash the right core into the vbxe or it will never work...

[flashjazzcat]

I think a Commodore 1084S and DB9 cable are required here.

Edited June 11, 2011 by flashjazzcat

[sloopy]

I think a Commodore 1084S and DB9 cable are required here.

 

and similar, like the Magnavox Color Monitor 80, which was the second monitor I tested...

 

sloopy.

[Syfo-Dyas]

Looks like I need to do some searching about the web to find out how to flash this thing.

 

Why yes, I do have a 1084s....

[sloopy]

Looks like I need to do some searching about the web to find out how to flash this thing.

 

Why yes, I do have a 1084s....

 

then your golden :') just need to change the VGA connector, or make a VGA-1084 cable...

 

sloopy.

[Syfo-Dyas]

Looks like I need to do some searching about the web to find out how to flash this thing.

 

Why yes, I do have a 1084s....

 

then your golden :') just need to change the VGA connector, or make a VGA-1084 cable...

 

sloopy.

 

 

Where can I get the plans for the adaptor cable? I believe someone linked me once before, but I forget.

[+wood_jl]

and NO, I do not want to use an Atari ST monitor.

 

THE NERVE!!!! <not serious, of course>

[Rybags]

If I remember rightly, you need a 28 MHz crystal instead of 14 MHz (Amiga can donor those) and then flash the VGA core to be able to use VBXE on a VGA monitor.

 

Candle could probably clear this up - the proper info is also buried somewhere in one of the old VBXE2 threads.

 

Also I think that the VGA core might lose some of the VBXE functionality.

 

 

IMO the best option is 1084/ST monitor, or a modern day RGB SCART equipped device (LCD included) that is tolerant to the Atari's non-interlaced and slightly off-spec display output.

 

Next best option is a 16 KHz RGB to S-Video convertor which can typically be had under $40 and are popular among Amiga crowd as well as with arcade machine restorers.

[+orpheuswaking]

Honestly the very best picture I have on my VBXE equipped machine is on the 1084s

[candle]

Gary is correct

VGA for FX cores requires 28mhz crystal

there is GTIA only version that runs at 14mhz for quick test

and again - there are some cuts for FX cores to gain some space inside acex chip (fpga) and allow line buffer which is used for sync doubling

please remember that only hsync is doubled, so in the end you may face an issue that particular monitor refuses to work - this is true for PAL machines, NTSC machines are up to VGA specs already, so there is no such problem

and again - choosing a proper VGA monitor - it seems that all HDMI equipped LCD will work

also - please remember that sync signal source differs - for RGB is GTIA, for VGA is VBXE generated

all V2 boards of second run have one pin removed on VBXE2 to ANTIC chip connector - this pin is used for that sync, and it should be fed into HSYNC and VSYNC (prefferably through a buffer) to VGA connector

[Frankie]

Gary is correct

VGA for FX cores requires 28mhz crystal

there is GTIA only version that runs at 14mhz for quick test

and again - there are some cuts for FX cores to gain some space inside acex chip (fpga) and allow line buffer which is used for sync doubling

please remember that only hsync is doubled, so in the end you may face an issue that particular monitor refuses to work - this is true for PAL machines, NTSC machines are up to VGA specs already, so there is no such problem

and again - choosing a proper VGA monitor - it seems that all HDMI equipped LCD will work

also - please remember that sync signal source differs - for RGB is GTIA, for VGA is VBXE generated

all V2 boards of second run have one pin removed on VBXE2 to ANTIC chip connector - this pin is used for that sync, and it should be fed into HSYNC and VSYNC (prefferably through a buffer) to VGA connector

 

Would a SCART to S-Video adapter like this work correctly - http://www.svideo.com/ypbprsv1.html ?

[candle]

try it, and let me know

[Rybags]

No, those things won't do any good.

 

They're just a breakout box kind of device, there's no electronics trickery inside. They're just plug convertors which break out the S-Video, Component, and/or Composite signals to/from a SCART plug.

 

Also note, Component is different to RGB, you need a device or convertor which works with the raw RGB signal with seperate composite sync.

[Frankie]

No, those things won't do any good.

 

They're just a breakout box kind of device, there's no electronics trickery inside. They're just plug convertors which break out the S-Video, Component, and/or Composite signals to/from a SCART plug.

 

Also note, Component is different to RGB, you need a device or convertor which works with the raw RGB signal with seperate composite sync.

 

This might be overkill, but this appears to have the 'electronic trickery' - SCART to HDMI

 

http://www.dealextre...converter-22846

 

and SCART to SVIDEO

 

http://www.keene.co.uk/electronics/multi.php?mycode=rgb2s

 

Ok, that one is more then the VBXE board...

[Shawn Jefferson]

I also did another VBXE install for another AtariAge member, he chose to have a Atari ST Connector put on his VBXE, and i havnt heard any issues from him, and if he wants he can reveal himself, and say what his experiences are...

 

how did you mount the ST connector? I've got one installed and am wondering the best way to fasten it down.

[sloopy]

I also did another VBXE install for another AtariAge member, he chose to have a Atari ST Connector put on his VBXE, and i havnt heard any issues from him, and if he wants he can reveal himself, and say what his experiences are...

 

how did you mount the ST connector? I've got one installed and am wondering the best way to fasten it down.

 

I removed the AV jack, drilled holes in the 130XE PCB, put a spot of hot glue where the connector goes, put the DIN-13 on the glue while still hot, and then soldered to the pins on the bottom... was quite solid...

 

sloopy.

[Syfo-Dyas]

So if I need to reprogram this thing, how do I go about doing that considering that I can't even boot up my Atari and see a screen at the moment.

 

Also is there a web page with clear information and instructions for this, or must I wade through pages of techno babble in order to hopefully decypher the way?

[Rybags]

The flasher/config program only uses standard Atari graphics so just use RF, composite/whatever.

 

The FC.COM program flashes new cores and can be used to change the default boot block.

 

There's 12 slots, so no need to erase older cores until you occupy all the slots.

 

I've found that the command to boot a different core on the fly doesn't always work well.

Best method is to flash new core to a spare slot, then set that slot as the bootable core, then power off/on the machine.

 

Remember to use the appropriate suffix core type - only use type "R" if you don't have a >64K memory system (not including VBXE RAM).

 

I never use the "GTIA-only" cores, so don't worry too much about upgrading that one.