Amiga 500 - can I use an Acorn monitor?

Hope this isn't TOO dumb a question, but it's my first post here.

I had a pretty good Amiga setup some years back, but sold it all to move to PC.

Now, I'm slowly trying to get set up again. I was given an A500 console and power pack, but also happen to have a 15" Acorn 28-AKF40 monitor, which has a 9-pin socket marked 'RGB'.

I have a couple of questions:
Would this Acorn monitor work OK with the Amiga?
And if so, what kind of monitor lead would I need?

Thanks for your help,
Amigaboy Says:
Please don't type your signature....use the Control Panel to define one instead

Good question, I don't know the answer but I've got a thing to add. Can I use a CPC464 monitor with amiga? I know it's worse than a 1084 but I were able to get one recently and did not, finding the price too expensive (~20$). I'd love to know if I were an idiot not buying it

It would come with a working CPC464 but I already have a non-working one and the difference betweean a working amstrad and a non-working one is nothing for me .

[Severin]

hmmm, didn't know acorn did a 15" monitor, but there 14" onrs are just re-badged 1081's, the 9 pin D-type connector probably means YES YOU CAN
but you will probably need a lead made up...

As for a CPC464 monitor, yes they can be used, but they are crap, the tube is very low resolution (same as a portable tv) and they have no green (or could be blue, it's been a while) input, it make it
from the other two

iirc you also have to make a small mod to the monitor.

Don't feel like an idiot, they're not really worth bothering with, they were quite popular amoungst the 'cheapskates' when monitors were expensive though...

Severin, thanks for your reply. You might be right about the monitor being a 14" - I'm more used to dealing with PC monitors at 17" and 19", so I tend to lump anything smaller into the 15" category.

Now I think about it, the Acorn does look a bit like a 1084, from what I remember of my Amiga experience. I seem to recall I had a 1084S. If I remember correctly, the S stood for Stereo, so I guess that particular monitor must have had built in speakers.

I've just had another look at the Acorn, and I notice that it also has two RCA sockets, so maybe it also has speakers.

So perhaps it's just a matter of organising a lead. I'd be grateful if you are able to provide any more info about this - you mention 'getting one made up'. Are these leads no longer commercially available?

TIA
porty

Originally posted by Severin
As for a CPC464 monitor, yes they can be used, but they are crap, the tube is very low resolution (same as a portable tv) and they have no green (or could be blue, it's been a while) input, it make it from the other two

CPC color monitors are RGB monitors and 100% compatible with the Amiga RGB signal

You can find the connector pinouts here

About the Acorn monitors: AFAIK they almost are the same as a 1084 or Philips monitors and the pinouts should be the same. Go here an look the Philips CM8833-II monitor pinouts

[Amiga1992]

Originally posted by Uukrul
CPC color monitors are RGB monitors and 100% compatible with the Amiga RGB signal

He was talking about a CPC464 monitor. The 464 came de-facto with a green monitor. The 6128 came with the color one.

I also bet teh quality is lower than that of a 1084, it must have a much higher dot pitch. It was cheap!

No, CPC464 came with the green or the color monitor. BTW Severin said 'and they have no green (or could be blue, it's been a while) input, it make it from the other two' and that's false for the GT65 green monitor that only needs the luminance signal.

[Amiga1992]

OK ok OK
YOU AM CPC
YOU AM GIVE ME CPC R0MZ


feliz navidad colega!

[Severin]

Originally posted by porty


I've just had another look at the Acorn, and I notice that it also has two RCA sockets, so maybe it also has speakers.

first of all, a subtle hint

look for a volume control on the front

the two rca sockets are audio and composite, so connect it upto a VCR to test the monitor

btw. I've been using a philips 8833-II for years as a TV until it died yesterday I now have a 1081 TV


Note to Uukrul:

"and that's false for the GT65 green monitor that only needs the luminance signal."

Was I talking about the GT65? yes it's very easy to prove I'm wrong when your talking about a totally different monitor...

Originally posted by Severin
Note to Uukrul:

"and that's false for the GT65 green monitor that only needs the luminance signal."

Was I talking about the GT65? yes it's very easy to prove I'm wrong when your talking about a totally different monitor...

