Re: EGA Graphics Without Breaking the Bank

Posted on 2023-02-15, 18:20

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I naively thought that I could just buy a simple adapter, plug one end of it into the EGA output of the computer and the other end into a standard VGA cable to a VGA monitor. No such adapter (mechanical) indeed, but you can build a low-end yet respectable converter for give-or-take 40 bucks: the …

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Re: No CRT Emulation? Why!?

Posted on 2023-02-15, 15:44

by

by Jo22

in PC Emulation

in PC Emulation

^I couldn't have put it better myself. That's exactly what I experienced in the 90s with my old IBM PS/2 monitor. Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time what I had. Often when thinking about the times gone by, I really miss that ugly little VGA monitor.. 😢 Edit: And I played both Lemmings and …

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Re: EGA Graphics Without Breaking the Bank

Posted on 2023-02-15, 09:40

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I understand your frustration. Personally, I don't like period-correctness, because I think it's superficial: Many users back in the day changed the factory configuration according to their needs. That's why I often can't help but have to shake my head if I work with "accurate" emulators. Examples: …

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Re: PC Speaker Sound Device. Need advice.

Posted on 2023-02-14, 18:36

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

For this reason, I chose a method based on the photovoltaic effect. This solves the problem of signal regeneration, it is simply not needed. The photodiode gives a voltage of 0.45V at a load of 1 kOhm, by connecting two photodiodes in series we get a voltage of 0.9V, which corresponds to the …

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Re: 360kb and 1.2mb floppy drives

Posted on 2023-02-14, 18:24

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I casually discovered all the data was intact when I tried to read it with a japanese imaging tool for floppies. I'm prone to think all windows versions (except maybe 95-98-me) cannot recognize 360k formatted 3.5" disks. That's one of the many reasons I have a copy of WinImage 3 and Windows 3.1 on …

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Re: Using an MFM drive along side an IDE drive

Posted on 2023-02-14, 18:09

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I'd like to use CF cards to ferry data to the device because floppy are cumbersome. Does anyone have any tips on how to make an IDE drive work along side an MFM drive? Is there a formula to follow or do I just have to find an IDE controller that is kind? Normally, the XT IDE Universal BIOS can co- …

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Re: 286 USIT Athena PC

Posted on 2023-02-14, 17:23

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

BTW, I was surprised how smooth does Wolf3D run on this machine... I knew its a realmode game but thought it is mainly for 386 The 286 can be quite a powerful processor, especially if it's running without bottlenecks. While I don't have an USIT PC at hand, I do have another quick 286 PC with 10 MHz …

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Re: 286 USIT Athena PC

Posted on 2023-02-14, 16:23

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Another thing I read online was, that Hercules Monochrome graphics was apparently very popular in the early-mid 90s, not VGA. Seems to be more myth than true. Most of 8080-based "home PCs" used TV sets as a display. 8088/8086 which were "professional" and "industrial" almost totally relied on CGA …

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Re: 360kb and 1.2mb floppy drives

Posted on 2023-02-14, 15:21

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

A 3.5" disk I won in an auction is 360k. Wait a moment, isn't this capacity supposed to be for 5.25" disks? O_o 3.5" Single Sided, Double Density is 360 KB. Sometimes used with computers other than PC. 360KB also is the "forgotten" format that 3,5"1,44 MB drives can read/write. Including the modern …

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Re: PC Speaker Sound Device. Need advice.

Posted on 2023-02-14, 12:35

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

The only way to break this link is optical isolation. For DC, likely yes. Though the relay model as such isn't completely obsolete yet. https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/beyond-the-optocoupler-understanding-digital-isolators/ ^I think that's overkill, however. At least for this …

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Re: Voice lines cut off at the end-very old dinosaur game running on Windows 98

Posted on 2023-02-14, 12:18

by

by Jo22

in PC Emulation

in PC Emulation

I think the same. Also, I've just checked the specs on Mobygames.com.. There are two separate versions of the game, for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Both h have the same minimum requirements.. 80386 processor, 8MB RAM, double-speed CD-ROM drive, 256c https://mobygames.com/game/3-d-dinosaur-adventure- …

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Re: Extending the EISA or PISA bus?

Posted on 2023-02-14, 07:27

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

PISA ? Sir, you almost got me a heart attack. My people failed at PISA test back then, you know. 😁 https://www.oecd.org/about/impact/germany-pisa-shock.htm Anyway, I like the idea. I'd love to see an extension box to house EISA/PISA cards. One of my MediaGX based systems has PISA slots, I think.

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Re: Serial port pinout for Nixdorf PCs?

Posted on 2023-02-14, 07:18

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Quick update. It could be that this serial port wasn't meant as an ordinary RS-232, but as an interface for special equipment. The other Nixdorf PCs had such a special purpose 25 pin D-Sub connector, if I understand correctly. Not sure about this one, however. I wished I had some RS-232 test plug …

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Re: 8-Bit ISA Combo HDD & Floppy Controller

Posted on 2023-02-13, 16:10

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Ok, let's got back on topic.. I've checked your list of ISA cards... **I THINK I've identified 3 options, but can't find any of them anywhere: Evorex EV-390 Longshine LCS6220 RMT RMT2001-F2H2 These seem to be all MFM/RLL related HDD+Floppy combo controllers.. Do you plan to build your dream 5160 …

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Re: 8-Bit ISA Combo HDD & Floppy Controller

Posted on 2023-02-13, 15:58

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Thanks for the pointers Jo22! I'll be looking some of those games up... I'd have been lost this past year without -0 Degrees, but this particular rarely trodden corner of early PC's is even pushing that great repository! You're welcome! ^^ Yes, minuszerodegrees is a fine site, I've discovered by …

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Re: Power surge protection for motherboard (especially for Bad PSU)

Posted on 2023-02-13, 14:47

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Trust didn't actually manufacture anything themselves, they just bought up overstock odd lots in Taiwan and Shenzhen, slapped their sticker on it and sold it at low but for them profitable prices. Mostly it was complete crap, but sometimes they were actually decent and overstock for other reason. …

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Re: 8-Bit ISA Combo HDD & Floppy Controller

Posted on 2023-02-13, 14:23

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hi, I'm new to Vogons, but figured that it was the most knowledgeable place to pose this quandary... Hi Andy! Welcome at Vogons! As a long time user here I do fully agree, there are many interesting people here, with various different interests in retro computing. This is so that I can squeeze in …

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Re: Another question about Windows XP videocard

Posted on 2023-02-13, 14:02

by

by Jo22

in Windows

in Windows

Had an acer SA90 in early 2008, as a representative of my first time vista experience = awful hardware. My condolences. 😔 It seems to have had a "Vista Basic" sticker, too. Which translated to "Vista makes it to the desktop; PC can barely run XP, either." The success of Windows 7 was largely based …

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Re: PC Speaker Sound Device. Need advice.

Posted on 2023-02-13, 13:51

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Hi there! I really like your design, kudos! 😎👍 In my opinion, the only cardinal way to get rid of interference is the use of optical isolation. I'm speaking under correction, but maybe it's possible to use some sort of a schmitt trigger as a refresher. It would essentially clean up the TTL pulses …

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Re: Can you configure Dos 7.1 independently from W98?

Posted on 2023-02-13, 13:27

by

by Jo22

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Here's an alternative, it's much cleaner - software wise. You can simply use two IDE CF card adapters or PATA HDDs in Cable Select mode. Then use a switch and a modified IDE cable. Someone's homepage with a schematic: http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/ide_dual_boot.html That way, both HDDs are …

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