SquallStrife wrote on 2024-02-01, 05:21:
For this application. VGA is not desirable, and composite would have increased the design and manufacture costs.
Turning that section of the Book8088 into an ISA card would have been super easy, and like I said, opens an avenue to move stock of the ICs.
Hm. The Book8088 version seems not to depend on FPGAs also, judging by that photography.
What I wonder is how the TV or monitor landscape looks like in China.
I think they were using PAL standard and 50Hz, just like here in Europe. But did they also have SCART (Euro SCART or Japan SCART)?
If so, wouldn't it make sense to also sell a matching SCART cable (w/ a simple combiner circuit) ?
But then, wouldn't it make sense to also provide +5v power somehow?
Say, by providing a DC power connector (barrel connector)? Next to the DE-9 connector, I mean.
Because, that's how some soundcards did it in the 90s, to power PC loudspeaker boxes.
The voltage might be needed for both the sync combing transistor and for triggering the sense-pin of a SCART TV (so it will switch into RGB AV mode automatically).
The alternative would be to use at least one of the N/C pins of the CGA connector.
Maybe pin 7? It doesn't seem to be used on MDA monitors, either. So a short is less likely to happen.
! It's just an idea, so please everyone double check pinouts.
Edit: That's what I mean by SCART cable.
The use of pin 7 required a little hardware modification on the PC side (CGA card).
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