Hi Thierry, >> 1) Create a 1024x768 signal with a modified CPLD, generating >> 1024x512 plus a black bar at the bottom of the screen. 800x600 does >> not fit the PLD. > > Strange... I'd have expected that the problem was the video memory, > but 800x600 pixels consume less memory than 1024x512 pixels...
Yes it is strange. Has to do withe the fact that neither 800 nor 600 are powers of two and the CPLDs are manually optimized to the last gate. >> This solution seems to work with recent flatscreen monitors. For me >> on a 1920x1080 LG. But 1024x768 does not interpolate nicely, and the >> black area is annoying. > > Would it be possible to have black areas (lines) both above and below > the Q60 screen, instead ?... It would look nicer. I tried that, but did not find a way. > As for scaling, some monitors can have it disabled; mine, a Hyundai > W220D, can display any standard EGA/*VGA resolution below its own > (1680x1050) without scaling and centered on the screen (of course, > displaying a 320x200 screen without scaling on such a monitor gives a > tiny picture, but 1024x768 would be quite OK). I can display it without scaling here also, but it looks crazy with only about a quarter of the screen area covered. >> so the only socket where a graphics card could go >> (without modifying the mainboard) is the ROM sockets. This would >> have the nice side effect to replace the UV EPROMs by Flash. > > That would be nice too: I'm worried that the EPROMs contents will end > up ebbing away with time (I saw this happening many times, even on > military grade systems), and these EPROMs are so large that they don't > fit any of my EPROM programmers (which are limited to 27C512 for the > largest EPROM). There are several commercial programming services who do it for a few Euro. In the worst case, I also can still do the programming. >> Unfortunately, a few additional address and byte select lines are >> required, which are not present on the ROM sockets. > > Well, depending on how many are "a few", this could be done with > manual wiring... If I remember correctly, it was 6 wires. >> 3) Find a converter which can handle the Q60's 1024x512 resolution >> and does not misinterpret it as 800x600 like most VGA converters. > > Good luck with that !... Forget about the Ambery and Jamma Boards > products: bought them and they don't work with the Q60... Neither > with the Thor XVI in 512x256 resolution (or very badly). I also had no luck with that yet. >> 4) Find a flatscreen monitor with true multisync. A fellow QLer here >> in Germany owns such a rare monitor and the results are nice. It is >> sort of an industrial monitor. Unfortunately my attempts to get >> hands on a batch of similar devices failed yet. > > Same here. True multi-sync monitors are History (I'm still so sad and > annoyed that my NEC-3D died, 8 or so years ago). He owns a multisync *flatscreen*. Built into a self designed case. Remarkable. >> 5) Design a Q60 successor. I had seriously considered this, because >> debugging the FPGA-based CPU core inside the Q68 took so long. It >> would be a piggyback 68060 board on top of the Q68 hardware. The Q68 >> board providing video circuitry and peripherals, while the 68060 >> board holds the CPU, main RAM and glue logic. But this solution >> leads away from the original. Considering the Q60 is a vintage >> machine worth preserving, this has limited appeal. > > It would be another machine... Not sure you'd find a "market" for it. I guess not, but I'm not looking for a market anyway. The fewer people want it, the less work I have. The two things that still motivate me, is to have fun and to keep the QL alive. So the best thing will probably be to concentrate on the Q68. This cute piece of hardware is in working condition for more than 8 years now, only struggling with "soft" issues and my notorious lack of time. > I'd personally vote for solution 1 (preferred) or 2. :-) Solution 1 is MUCH easier than solution 2. All the best Peter _______________________________________________ QL-Users Mailing List
