pixelmischief Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Is it possible to combine the Sophia WITH the VBXE to enjoy the additional video power AND the digital output, at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 No. You can install both, but you can't feed VBXE RGB video out of the Sophia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irich2 Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 1 hour ago, flashjazzcat said: No. You can install both, but you can't feed VBXE RGB video out of the Sophia. How about this option: Make a cable to feed the VBXE RGB video to the Sophia's DVI connection board. So this way, you're not using (or installing) the FPGA part of the Sophia at all, you're only using the DVI connection board as an output for the installed VBXE RGB board. This also might offer another upgrade path for Sophia 1 users (like myself): Use the existing DVI connection board we already have and pair it with a VBXE RGB board (and custom cable to connect to it) rather than a Sophia 2 to connect to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 47 minutes ago, irich2 said: Make a cable to feed the VBXE RGB video to the Sophia's DVI connection board. How does one propose to connect a 15KHz analogue RGB signal output to a passive DVI connector which expects digital video data? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerobaros Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Magic, probably. I think, if you want to upscale your VBXE's output to an HD display, you're stuck using an external scaler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted July 27, 2020 Author Share Posted July 27, 2020 I had a VBXE and the 80-column was gorgeous. How is the software 80-column through the Sophia? How is compatibility? Haven't tried it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 1 hour ago, pixelmischief said: How is the software 80-column through the Sophia? Sophia has no 80 column hardware text mode. You should find that software 80 column text (such as that produced by The Last Word) is exceptionally clear, though. 1 hour ago, pixelmischief said: How is compatibility? Sophia should remain completely transparent to all software and hardware. In practice, however, I have ran into two machines which had DVI image problems apparently related to Phi2 timing on the host machine which upset the PLLs on the Sophia. Both machines were NTSC. Problems were eventually resolved with relative ease, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+gnusto Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 1 hour ago, flashjazzcat said: In practice, however, I have ran into two machines which had DVI image problems apparently related to Phi2 timing on the host machine which upset the PLLs on the Sophia. How did this manifest? I have a 1088XEL with Sophia that won't sync with any monitor I have on DVI (I only have a couple to test at home to be fair). But if I run the video signal through a Framemeister, all is well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, gnusto said: How did this manifest? The first one manifested itself as actual graphical corruption in certain games. The second one (a 1200XL) resulted in 'Out of Range' errors on the display device. I'd be somewhat open minded to the idea of monitor quirks here (in the second case) were it not for the fact that things worked perfectly well after I replaced 74LS08 with an F08 part. But then they stopped working again, only to put themselves right, so I really don't know. I contacted Simius about the issue and what I wrote above is a precis of what he told me. It may well be that a combination of certain DVI resolutions and certain Phi2 characteristics and 60 FPS creates some edge case for the LG TV/Monitor. Edited July 27, 2020 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irich2 Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 9 hours ago, flashjazzcat said: How does one propose to connect a 15KHz analogue RGB signal output to a passive DVI connector which expects digital video data? Well, shoot! I guess that won't work. Thanks for setting me straight, Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irich2 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 22 hours ago, flashjazzcat said: How does one propose to connect a 15KHz analogue RGB signal output to a passive DVI connector which expects digital video data? 11 hours ago, irich2 said: Well, shoot! I guess that won't work. Thanks for setting me straight, Jon. I went back and looked at Lotharek's VBXE Installation manual (I should have done that before I asked my original question, as that would have told me right then and there that a direct DVI connection would not be possible), and I noticed he gave two example connections that could be made: a SCART connector and a DB-9 connector. So my new question is this: how about connecting the VBXE analogue RGB signal output to a DE-HD15 (i.e. VGA) style connector, which does support analogue video data? Is that doable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinadan67 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, irich2 said: So my new question is this: how about connecting the VBXE analogue RGB signal output to a DE-HD15 (i.e. VGA) style connector, which does support analogue video data? Is that doable? Even if this works nothing would be gained, as the VBXE signal remains analogue. The topic starter wants 80 columns on the digital output. Edited July 28, 2020 by Dinadan67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvas Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 23 hours ago, flashjazzcat said: How does one propose to connect a 15KHz analogue RGB signal output to a passive DVI connector which expects digital video data? Actually DVI has analog pins, but still makes no sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 6 hours ago, jvas said: Actually DVI has analog pins, but still makes no sense. Indeed, but as you say: it makes little sense, and DVI's analog pins expect a VGA signal anyway (VBXE does not deliver a 31KHz signal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Which has better compatibility, the software 80-column via the SDX driver or the hardware 80-column via the VBXE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 36 minutes ago, pixelmischief said: Which has better compatibility, the software 80-column via the SDX driver or the hardware 80-column via the VBXE? Without doubt VBXE hardware. The soft driver uses 8K of base system memory for the display alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Are Syncalc and GT Data Manager compatible with VBXE? I mean, will I get 80 columns there as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 1 hour ago, pixelmischief said: Are Syncalc and GT Data Manager compatible with VBXE? I mean, will I get 80 columns there as well? I doubt it, unless they happen to call CIOV in order to display characters on the screen. And even if they did, they would probably be wholly unaware of the extra columns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Is there an 80-column spreadsheet or database-ish on A8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 I know of none. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 @flashjazzcat Is there a Last Calc in our future? ? Perhaps the Last Suite? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Just now, pixelmischief said: Perhaps the Last Suite? Perhaps the Last Straw. The Last Breath. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 33 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said: Perhaps the Last Straw. The Last Breath. What? Developing software on my whim and for my approval is not your life's highest calling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 5 minutes ago, pixelmischief said: What? Developing software on my whim and for my approval is not your life's highest calling? No, no - I'm delighted when something I write proves useful to others. I probably need a change of scene to recharge the old batteries, is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Perhaps a long stay in the USA or some other territory would help.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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