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Sophia rev.C - DVI board


Simius

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Fuuuu... it is F.O.S. I sure wish the thing had come with a manual.

 

Yeah, it's full of it. :)

 

Just an FYI, and I don't mean for this to be condescending or rude, but if you're going to be modding and working on the internals of a system, it's a really good idea to check actual part numbers on the chips and board silkscreens by comparing to service manuals or vintage documents not someone's rando website. The 1200XL is a bit of an odd beast since it was only on the market officially for like 7 or 8 months. But the chip part numbers are more or less the same for any Atari computer. For future reference, here's a very reputable site listing the part numbers for almost all Atari custom ICs used in their systems. The owner of this site has been an Atari dealer and parts supplier for 30+ years:

 

www.best-electronics-ca.com/custom-i.htm

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Yeah, it's full of it. :)

 

Just an FYI, and I don't mean for this to be condescending or rude, but if you're going to be modding and working on the internals of a system, it's a really good idea to check actual part numbers on the chips and board silkscreens by comparing to service manuals or vintage documents not someone's rando website.

Sage advice. Although I hold some others to a bit higher level of responsibility, I will totally cop to being at fault. I hope someone else might learn from this. Oh, and I made the leap again in saying it was "cooked", once I tried some of my other myriad connections, and Flashjazzcat's direction... SOPHIA IS WORKING FINE.

 

Old-Computers.com can still byte me.

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Sophia Rev.C DVI on a Dell 1905FP. All I can say is WOW!

 

Is that the 1280x1024 Sophia or a different setting that happens to scale that way?

 

I'd like to order one of these, and have 1280x1024 monitors now, but also want the ability to connect to 16:9 monitors in the future..

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Is that the 1280x1024 Sophia or a different setting that happens to scale that way?

 

I'd like to order one of these, and have 1280x1024 monitors now, but also want the ability to connect to 16:9 monitors in the future..

 

Yes, I asked Simius for the 1280x1024 version when I placed the order. It can re-programmed using a USB Blaster if you need to change it back to the default resolution.
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The photo's labelling has POKEY and ANTIC swapped, for sure. But GTIA is labelled correctly.

 

This really isn't the thread for it, but for future reference:

 

post-30400-0-61685200-1519735939_thumb.jpg

 

  • OS: CO60617A/B; CO060616A/B (the A version is much more common)
  • MMU: CO60609
  • POKEY: CO12294
  • 6502C CPU: CO14806
  • 6520 PIA: CO14795
  • GTIA: CO14805
  • ANTIC: CO12296/CO21697 (lower number much more common in 1200XL's and NTSC XL's in general in my experience).
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The photo's labelling has POKEY and ANTIC swapped, for sure. But GTIA is labelled correctly.

 

Entirely my fault.

That being said...

Including a post-it note along with the boards might avoid this for other morons like me who might think the Antic is the last chip in the video chain. Thirty-five years has dulled my A8 knowledge.

My mistake affected only one person. Publishing to the internet and the world an incorrect diagram, misleading many, is a higher crime. Thank you for fixing that, hopefully your image will show up in image-search results.

Edited by towmater
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Has anyone tried the 4:3 version with a 1600x1200 monitor (I have 3 Dell 2007FPb) ????

 

I only have one 1280x1024 monitor in the house, it is my wife's and has one bad pixel. So 1280x1024 is not a go. And I think most if not all of my widescreen monitors are higher resolution than most I've seen mentioned here.... plus since the Atari was never a widescreen display, I'd rather use a quality older 4:3 style.

 

Before deciding on how many and which type to buy, I want to figure this out, as I've been told they can not be reprogrammed. So If I buy the wrong one(s), then I either need to buy the correct monitor, or have it sit on a shelf or something.

 

So, hoping someone has tried that configuration and can report how it worked (proper aspect ratio/etc).

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There are 3 resolutions that I know of, one of which hasn't been officially released as of yet. They are: 1280x1024, 1440x900(un-released), 1536x960. The 1440x900 was created per my request for a monitor that Bob Woolley is using, and I believe it works just fine from what he last reported. The 1280x1024 works perfectly in either PAL or NTSC on my Dell 1708FP. Brentarium also reported good results under 1280x1024 on a Dell 1905FP.

 

Cores can be flashed with a USB Blaster, just requiring an additional connector that matches the one on the Sophia be crimped on the supplied programming cable. These programmers are super cheap, going for under $4 on eBay, and the programming software is available as a free download on-line.

 

It would be nice if Simius could provide the various cores perhaps on the first page of this topic, which Albert could then make as a permanently editable page upon request by Simius (pretty please :) ).

 

Just like cwilbar, I also have a NOS Dell 2007FP (native resolution of 1600x1200) which I would very much like to use at some point down the road, but is dead in the water at matching up with any of the cores I've tried thus far.

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Thinking to connect it to a modern TV and be used as a console:

 

I have to say this is an incredible project, the colors look very good and it's a huge improvement. But in order to plug it to a modern TV, the inputs are HDMI or RCA composite, (yeah, I know there are old DVI monitors out there and a second cable for audio, but this idea is for a TV).

 

Let's say I want to use a TV HDMI port, port that it's likely to be the only one in the near future, and starting from a RCA composite, it's only required 1 device it could fit inside:

RCA composite to HDMI: USD 32

https://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Converter-Adapter-CoolDigital-Composite-1080p/dp/B06XFTQK6N

 

Now,

DVI to RCA component video: USD 5 (it doesn't work a DVI to HDMI adapter because the audio must be added).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004VNJK8K/ref=psdc_172544_t1_B000Q6T0OK

 

RCA component to composite video: USD 60 + cables

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-107114-Component-Composite-Converter/dp/B009GUSJ6W

 

(I coul'd find a direct DVI to RCA composite device).

 

Now the audio: 5 Pin Male Din Plug to 2 x RCA Phono: USD 3

https://www.amazon.com/kenable-Phono-Plugs-Audio-Cable/dp/B008N29O4A/

 

Not only it becomes expensive, it will not fit everything inside, there is risk of interference, more energy consuming, the quality will be affected, it's likely it will be some lag and the audio & video will be not be synced, and it's very likely that something will not work as good as described.

 

Just an example, I don't know how much difficult is the RCA output to be done, but it could be a good idea to avoid the DVI port that is not being used as a standard for nowadays monitors and TVs.

 

So in order to keep quality a solution could be a DVI to HDMI adapter, and the audio as a RCA. But in a TV when a HDMI (video) is connected, will it work the second input (RCA) for the audio at the same time? I don't have how to test it, but in modern TVs I think it will work only 1 input at the same time.

Edited by tane
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You do not install a DVI SOPHIA to convert the digital video signal back to analog :?

 

To have a perfect picture on a modern TV you can use a DVI to HDMI cable:

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Input-Output-Adapter-Cable/dp/B014I8UQJY

The audio will not be available on the TV, so it has to be handled separately (external loudspeaker, etc.).

Edited by TheMontezuma
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You do not install a DVI SOPHIA to convert the digital video signal back to analog :?

 

To have a perfect picture on a modern TV you can use a DVI to HDMI cable:

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Input-Output-Adapter-Cable/dp/B014I8UQJY

The audio will not be available on the TV, so it has to be handled separately (external loudspeaker, etc.).

 

Here's an even better option if you also want external audio injected into the HDMI.

s-l500.jpg

Ebay Link

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