ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN LIMA NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 1989 ^^^^^^^ SOME COMMENTS ABOUT 80 COLUMN MONITORS ^^^^^^^^AND IN PARTICULAR THE MAGNAVOX 8CM515. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^by Charles Good ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Lima Ohio User Group In one of our exchange newsletters I noticed a statement to the effect that VGA monitors should work with the Geneve and AVPC. These monitors are described as having unlimited colors and analog input, both characteristics needed by the 9938 video chip of the Geneve and AVPC. I talked to Tom Spillane, maker of the AVPC, and he stated that VGA monitors DO NOT WORK WITH THE AVPC OR GENEVE. The Sync speed of VGA monitors is too fast. Probably the best single indicator of color monitor resolution is "dot pitch" which refers to how close the red, green, and blue color dots are physically placed on the monitor screen. The smaller the dot pitch the better the resolution. There is a specific definition of "dot pitch", but there is apparently no specific definition of "pixels of resolution". I have seen identical resolution claims made for monitors of different dot pitches. I recently purchased the Magnavox 8CM515 professional color monitor for use with my AVPC equipped 99/4A system. This monitor is apparently identical to the Commodore 1084 and has a dot pitch of 0.42. Tony McGovern, in the doc file that accompanies the Funnelweb 80 column editor, describes th Commodore 1084S as "only just good enough for 80 column work." I agree with this statement, but I need to add that this 0.42 dot pitch IS in fact adequate, in my opinion, for 80 column work. I believe the 8CM515 is probably the color monitor of choice for AVPC an Geneve users. I have looked at a 0.5 dot pitch Radio Shack CM5 monitor. This is the monitor you see on prominant display at most Radio Shack stores. I find its display of 80 column text unacceptable. The fuzzy text displayed by the CM5 would give me a headache if I had to look at it for awhile. The only easy way to buy an AVPC or Geneve compatible monotor with better than 0.42 dot pitch is to purchase a multi sync monotor. These expensive monitors all have good resolution (0.39 or better dot pitch) and can be driven by a variety of frequencies, making them the most versitile in terms of present and future graphics standards. Tenex, in their Fall 89 catalog, lists one with a 0.31 dot pitch for $516. Often they cost much more. It is too bad that Magnavox discontinued production of their 8CM536 monitor with a 0.31 dot pitch and features otherwise identical to the 8CM515 that I purchased. I had been using a cheap monochrome green monitor with noticably better resolution than my new 8CM515. However, this better resolution is only apparent when you can adjust the software you are using for the colors white (actually green) on black. Changing the default colors on some TI software is quite difficult and may require the use of a Gram device. Non white on black color combinations sometimes produced real problems with my green monitor. My monochrome monitor had better resolution, but the 8CM515 is sharp enough for text work and the color is great! I do not want to go back to my green monitor. The Magnavox 8CM515 is relatively inexpensive and has alot of nice features. There are phono plug composite color video and audio inputs so you can run a VCR or regular 99/4A (using a monitor cable) through these inputs. In fact, you can have a Geneve or AVPC system AND a VCR or unmodified 99/4A connected to the 8CM515 and operate both AT THE SAME TIME. A front panel button allows you to switch between the two displays. The 8CM515 has a "green switch" that imitates that simulates the display of a green monitor and is useful o text work. Back pannel controls allow you to stretch the screen display vertically and horizontally and then center this display. This means that you can get any video input to exactly fill the monitor screen. If you want to use your IBM clone with this monitor in CGA mode there is an appropriate 8 pin DIN socket for TTL color input. The Fall TENEX catalog lists the 8CM515 for $259, an excellent price. I purchased my 8CM515 for $269 from Midwest Microperipherals. This is the outfit with all those full page ads in each issue of Compuer Shopper. I called their 800 number to make sure that the monitor was in fact in stock and then drove there the same day to pick it up. Midwest is easy to reach from anyplace in Ohio that has access to Interstate 75. The people there were very pleasant and gave me quick service. Midwest has expanded greatly over the years. They used to be in a little store front in the tiny town of St. Paris. Then they moved to a concrete block building in a nearby rural location out in th middle of noplace. The concrete block building has now been boarded up and Midwest is now in a new large modern insulated steel building. Standing in their warehouse area waiting for the customer service person to bring me my monitor, I saw about 400 STAR NX1000 printers stacked neatly on pallets. They are an authorized STAR service center. I saw an assembly line for boxing equipment for shipping by UPS to customers all over the country. What a place! CGA, EGA, VGA, and the 9938 chip's COLOR DISPLAYS: The following information comes from various sources including the Fall 89 Tenex catalog and the Sept. 88 issue of Micropendium. The CGA (Color Graphics Adapter) standard resolution is 320 x 200, that is, 320 pixels per line and 200 lines per screen. The simultaneous display of 4 colors from a palette of 64 is possible. The EGA (Enhanced Graphics Adapter) will simultaneously display 16 colors from a palette of 64 with a resolution of 640 x 350. A VGA (Video Graphics Array, some call it the "Very expensive Graphics Aarray") display can include simultaneous display of 16 colors from a palette of 256000 with a resolution of 640 x 350. Alternatively, a VGA display can simultaneously display 256 of these 256000 colors with 320 x 200 resolution. There are also, I believe, several "super" VGA formats with higher resolution. I have seen fantastic demo displays of VGA graphics showing pictures of flowers and outdoor landscapes. The subtle colors and lack of pixel graininess in these demos made the monitor display resemble a Kodacolor projction slide. The Geneve computer, and 99/4A computers with an AVPC have a display based on the 9938 video chip. This chip's high resolution color displays include 16 colors from a palette of 512 with 512 x 212 pixels resolution. Alternatively, you can display all 256 of 256 possible colors with a resolution of 256 x 212 pixels. These figures suggest tht the 9938's color display is, in most respects, better than EGA, and approaches what is possible with VGA. .PL 1