*start*
01085 00024 US
Date: 18 Jan. 1982 2:05 pm PST (Monday)
From: Pasco.PA
Subject: Color Monitor Must Go Back
To: VLSI↑
cc: Jeffers, McKinley, Pier, Pasco
You folks using our new Hitachi color monitor may have noticed difficulty
getting good vertical sync. This problem is manifest as a vertical jitter with an
offset between odd and even interlaced scan lines. Ken Pier reports that this is
due to the absence of "equalizing" pulses (double-rate horizontal sync pulses
during vertical sync). These pulses are part of the EIA-RS170 spec for video,
but Dolphin color boards do not produce them. Effective with their Rev-I,
Hitachi has revised their design so as to not require them; in fact the Hitachi
monitor we had here for demonstration purposes were Rev-I. On our purchase
order we had specified "Rev-I or later." An internal sticker on the monitor we
received shows that it is Rev-G. Since this is not according to our P.O. we will
be sending it back for update.
Chris Jeffers and Grady McKinley will be handling the details. Sorry for the
inconvenience.
- Rich
*start*
00322 00024 US
Date: 18 Jan. 1982 3:02 pm PST (Monday)
From: Pasco.PA
Subject: Re: Color Monitor Must Go Back
To: VLSI↑
cc: Jeffers, McKinley, Pier, Pasco
Well, I found one of other monitors we received to be Rev-I, and swapped it
with the one on Bullwinkle. It works fine. We'll check out the rest.
- Rich
*start*
00236 00024 US
Date: 18 Jan. 1982 3:28 pm PST (Monday)
From: Pasco.PA
Subject: Re: Color Monitor Must Go Back
To: McKinley
cc: Jeffers, ABell, Pier, Pasco, Pirogowicz
Of the eight, one is Rev G, three Rev H, and four Rev. I.
*start*
00409 00024 US
Date: 20 Jan. 1982 8:26 am PST (Wednesday)
From: Pirogowicz.PA
Subject: Hitachi Monitors
To: Pasco
cc: Pirogowicz
Rich,
Grady McKinley notified the Hitachi rep to come out to PARC and replace the
outdated boards in the monitors. This is going to happen this Thursday. I'm
going to have him contact you for details since you know the status of the
Hitachi monitors.
Thanks,
David.
*start*
00502 00024 US
Date: 20 Jan. 1982 9:46 am PST (Wednesday)
From: Pasco.PA
Subject: Re: Hitachi Monitors
In-reply-to: Your message of 20 Jan. 1982 8:26 am PST (Wednesday)
To: Pirogowicz
cc: Pasco
Great. Grady was first talking about Hitachi shipping us the boards for us to
swap. I'm glad to hear the Hitachi rep is going to do it for us--no reason we
should have to contribute the labor to correct their screwup, and besides if he
damages the monitor in the process its his fault, not ours.
*start*
00536 00024 US
Date: 21 Jan. 1982 9:52 am PST (Thursday)
From: Pier.PA
Subject: Re: Color Monitor Must Go Back
In-reply-to: Pasco's message of 18 Jan. 1982 3:02 pm PST (Monday)
To: Pasco
cc: Pier
Rich-
McKinley told me the monitors would get retrofit today. Do you know details? Is
Hitachi going to do it or just send the boards to us? Also, would you please
oversee all six of the conversions. Julian Orr can locate the two ISL monitors.
Actually, one is on Lexington and the other is sitting opposite Stinger.
Tnx
Ken
*start*
00619 00024 US
Date: 21 Jan. 1982 10:47 am PST (Thursday)
From: Jeffers.PA
Subject: Rev I monitors
To: Pier
cc: ABell, Pasco, Pirogowicz, Jeffers
I agree that you guys should not get stung by the fact that neither of the two
units you ended up with are rev I. By all means go ahead and swap one of
your Gs for one of our Is. (Should probably be a temp or perm swap depending
on how PARC has recorded ownership of the units.)
I expect to know by around next Tue whether I have an immediate need for all 3
of the remaining Is. Pls give me a call around then if you're still hurting for a
second I.
--C.
*start*
00331 00024 US
Date: 21 Jan. 1982 12:56 pm PST (Thursday)
From: Pirogowicz.PA
Subject: Re: Rev I monitors
In-reply-to: Jeffers' message of 21 Jan. 1982 10:47 am PST (Thursday)
To: Jeffers
cc: Pier, ABell, Pasco, Pirogowicz
Chris,
All the Rev G&H Hitachi monitors have been upgraded to Rev J by the Hitachi
rep.
David.
*start*
00431 00024 US
Date: 21 Jan. 1982 1:39 pm PST (Thursday)
From: Pasco.PA
Subject: Re: Rev I monitors
In-reply-to: Pirogowicz's message of 21 Jan. 1982 12:56 pm PST (Thursday)
To: Pirogowicz
cc: Jeffers, Pier, ABell, Pasco
That should read, "are being updated..."
Did you know that power cords are not supplied with monitors, and must be
purchased separately? (Hitachi rep confirms this). Did anybody order them?
