Re: [Ql-Users] Some QL Newbie Questions: Modern video and storage upgrades for QL

[Dilwyn Jones via Ql-Users]

> What is the easiest way to connect a QL to a modern VGA or HDMI monitor?  
If you are not already on there, I'd seriously consider joining The QL Forum 
www.qlforum.co.uk

You can read the articles without signing up, but signing up is completely free 
and allows you to post questions, contribute and ask others question.

I've always found it so helpful and most people gladly offer to help each other 
in a real community spirit.

There have been a lot of discussions on there about modern monitor connections. 
For example, here is one discussion thread I contributed to with my experiences 
of a SCART to HDMI converter which autoscaled the QL display for me to use with 
my kitchen TV via HDMI as a monitor for example (I had to buy a QL video to 
SCART lead, but that was small cost to being able to connect to a more modern 
screen than the old CRT monitor I used to use).

http://www.qlforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2=770=5861=scart+to+hdmi#p5861

QL Forum has a pretty good search box on its home page - just type in "SCART to 
HDMI" for example (without the quotes)  and it will list the discussion threads 
which talk about those devices.

WIth the device I bought, I was lucky, auto-scaling allowed the entire 512 
pixel width to be viewed on that set, but you don't always experience this. A 
simple QL to SCART lead plugged direct to a SCART lead will often overscan 
slightly, causing you to lose a couple of text characters off either or both 
edges of the screen (effectively limiting you to viewing about 480 of the 
available 512 pixels, or about 80 columns out of the possible 85 columns of the 
video screen). The point being that any such video connection is almost certain 
to be much better than connecting the RF output from the QL to the aerial input 
on a TV set, which in most cases would give pretty dire results.

I've never tried one of the something to VGA converters I'm afraid.

Dilwyn
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Re: [Ql-Users] Some QL Newbie Questions: Modern video and storage upgrades for QL

[RWAP Software via Ql-Users]

You can see the range of currently available expansion options on 
sellmyretro:


https://www.sellmyretro.com/search/naturalSearch?keyword=ql+interface

There is also the vDriveQL and the QL-SD Interface (both are currently 
out of stock).


More info on the vDriveQL appears at 
https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/29035


More info on the QL-SD appears at: 
https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/QL-SD-internal-SDHC-Card-Interface-for-QL-3703


Rich Mellor RWAP Software www.rwapsoftware.co.uk www.sellmyretro.com


On 2018-01-06 01:41, Dave Park via Ql-Users wrote:

There's a lot of forks in the road for you.

There are emulators, that give you a functioning QL on your PC or Mac.
Hundreds of times faster, modern storage, semi-modern display 
capabilities

with higher resolutions and more colors.

If you want to stick with original hardware, there's a few choices. For
Black Box QL (BBQL) purists, there are QubIDE expansions that take
CompactFlash cards, and a nifty thing called QL-SD that fits internally 
and
offers one or two SD slots. There are Trump Card clones, Gold Card 
clones
(an accelerator that replaces the CPU with a faster one, and adds 
2MBytes

of RAM.

Finally, you can get a Q68 - it is a small hand-sized QL clone with VGA
output, two SD slots, comes with a modern version of the QL operating
system called SMSQ/E, and uses a PS/2 keyboard and mouse and standard 
VGA

LCD monitor.

There are at least three or four hobbyists like me producing new 
hardware

even today, so the machines are well supported.

If your keyboard membrane fails (they get brittle with age) you can 
easily

buy a replacement.

Hope this helps...

Dave

On Fri, Jan 5, 2018 at 7:26 PM, Michael R. Furman via Ql-Users <
ql-users@lists.q-v-d.com> wrote:

Hello, I’ve been lurking on this list for many years and never posted, 
so

I thought I’d introduce myself before asking my QL Newbie questions.

