FFV MegaCHip Conflict
16 messages in this thread
Mike,
Thnxs for FF/MegaChip info. I had bee trying to determine if ICD FFV and
Megachip would work together for a while. No one else seemed to have tied
it until after I had ordered both devices. It appears that I may have to
do the FF/DEB/Megachip route. I had some reservations as I've heard the
DEB installation involves removing the motherboard as you have to work on
the backside of it for the bracket that holds the FF card. I've only
stripped Ami down that far once, and I didn't get the motherboard separated
from its shielding on the back side. The mother board was flexing more than
I would like so I gave up the repair I was attempting and put things back
together. I'm not keen to do that again.
wmc
Wayne, the Microway DEB installation does NOT require removing the
motherboard. Don't believe everthing you hear. 8>. If you call Microway
tech support at (508) 746-7341 and ask for a copy of the DEB installation
manual, I'm sure they will send you one. Peter.
Peter,
Isn't there a bracket to hold the FF board that has to be fastened to the
motherboard "behind" the PC card slots? (Thats the other thing I could
figure out – does "Behind" mean parallel or perpendicular to the way that
PC cards would go in the A2000 and is there a FF/PC cards/BB conflict?
wmc
Wayne, the board which has connectors for the fF to plug into is mounted
parallel to the motherboard using standoffs. It is held in place at the
screw locations that hold the motherboard in place. These are accessable
from the top. The board itself (the flickerFixer that is) ends up in line
with the leftmost PC slot and shifted toward the front panel. There is an
extension cable that brings the output to the rear connector area. In
general, this means that you cannot use one IBM slot, but I have found that
a very short IBM card may fit (a logitech bus mouse, for example). Peter.
I gather that the FF does not line up with a slot opening in the back then?
Are FF adjustments made with the cover off then? (rather than from outside
when its in the video slot) How is the monitor cable hooked up? Do you
have to thread it through another opening and inside the computer? Thanks
in advance. –jp–seattle–
It is in line with the leftmost rear opening, but it is several inches
forward from the back. The DEB kit includes a rear opening cover plate
with a 9 pin connector and an extension that plugs into the flickerFixer.
Peter.
That's good. Thanks. I'd imagine that adjusting it is a pain, but it
sounds doable 🙂 –jp–seattle–
Peter,
Thanks for the info. Is the FF resolution still 704 X 470?
wmc
Wayne, the 704 x 470 figure is the maximum obtainable for the workbench
using Wb 1.3 preferences and morerows. Microway likes to spec things in a
conservative, understandable way. It is obviously pointless to claim a
horizontal resolution which is greater that the Amiga is capable of
displaying. The NTSC flickerFixer actually displays all of the possible
vertical overscan, 481 pixels. It displays 716 pixels horizontally. This
horizontal limit is the maximum possible without display artifacts using
the current, non-ECS Denise. When the ECS Denise is released, Microway may
sell an option (just a different socketed pal chip) to expand the
horizontal resolution. However, I'm not sure that the extra 20 or so
pixels are worth the expense of the ECS Denise. The other new features of
the ECS denise are, in my opinion, not very useful to most users.
Under 2.0, the workbench can be expanded up to 716 x 480 with the
preferences editor using a standard Denise chip and flickerFixer. Peter.
Just one question.. What will the FF do with the 1280 X 400 mode? We're
trying to decide what enhancer to get and this is a critical question since
it is one of the new 'standard' modes.
Bill Carey – via Whap!
The flickerFixer behaves in exactly the same way as all other deinterlacing
devices, that is, incorrectly. 8>. On first glance it appears to be
working, but in fact only every other pixel is sampled and displayed over
two pixel locations. It is important to recognize that the superhires mode
(1280 x 200/400) is limited to 4 colors out of 64 and, when displaying 4
colors, uses all the chip memory bandwidth just as 16 color hires does. It
is not clear whether this mode will have many applications. One area where
it might be useful is video titling. In this case, the alternate pixel
display may be adequate since the important output would be NTSC and the
flickerFixed display could be used to monitor what is going on. In this
application, the flickerFixer's genlock compatibility would, of course, be
a plus. One reason that no one is making a deinterlacing device that
supports the 1280 pixel mode is that the 56 MHz pixel rate creates a real
problem in getting FCC approval. I'm working on it, but no product is
immanent. Peter.
Thanks, that answers my questions. So CBM added a mode that their hardware
doesn't really support? A facinating company… :>
Bill Carey – via Whap!
One very good use of the 1280×400 mode that I can think of is being able to
have a text window of more than 80 columns. Say 132 or better.
Chris
All of the existing display enhancers treat superhires the same way: they
show every other pixel.
Craig
Thanks for the info. The decision is pretty easy then. Sorry to say we
won't be buying a FFV (it was our first choice), we got a MegaChip first.
Will there be a work around for that problem?
Bill Carey – via Whap!