Monitor Options for Nucore

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Chuck
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Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by Chuck »

We've all talked about using a LCD monitor but there is another option, using an old 19" computer multisync crt. People are literally throwing these away and they are high resolution and generally the same size as the original 19"CGA monitor. You can probably find one for free, or very cheap and it would be an excellent option. No special hardware required.
ChadTower
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Re: Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by ChadTower »

They do tend to run quite a bit deeper than your average arcade monitor, though. Depth of the tube neck is going to be an issue with a lot of them. And they weigh a LOT more because of all of the shielding in the case. If one wants to decase it and remove that shielding then it's going to take some knowledge to do safely because PC monitors aren't grounded the same way the arcade monitors are... it can be done even by a newbie with reasonable skill and respect for high voltage but care is in order.
mickster
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Re: Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by mickster »

Also they are measured a bit differently. Most 19 inch computer monitors will measure a full inch smaller than a 19 inch arcade monitor. So best bet would be to look for a 20 or 21 to 'shoe horn' in there.

Personally, I still can't recommend enough sticking with a 19 inch arcade monitor. They are dirt cheap to have fixed or even replaced. Have a better black level than pretty much anything else you will install and will keep your pin2000 looking original. But that is just me.
Subarubrat
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Re: Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by Subarubrat »

Another thought on monitors....

Ultimarc makes a interface called the Jpac that gives you a 31khz to 15khz converter that automatically disables when 15khz is present. Of course it would require a minimum of work to convert to use for our purposes. This should allow you to use the stock monitor. Cost is $59 http://www.ultimarc.com/jpac.html. I did email them asking if their video amp (which I already own) has the same functionality. Who knows? Might be a good solution.

That said, there was another discussion on this that I can't seem to find again where a fellow pointed out that some modern PC based video games use standard arcade monitors and boot through VGA screens with no issues. I would be interested in knowing if our Duckscan monitors are fine with that.

Just so I don't misunderstand a few points, and so that I don't suggest anything that isn't so. I have a few questions for Chuck;

1. Will Nucore output a 15hz signal from the onboard video of the MB after it boots through the VGA screens and starts the game?

2. If so, and asking for no warranty of any kind, has it been tried with the stock monitor?
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Chuck
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Re: Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by Chuck »

Subarubrat wrote:Another thought on monitors....

Ultimarc makes a interface called the Jpac that gives you a 31khz to 15khz converter that automatically disables when 15khz is present. Of course it would require a minimum of work to convert to use for our purposes. This should allow you to use the stock monitor. Cost is $59 http://www.ultimarc.com/jpac.html. I did email them asking if their video amp (which I already own) has the same functionality. Who knows? Might be a good solution.

That said, there was another discussion on this that I can't seem to find again where a fellow pointed out that some modern PC based video games use standard arcade monitors and boot through VGA screens with no issues. I would be interested in knowing if our Duckscan monitors are fine with that.

Just so I don't misunderstand a few points, and so that I don't suggest anything that isn't so. I have a few questions for Chuck;

1. Will Nucore output a 15hz signal from the onboard video of the MB after it boots through the VGA screens and starts the game?

2. If so, and asking for no warranty of any kind, has it been tried with the stock monitor?
1) Yes. We tested this with ATI and Nvidia cards (ATI was much easier to setup.) The 15.1hz signal starts when unbuntu hits the login manager (if I remember correctly.) You need to setup a modeline in the xorg.conf file.
2) Yes. Like I said I did this for about the first year of development. It seems to work with both Ducksan and WG monitors. Some monitors shift the image to the left and you can't adjust it fully to the right using the front monitor control board. So it's not a perfect solution for all but I wanted to use it instead of the ultimarc card. But it ended up being very tech intensive and left too much room for average users to blow up their monitors while the vga was in 31hz mode.

For the very tech savy it is a viable option.
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Re: Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by ChadTower »

I've run standard res monitors with hacked vga cards many times. They do boot in 60khz and then settle into 15khz once the OS drivers are resident. I have never seen a monitor damaged by this... but I completely understand why these guys aren't willing to support that. Mine are usually rebuilt before I try it. All old monitors are a bit unique and it's possible someone out there could have one that would not stand up to it. It might be best to keep that out there as an option but make it clear that arcade monitor damage is not supported if you aren't using an ArcadeVGA.
Subarubrat
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Re: Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by Subarubrat »

I think a real solution here would be if someone can post a schematic for a 31khz block. I would imagine a band pass filter that allowed around the 15khz range and prevented 31 would work, I just don't happen to have one. I am searching around to see if I can find a pre-canned monitor protection circuit. If anyone knows off hand and shared it we could all benefit.

Also, an old MAME trick came to mind, install a vga card and set the bios to boot on that card, then have windows run on the other card set up for 15khz. That way the 31khz goes nowhere and 15khz is fed to the arcade monitor. Can ubuntu be configured in such a fashion like windows?
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Re: Monitor Options for Nucore

Post by ChadTower »

Of course, you often actually want to see the boot sequence. I wouldn't want a $2500 platform running without that.
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