Even though I’m in the US I've grown up with (Timex/)Sinclair 
computers
around probably like many of you on this list.  While it was not the 
first
computer I ever used or my favorite when I was a kid the first 
computer
that was fully 100% mine was a Timex/Sinclair 1000.  In the mid to 
late
80’s my dad and I belonged to the Group Using Timex Sinclair Cambridge 
of
Silicon Valley that met in Cupertino, CA.  A few of the people had 
QL’s.

The user’s group coordinator used a QL to make the newsletter (
https://archive.org/details/sincLink-v8-n7-1989-07 <
https://archive.org/details/sincLink-v8-n7-1989-07>) and I was always
jealous of a teenage programmer Mark Wahl that brought his QL with 
Amdek
RGB Monitor and dual floppy drive system to the club meetings and 
showed

off his nifty C programs (a few are mentioned in the newsletter) Mark
seemed like the kind of whiz that Linus Torvalds probably was back 
when he

was playing with his QL...

I picked up a QL with a US power supply a few years ago off of Ebay.  
I
pulled it out of the closet around Christmas and it fired up and I 
could
still load all the micro drives that came with it.  But using the RF 
TV
output is a bit underwhelming, and while i could use the micro drives 
I

want to leave them alone and use something more modern…

What is the easiest way to connect a QL to a modern VGA or HDMI 
monitor?


What hardware upgrades are currently available for connecting modern
storage like SD Card or Compact Flash to the QL?

Are there any servers that run on a PC that act as a file server to 
the QL
over the serial port that could be used in place of floppy/CF/SD 
hardware?

We have this for our Tandy RadioShack TRS-80 computers, it’s called
DriveWire

—

Michael R. Furman
Email: n...@ocs.net
Phone: +1 (408) 480-5865


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Re: [Ql-Users] Some QL Newbie Questions: Modern video and storage upgrades for QL

[Peter Graf via Ql-Users]

Hi Michael,

> What is the easiest way to connect a QL to a modern VGA or HDMI monitor?  

The only converters which work for me at all, are the GBS-8220 and
similar. These are VGA converters. I find picture quality poor compared
to a suitable CRT monitor, but at least I can work.

All my attempts with HDMI converters failed on my three QLs, although I
tried several SCART cable wirings. The best I could get was picture
going on and off all the time. Others have reported success.

> Are there any servers that run on a PC that act as a file server to the QL 
> over the serial port that could be used in place of floppy/CF/SD hardware?

In theory, you could run a PC emulator which accesses those media and
connect your QL via a nullmodem cable and the SERNET software.

Be aware the QL serial port is extremely slow. For example reading a
complete floppy disk would take half an hour this way (if you have luck
and there is no reliability problem).

Peter
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Re: [Ql-Users] Some QL Newbie Questions: Modern video and storage upgrades for QL

[Dave Park via Ql-Users]

There's a lot of forks in the road for you.

There are emulators, that give you a functioning QL on your PC or Mac.
Hundreds of times faster, modern storage, semi-modern display capabilities
with higher resolutions and more colors.

If you want to stick with original hardware, there's a few choices. For
Black Box QL (BBQL) purists, there are QubIDE expansions that take
CompactFlash cards, and a nifty thing called QL-SD that fits internally and
offers one or two SD slots. There are Trump Card clones, Gold Card clones
(an accelerator that replaces the CPU with a faster one, and adds 2MBytes
of RAM.

Finally, you can get a Q68 - it is a small hand-sized QL clone with VGA
output, two SD slots, comes with a modern version of the QL operating
system called SMSQ/E, and uses a PS/2 keyboard and mouse and standard VGA
LCD monitor.

There are at least three or four hobbyists like me producing new hardware
even today, so the machines are well supported.

If your keyboard membrane fails (they get brittle with age) you can easily
buy a replacement.

Hope this helps...

