[Coco] [SPAM] Re: Composite to RGB....

Sat Feb 21 05:21:08 EST 2015

Hi Steve and Everyone,
I apologize for not mentioning the use of the switches specifically.  There is so much information about the RGB2VGA converter PCB and the Altera DE-0 Nano on Luis Antoniosi's web page that I thought it best to refer everyone to Luis' own write up at the following link
https://sites.google.com/site/tandycocoloco/rgb2vga
NOTE: I cannot stress enough how important it is in my opinion that the user of this product peruses the above web page at length!  Please study it!  I still refer to it often.  Luis goes into great detail about every aspect of the RGB2VGA Converter PCB including its inception, design, how it's built and what is required to run it.  He also goes into detail about the new modification he has recently done to it which is located toward the end of the page before the actual pictures of the assembled unit.  
An Altera DE-0 Nano is definitely required and must be programmed which I am willing to do for you if you so desire.  I have had at least one person to ask me to put together a complete package of everything needed so all he has to do is plug and play so to speak.  I have yet to figure on a reasonable price for this.  This will come though as I get further on in this project.  
In the meantime, if all you wish for me to supply is the RGB2VGA Converter PCB and a 6' Coco 3 Interface Cable, then the total price is $58.50.  The original price of $45 did not include the cable which one of the customers kindly reminded me of and shipping had not even been thought of yet.  Oops.  I apologize for missing these important items.  Yes, I'm new to this kind of thing and thank you all for your patience as I am learning while I am doing this project.  It has been a real eye opener for me!  Thank you everyone who has provided me with much needed advice.  Thanks you again.
Luis has used this RGB2VGA Converter / Altera DE-0 Nano combo unit on the Coco 3, the Apple II, The Apple IIc, and the Amiga computers quite successfully.
Here is a bit of text talking about the Bright channel and the RGBI that I'm still trying to wrap my head around.  This is located in the Modification section.  I will be talking to Luis about this, but in the mean time I wanted everyone to be aware of the text and the warning it contains.  Luis, please comment on this.  Thanks a bunch.  I would also appreciate an picture of the cable you are talking about.  Which computer setup does this pertain to.  Will this need to be done for the Coco 3's use of the RGB2VGA Converter?  Zippster, would you share what you did?  I would like some pictures of your setup using the RGB2VGA Converter as well since you have it up and running.  I'm trying to figure out if I need to put in this modification. Thanks a bunch.
NOTE & WARNING:
-----------------------Beginning-------------------------
Also, for RGBI you can optionally add 2x 1K0 resistor for the Bright channel. Make you cable to output the Bright through the RGB pin 4. WARNING: The R,G and B lines don't have voltage dividers, instead they have a 75R pull down. Connecting it directly could damage the Altera permanently. Use a 150R resistor on the three lines in your cable for the R, G and B lines. The Bright line is already safe by this change. The RGBI can be switched by the switch RGBI
-----------------------End--------------------------
Here is an excerpt from Luis' web page on the usage of the switches.
-----------------------Beginning-------------------------
Usage

The 3 jumpers are used to drive the composite video to the sync separator and also to drive the separated sync signals to the H and V syncs. If you use it with an Apple II composite, short all 3 jumpers, if using a RGB computer with composite sync, short only J2 and J3 and use the RGB IN port. When using a computer with separated H and V, use the coco3 port.

The DIP switches changed in the last github versions. The last dip switches are for:

 SHRINK	Shrink the image to show 720x240. Normal mode is 640x240. Some computers need the borders to be shown.
 OFFSET	Use this jumper to use alternate offset (centering)
 DEINTERLACE	De-interlaces odd-even fields. For flicker free images on Amiga
 APPLE ][	For Apple II it will make the display black and white instead of green
 ARTIFACT INVERSE	reverse the fake colors (coco3)
 ARTIFACT	To use fake colors on Coco2 or to reconstruct Apple 2 colors (use with Apple2 switch as well)
 RGBI		Use the Bright input as RGBI. Note the R,G and B are still analog and need a proper trimmer adjust for the better image.
 SCANLINE	Turns scanlines on/off
-----------------------End---------------------------
So, it looks like we CAN have Artifact colors even when we use the Coco 3's RGB video output port!  This is great news for those who love to see the artifact colors on the Black and white screen.
Well, this is all I have at the moment.  If you have read this far, thank you.  I will keep you all updated as things progress.  Take care my friends.

Kip Koon
computerdoc at sc.rr.com
http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Kip_Koon

-----Original Message-----
From: Coco [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of Steve Batson
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2015 9:57 AM
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [Coco] [SPAM] Re: Composite to RGB....

I asked Kip about this and he didn't mention that. I'll wait until I receive it and see about that before I get anything else then. If that's the case, it would be awesome.

> Hi Steve,

> The RGB2VGA converter has a switch to chose artifact or not and it
works

> very well for me.

> Sylvain

>

> Le vendredi 20 fÃ©vrier 2015 9h27, Steve Batson

> <steve at batsonphotography.com> a Ã©crit :

>

>

> There was discussion about this and I'll be darned if, I even gave my
2

> cents...

>

> Anyway, I just ordered one of the RGB2VGA converts for Kip and I got
to

> thinking that for software that uses Artifacts, a Composite to VGA
might

> display the artifacts on the monitor? Could use a switch to swap back
and

> forth between the two. There's composite to VGA converters on
Amazon

> starting from about $13 on up. Some of them have reviews that say
that

> that the output showed in black an white because of the resolution of
the

> system inputing the Composite.

>

> In any case, has anyone tried one of these with the Coco, do you get
color

> and artifacts? Any recommendations on one that does the trick? My
other

> alternative is to use my TV for Composite and the monitor for
RGB2VGA, but

> I'd like to preserve desk space using just the one monitor if
feasible.

>

>

>

>

>

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Steve Batson

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