Guru
Joined: 09/06/2011
Location: AustraliaPosts: 1314
| Posted: 05:53am 01 Jul 2011 |
Two Subjects, one thread, save the internet from self destruction. :-)
I couldn't help myself.
In at JB-HiFi today, and I saw a new 19" OKANA brand LED TV (LED1900) for $99.
VGA in, USB for firing up a movie, HDMI, Composite Video, Audio, Component Video, and to top if off, it has two sets of I/O. One lot on the back, and one on the left hand side.
More specs: 1366 x 768 pixels, integrated digital TV with HD built in-tuner, Analog TV support, Pal-B/G Nicam.
I actually got it as a CCTV monitor, but with the little Maximite, I had to give it a whirl..
First thing I noticed was that the screen was pointing down at a noticeable angle, enough to annoy me, and no apparent adjustment. So I snipped up a packer strip out of a DT201 SimmStick, disassembled the mounting bracket, and packed it to the angle I felt would suit me better. Pay peanuts get monkeys.
OK, now we have it set up so that it suits me, let's plug in my Maximite to the USB for power, wack in the VGA cable, and a keyboard.
Power it up with the remote control, and away we go. Maximite V2.4, run some programs, try and get better adjustment out of the set. Not great but workable.
Then I went into a time warp, and realized that my TRS-80 monitor was a 12" B&W TV with a video mod I found in Electronics Australia. A simple switch intercept after the tuner, and I think an RCA connector, a cap, and one resistor.
But it looked much the same the resolution I was getting years ago, so it painted the picture for me.
But there was something funny. If you swallowed a clown by accident, would he taste funny?
There was something different after 33 years. What was it? Sitting here watching it for a few minutes. Why does it look very different?
Didn't I have a flashing cursor? It is sitting there rather dull. No flashing cursor. I almost rang Mick up to check.
So I googled "TRS-80 Model I flashing cursor" and up it came.
It was a driver you needed to load. I remember I put it into my DonMon Rom based program, so you never had to load it.
It tells you the thing is alive, and not sleeping, which is rather re-assuring when you are sitting there at 03:00 trying to work out why your code doesn't run. On, off, on, off. I very much liked my old flashing cursor.
Hey Geoff, can we have a flashing cursor. Pretty Please.
Cheers Don...
https://www.dontronics.com