Dave

On Fri, Jan 5, 2018 at 7:26 PM, Michael R. Furman via Ql-Users <
ql-users@lists.q-v-d.com> wrote:

> Hello, I’ve been lurking on this list for many years and never posted, so
> I thought I’d introduce myself before asking my QL Newbie questions.
>
> Even though I’m in the US I've grown up with (Timex/)Sinclair computers
> around probably like many of you on this list.  While it was not the first
> computer I ever used or my favorite when I was a kid the first computer
> that was fully 100% mine was a Timex/Sinclair 1000.  In the mid to late
> 80’s my dad and I belonged to the Group Using Timex Sinclair Cambridge of
> Silicon Valley that met in Cupertino, CA.  A few of the people had QL’s.
> The user’s group coordinator used a QL to make the newsletter (
> https://archive.org/details/sincLink-v8-n7-1989-07 <
> https://archive.org/details/sincLink-v8-n7-1989-07>) and I was always
> jealous of a teenage programmer Mark Wahl that brought his QL with Amdek
> RGB Monitor and dual floppy drive system to the club meetings and showed
> off his nifty C programs (a few are mentioned in the newsletter) Mark
> seemed like the kind of whiz that Linus Torvalds probably was back when he
> was playing with his QL...
>
> I picked up a QL with a US power supply a few years ago off of Ebay.  I
> pulled it out of the closet around Christmas and it fired up and I could
> still load all the micro drives that came with it.  But using the RF TV
> output is a bit underwhelming, and while i could use the micro drives I
> want to leave them alone and use something more modern…
>
> What is the easiest way to connect a QL to a modern VGA or HDMI monitor?
>
> What hardware upgrades are currently available for connecting modern
> storage like SD Card or Compact Flash to the QL?
>
> Are there any servers that run on a PC that act as a file server to the QL
> over the serial port that could be used in place of floppy/CF/SD hardware?
> We have this for our Tandy RadioShack TRS-80 computers, it’s called
> DriveWire
>
> —
>
> Michael R. Furman
> Email: n...@ocs.net
> Phone: +1 (408) 480-5865
>
>
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-- 
Dave Park
d...@sinclairql.com
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[Ql-Users] Some QL Newbie Questions: Modern video and storage upgrades for QL

[Michael R. Furman via Ql-Users]

Hello, I’ve been lurking on this list for many years and never posted, so I 
thought I’d introduce myself before asking my QL Newbie questions.

Even though I’m in the US I've grown up with (Timex/)Sinclair computers around 
probably like many of you on this list.  While it was not the first computer I 
ever used or my favorite when I was a kid the first computer that was fully 
100% mine was a Timex/Sinclair 1000.  In the mid to late 80’s my dad and I 
belonged to the Group Using Timex Sinclair Cambridge of Silicon Valley that met 
in Cupertino, CA.  A few of the people had QL’s.  The user’s group coordinator 
used a QL to make the newsletter 
(https://archive.org/details/sincLink-v8-n7-1989-07 
) and I was always jealous 
of a teenage programmer Mark Wahl that brought his QL with Amdek RGB Monitor 
and dual floppy drive system to the club meetings and showed off his nifty C 
programs (a few are mentioned in the newsletter) Mark seemed like the kind of 
whiz that Linus Torvalds probably was back when he was playing with his QL...

I picked up a QL with a US power supply a few years ago off of Ebay.  I pulled 
it out of the closet around Christmas and it fired up and I could still load 
all the micro drives that came with it.  But using the RF TV output is a bit 
underwhelming, and while i could use the micro drives I want to leave them 
alone and use something more modern…

What is the easiest way to connect a QL to a modern VGA or HDMI monitor?  

What hardware upgrades are currently available for connecting modern storage 
like SD Card or Compact Flash to the QL?

Are there any servers that run on a PC that act as a file server to the QL over 
the serial port that could be used in place of floppy/CF/SD hardware?  We have 
this for our Tandy RadioShack TRS-80 computers, it’s called DriveWire

—

Michael R. Furman
Email: n...@ocs.net
Phone: +1 (408) 480-5865


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