Hi there,

I just got a "new" A1200 from someone in Poland. I am in the US. Before this one arrived I already owned another working 1200 that I have hooked up to a multisync monitor and somehow many years ago I managed to get the display to work at 30khz.

I'm very rusty on the use of Workbench so I'm not how I managed to edit the startup sequence, or even what the startup sequence file is. So I don't want to break something in the processes.

This new amiga which is in great shape only offers 15khz pal options. How do I add more resolutions / options so the system boots up at a nice 30khz display?

Sincerely,
Caleb

Last edited by 227 on 07-Nov-2014 at 12:29 AM.

@227

I'm groping in the back of my memory but I seem to remember that DblPal and VGA monitors icons will be present in sys:storage/Monitors (assuming HD install they may reside on some other disk if floppy based booting)

DEVS:Monitors. You will need somekind of adapter cable to attach the output to a 30khz monitor though.

They will be slow.

The other option is ofcourse a expansion with RTG card , doubt that will be cheap!

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@broadblues

hey that's great! that was just what i needed devs:monitors had what i needed.

Thanks!
Caleb

@broadblues

Don't forget the Indivsion AGA MK II. A much more affordable option. It is easy to install, has a DVI output (you can use a DVI to VGA or DVI to HDMI adapter) and works with virtually any LCD monitor.

Drewlio77

Last edited by Drewlio77 on 07-Nov-2014 at 12:22 PM.

@Drewlio77

that's cool! so this would effectively step up any amiga resolution (including 15khz modes)? The big issue I have faced is that if i'm running in WB it's not a big deal, but if I ever wanted to boot to a game from disk, those games of course ignore WB settings.

Would it just double the resolution, like 320x200 to 320x400?

Even with my multiscan I've run into problems where some games end up getting cropped off the screen when using double scan video modes.

However ultimately it would be really really nice to hook up any monitor to an amiga and have a nice clear picture.

I bought a scan doubler type of thing on ebay awhile back for about $80 and it worked, but you could tell the thing was doing a very poor job of making a solid signal for the monitor.



Thanks,
Caleb

Last edited by 227 on 07-Nov-2014 at 02:45 PM.
Last edited by 227 on 07-Nov-2014 at 02:29 PM.

@227

Yes, any mode can be displayed then, even games.

Demo: http://youtu.be/fbteWszZa4Q

@danwood

holy crap that's brilliant! :) I might just have to go for it.


Thanks!
Caleb

@227

Everything the Amiga 1200 gets promoted to 60hz, 31 khz+. All modern LED TVs/monitors will display the Amiga's output. It even does scanline emulation for that retro feeling :)

Last edited by Drewlio77 on 07-Nov-2014 at 05:53 PM.

@Drewlio77

you had me at everything.. :) seriously cool!

@Drewlio77

Ok I went ahead and ordered one of these. I hope they have them in stock to ship! Can't wait to try it out

Thanks!
Caleb

@Drewlio77

Quote:

A much more affordable option.

What is? You don't mean an Indivsion is cheaper then the silver VGA box?

@227

Quote:

I ever wanted to boot to a game from disk, those games of course ignore WB settings.

That's to be expected. For one thing the game doesn't know where your HD is. And most likely it takes over the system so there is no OS anymore. But it wouldn't matter in most cases as the game would likely need a 15Khz mode to work with.

You could also try the DblNTSC driver, which used to display at 60HZ IIRC.

There were a few hacks to bump up the scan rate to 31Khz which I had in my A1200 startup but only a few things worked. But the Indivision will solve it all.

@Hypex

The MKII is cheaper than a PCI solution for the A1200.

The indivision AGA MKII really cant be compared to the silver VGA box (you get what you pay for).

Differences and advantages of the MKII:

1) Internal vs external - less bulk, no external power needed. Custom look with adapter plate option.
2) DVI Output (also supports VGA and HDMI with adapters)
3) Supports all Amiga screen modes and includes drivers for new ones.
4) Your purchase supports Amiga developers.

Drewlio77

@Drewlio77

absolutely, i'm so happy to see people still care enough about Amiga to create these solutions. The price is reasonable considering how niche a solution this is.

I absolutely love all of the points mentioned above by Drewlio77. Watching the video and understanding how clean the installation is (i'm not going to solder anything! :)

I'm happy with just the standard resolutions especially being able to play games that boot from floppy which bypass any OS customization / scripts.

Thanks!
Caleb

@Drewlio77

Actually what I was talking about and what Andy seemed to imply with "adapter cable" was the silver Commodore box or similar that adapted RGB to VGA. Just a simple box, cheap, no power needed, straight conversion from RGB lines to VGA lines. Useful with VGA Commodore monitor or any other with drivers.

Last edited by Hypex on 17-Nov-2014 at 01:29 PM.

@Hypex

yea Andy's comment about the devs / monitor thing was right. there were right there and this simply sets the resolution to higher resolutions.

My multisync monitor handles that and shows a nice scanline-free display and that didn't cost me anything beyond of course owning a bulky 13" monitor whose days are probably numbered.

So that fixed my immediate problem without having to buy anything, which is itself nice..

his other comment about RTG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReTargetable_Graphics are referring to a number of devices I remember from back in the day, but none of those cards were really for the A1200..

I bought one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/15Khz-RGB-RGsB-RGBS-to-VGA-Scan-Line-Doubler-Converter-/310413209763?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item484611b0a3 and it "worked" but you could tell it was just barely doing the job. it's generic.. it only works for 15khz displays and it requires power and yea, just generally unsightly, but I still have it if I were in a real pinch. It also requires power. Plus this still set me back $100.. maybe I didn't shop around enough.

then there were these http://eab.abime.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=27318&d=1292096254 on ebay for awhile. i didn't buy one of these and it looked interesting, but it just felt a little too sketchy having an exposed motherboard.. so i didn't buy one and i think they were not all that cheap and still, this one requires power.

@227

Quote:

his other comment about RTG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReTargetable_Graphics are referring to a number of devices I remember from back in the day, but none of those cards were really for the A1200..

BlizzardVisionPPC

@zipper

cool, I never saw that one and not surprised there was an option once upon a time... and i imagine pretty rare today.. which goes back to the point that this product seems like the best option to future proof an Amiga 1200 today. :)

@227

There are PCI and Zorro upgrades for Amiga1200.

http://www.elbox.com/products/mediator_pci_1200_tx.html

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@NutsAboutAmiga

wow that's crazy.. "Towerized" A1200.. didn't even know such things were possible, though it does make a lot of sense. More than my pocketbook can handle at this time, but still that is interesting to see.

Since we're on the topic of expansion options.. are there any affordable solutions to give an amiga 1200 (not tower) a battery backed up clock? It seems like it's such a simple thing.. why this wasn't standard for the the amiga by the time the 1200 came along..