Rich
*start*
00411 00024 US
Date: 21 Jan. 1982 2:09 pm PST (Thursday)
From: Pirogowicz.PA
Subject: Re: Rev I monitors
In-reply-to: Pasco's message of 21 Jan. 1982 1:39 pm PST (Thursday)
To: Pasco
cc: Pirogowicz, Jeffers, ABell
Rich,
I found out about the power cords the hard way. We do have enough power
cords for the rest of the monitors, but we should order more if we purchase more
Hitachi monitors.
David.
*start*
00519 00024 US
Date: 16 Apr 82 14:34-PDT
From: rubin at SRI-TSC
Subject: color monitors
I would like to buy a hi-res color monitor for a personal computer.
Mitsubishi, Hitachi, and Barco all seem to make similar units in the $
1,500 - $ 2,000 range (they have .31mm pitch and resolutions about 750
x 550). I would appreciate opinions about the reliability and picture
quality of these or similar units. For others who are interested, I
will collect and make available the responses I get.
Thanks,
Darryl
*start*
00925 00024 US
Date: 19 Apr 1982 12:20 PST
From: Pasco at PARC-MAXC
Subject: Re: color monitors
In-reply-to: Your message of 16 Apr 82 14:34-PDT
To: rubin at SRI-TSC
cc: Pasco.PA at PARC-MAXC
Darryl,
We bought a bunch of Hitachi HM-2713C monitors for use in VLSI design
workstations, and are quite satisfied. The color rendition is excellent, but the
maximum brightness is somewhat less than on your retail Trinitron CRT. The
works-in-a-drawer makes adjustments super easy.
We did have one minor problem which is that our computers don't generate
equalizing pulses as part of the composite sync signal, and this meant we need
Hitachi's electronics board to be Rev. level I or later. Despite our specifying this
on our order, some of the monitors we received were Rev. G and H. Their local
office was most supportive, and sent a Hitachi representative here and to change
all the boards for us.
Richard Pasco
*start*
00345 00024 US
Mail-from: Arpanet host SRI-TSC rcvd at 19-APR-82 1257-PST
Date: 19 Apr 82 12:43-PDT
From: rubin at SRI-TSC
To: Pasco at PARC-MAXC
Subject: Re: color monitors
Richard,
Thanks much for the info. The 2713 is one of the monitors I've been
considering, and knowing about the rev levels will come in handy.
Best,
Darryl
*start*
00701 00024 US
Date: 21 April 1982 10:29 am PST (Wednesday)
From: Stone.PA
Subject: ColorMonitor noise
To: DoradoUsers↑, ISL↑
cc: Stone
Reply-To: Stone
The color monitors on Lexington and Saratoga are noisy when they are not
getting horizontal sync. If you are a Cedar user, you can run
[ivy]<stone>hacks> ColorQuiet.bcd, which will activate the display briefly, then
turn it back off again. The point of this procedure is to initialize the microcode
for the color display, which gives it horizontal sync and makes it run more
quietly. This program only needs to be run each time you load new microcode
ie. 3-boot. A simply booting leaves the microcode parameters as they are.
Maureen
*start*
04020 00024 US
Date: 21 Apr 82 14:06-PDT
From: rubin at SRI-TSC
Subject: Color monitor info
Attached are the responses I got to my color monitor query. I have
also done some scouting on my own, with these results:
1. Amdek and Electrohome make monitors for about $1000. At
80x25, white characters are fuzzy as compared to a normal
A/N terminal. Otherwise, the pictures look OK. You can
get these at Computerland; the folks there seem to favor
the Electrohome monitor.
2. Barco makes a monitor (CD-33 HR) that normally goes for
$1590 from the distributor. It has a .31mm pitch tube but
the video bandwidth is only 7 Mhz! For this reason, an
80x25 screen is not too crisp here either, although it is a
little better than on the Amdek or Electrohome. They say a
newer version at the same price will be available in
September with 15 Mhz bandwidth. However, for a limited
time (due to overstock) you can get one of the current
CD-33 HRs for $ 795 from the distributor in Santa Clara
(408-727-1506). Note that an adapter for hooking up to
your PC is $100 extra.
3. Hitachi's HM 2713 is the sharpest of the monitors I saw
($1900), and is also by far the bulkiest. You'll need
plenty of desk space for this one! Unlike Barco, they
don't supply adapters for the popular PCs, so be ready to
invent your own.
Before you buy a monitor, make sure you know how to interface it to
your PC. Each PC and monitor seems to have its own unique type of
connector and signal outs, so special adapters are usually required.
The IBM PC adds a wrinkle in that extra electronics are needed in the
adapter if you want to use the PC's intensity line to get all 16
colors (Amdek and Electrohome now have this circuitry built in). I
did find one company (M&R, San Jose) that is working on a "universal"
adapter that will accommodate most of the combinations you're likely
to come up with; it will supposedly support the IBM's intensity line,
too. Their number is (408) 980-0160. Look for the product in about 6
weeks.