Severin, read my previous post. You said

As for a CPC464 monitor, yes they can be used, but they are crap, the tube is very low resolution (same as a portable tv) and they have no green (or could be blue, it's been a while) input, it make it from the other two

and I replied that CPC COLOR monitors are truly RGB and uses the three color signals. Later Akira pointed that you maybe were referring to the GT65 monitor and that's the reason of my post. So, sorry but you're wrong.

@Akira: Feliz Navidad y que los reyes magos the traigan un X68000

[Severin]

ok, I'll let you off, because I didn't specify 'colour' but the 3 or 4 CPC colour monitors I've seen didn't have one of the colour inputs, maybe this was only the UK models...

btw. it was the owner of an amiga repair shop I used to work for that told me this when he was making up a lead to use one on an amiga...

Severin, I've checked the Acorn and find that it does have a volume control on the front; guess it must have inbuilt speakers.

So, to get back to my original query, how do I go about getting a lead to connect the Acorn to my A500?

Are they still made for sale? Do I have to build one from scratch?
Or is is possible to modify an existing lead?

TIA

[Amiga1992]

I suppose you will have to build one yourself. The hard part of building it will be finding the 23 pin sub-D type connector. It's not impossible to find, but it's bound to be expensive when you find it. At least that's how it is here :P

[Severin]

well, first of all try your local amiga dealer (if there is one), stick a wanted ad here and on amibench.com etc...

If you have no luck the amiga rgb pinouts shoould be in your hardware manual, if not I've attached them.

basically any amiga monitor lead will do, if it's a scart one just remove the scart plug and put a 9 pin d-type in it's place, or make a short lead or a scart socket to 9 pin that way you have a lead that will work with all monitors. I've got one the other way round (23 pin > 9pin > scart) very useful

Many thanks for that information - I'll see what I can do with it.

A point occurs to me: If the Amiga monitors are the same as this Acorn of mine (and I assume this is so as you tell me it's probably a re-badged 1084), I'm curious as to why the computer has 23 pins and the monitor only 9?

At first I thought perhaps this might have been to provide compatibility with VGA monitors but I note that a PC monitor lead only has 14 pins.

TIA
porty

[Severin]

A few reasons I can think of...

All 23 pins are used, even if the 5 ground pins were combined you would still need a 19 pin connector (which would be very expensive to have custom made).

With a 23 pin connector you can only plug the monitor into it, nothing else will fit, so no blown M/B's, printers, modems etc.

The extra pins the amiga uses are for genlocks (power & overlay signal) and both analogue and digital rgb.

Probably the most important deciding factor in commodore's use of them was they found a warehouse full going cheap (same as amstrad's reason for using 3" floppies)

Originally posted by Severin
All 23 pins are used, even if the 5 ground pins were combined you would still need a 19 pin connector (which would be very expensive to have custom made).....

Probably the most important deciding factor in commodore's use of them was they found a warehouse full going cheap (same as amstrad's reason for using 3" floppies)

Oh, of course - good call - for some reason, it didn't occur to me that manufacturers would try and use stock components wherever possible.

And re your second comment, yes, it's interesting how often significant events stem from such humble factors as this.

[T_hairy_bootson]

I am trying to use my 1084 (old type) to display graphics for a CPC464.

The 1084 has the old 6pin din connector and no scart connector.

The basic screen appears fine if not a little jittery but as soon a I start loading tape the vsync goes horribly out of sync. I used the following two diagrams to make a cable out of an old 6pin din to 6pin din c64 serial (diskdrive) cable.

http://www.technick.net/public/code/...mstrad_cpc6128

http://pinouts.ru/VideoCables/AmigaT...r_pinout.shtml

Anyone done this before or has any ideas?

[ivansc]

Re the acorn monitor: Ask prowler he nas an AK18 working on a miggy.

I have a AK50 and have the manual with pinouts, but I suspect it will be very different.

And as far as 23 pin D connectors are concerned, there ARE some out there - I just sold a lead with two on and unless they are all gone have a source of new oldstock ones.

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by porty

Oh, of course - good call - for some reason, it didn't occur to me that manufacturers would try and use stock components wherever possible.

And re your second comment, yes, it's interesting how often significant events stem from such humble factors as this.

At one time there was a shortage of these in the southern USA and some poor unfortunates resorted to sawing off a couple of pins on a DB25!!!!

And it worked!