Good luck,
Darryl
----------
Date: 19 Apr 1982 13:55 EST
Sender: Marshall.WBST at PARC-MAXC
From: Marshall.WBST
Via: Parc-Maxc.ARPAnet; 19 Apr 82 10:57-PDT
We've had good luck with monitors from
Electrohome Electronics
809 Wellington St. N.,
Kitchener, Ontario
Canada. N2G4J6
Telephone (519) 744-7111
These are 13" diagonal OEM monitors (model G09) without an enclosure
and require isolation transformers. They take RGB and scan standard
525 TV resolution. They would easily do 750 x 550 with single pixel
resolution. Cost about $1000.
--Sidney
----------
Date: 19 Apr 1982 12:20 PST
From: Pasco at PARC-MAXC
Via: Parc-Maxc.ARPAnet; 19 Apr 82 12:21-PDT
We bought a bunch of Hitachi HM-2713C monitors for use in VLSI design
workstations, and are quite satisfied. The color rendition is
excellent, but the maximum brightness is somewhat less than on your
retail Trinitron CRT. The works-in-a-drawer makes adjustments super
easy.
We did have one minor problem which is that our computers don't
generate equalizing pulses as part of the composite sync signal, and
this meant we need Hitachi's electronics board to be Rev. level I or
later. Despite our specifying this on our order, some of the monitors
we received were Rev. G and H. Their local office was most
supportive, and sent a Hitachi representative here and to change all
the boards for us.
Richard Pasco
----------
Date: 17 Apr 82 19:10:49 EST (Sat)
From: decvax!duke!unc!wm at Berkeley
Via: Sri-Nsc11.ARPAnet; 19 Apr 82 18:29-PDT
I have used both mitsi and barco monitors. As far as I know the tubes
(at least) are all made by the same company. (Barco does make some of
their crt's, but not in that line). I have always liked barco
monitors the best. I know people who swear by them (like NYIT).
*start*
02678 00024 US
Date: 16 April 1982 4:16 pm PST (Friday)
From: Mann.PA
Subject: Dorado Color Situation
To: VLSI↑.PA, CIS↑.PA, SCG↑.PA
cc: Mann, Winfield, EESUPPORT
I am sending this to both groups in order to generate the needed discussions so
everyone knows the situation on the doradocolor bds.
I agree that modifying the DispY is not a desirable task but it can be done
though it will slow the process down alot and means more work for me.
I suggest that everyone decide if they can live with the 8-BIT PER POINT
COLOR for now or if anyone does require the "FULL" (24-Bit Per Point) color
That we can see if we can borrow a bd from CSL but I wouldn't count on any
more than one at the most.
I need to know this as soon as possible !!! This task is on my schedule and I'm
starting the planning to get it done in an orderly fashion.
TKS
Dale
---------------------------
Date: 16 April 1982 11:32 am PST (Friday)
From: ornstein.PA
Subject: Dorado Color Situation
To: DoradoCore↑
cc: Deutsch
Reply-To: ornstein
Ed Taft and Ken Pier have proposed a fix to the Dorado microcode such that,
contrary to the prior situation, unmodified multiwire DispY boards can be used
with a DispM board for 8-BIT PER POINT COLOR. That should cover nearly all
requirements for color for some time to come since very few folks need more that
8 bits per point. Ed has either already implemented this fix or will shortly - it is
no big deal. Peter, I presume Smalltalk microcode can incorporate the fix - check
with Taft for details.
For "FULL" (24-Bit Per Point) color - used I believe by very few, probably only
in ISL, for a long time to come - a modified DispY board is required. There are
six stitchweld DispY boards in existence. Most of these have already been
modified and Charlie is arranging to get the remainder modified as well. We
should then use these stitchweld boards in those few instances where FULL color
is really required - swapping for a multiwire DispY.
In particular, Ken says Dale is considering trying to modify a multiwire DispY
board but I think that would be a mistake. First of all, I don't believe the users
at Parc Place presently need FULL color (correct me if I'm wrong). And
secondly, if they do, it would be much more sensible if we traded a modified
stitchweld board for a multiwire DispY board.
It is believed that the PC DispY board is "correct"; i.e. will provide for full color.
At such time in the distant future as full color really spreads through the world,
we should replace the "inadequate" multiwire boards with PC ones. That isn't
likely to happen for a long time.
Severo
------------------------------------------------------------
*start*
00503 00024 US
From: Pasco.pa
Date: 16-Apr-82 23:09:08 PST
Subject: Re: Dorado Color Situation
In-reply-to: Mann's message of 16 April 1982 4:16 pm PST (Friday)
To: Mann
cc: VLSI↑, CIS↑, SCG↑, Winfield, EESUPPORT
In my unofficial opinion 8-bits per pixel should be enough for our (VLSI group) needs. I'm assuming Chipmonk, Thyme, etc. will work on unmodified boards. There may be some value in updates for standardization, compatibility, etc. but this need not be done right away.
- Rich