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Monitor Upgrade for Tandy 1000 RL HD

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dvanaria

Experienced Member
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Apr 11, 2013
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Denver
I have a CM-5 monitor for my RL HD, but it's not ideal because of the larger dot-pitch it has in comparison to the CM-11.

I've been looking for a CM-11 to come up for auction, but so far no luck.

Has anyone had good results with other, non-Tandy CGA monitors? I've looked for those as well and they seem just as expensive ($150 - $200), so maybe that's not the best way to go either.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Any CGA monitor will work fine, so it might be easier or cheaper to find something like an IBM 5153 or Commodore 1084, both of which are very good quality monitors... but there is definitely a visual appeal to have a matching Tandy monitor to go with it.

You can also try looking for a Tandy CM-2 or CM-10. They were predecessors to the CM-11, and also have the fine-pitch, anti-glare display. But avoid the CM-4, because it has the same large-pitch, non-anti-glare display as the CM-5.
 
I used to have an old NEC MultiSync...got rid of it about 8 years ago when I moved and had to thin the herd. I didn't realize it was much more than just another CGA monitor. The things you do and later kick yourself over....

Any CGA monitor should work just fine...as far as I know, there is nothing special about the Tandy in that regard.

I actually have three CM-11's...I would have to think on it a bit as to whether or not I would want to part with one... If you're interested, shoot me a PM with an offer and I'll ponder it. I would also be concerned a bit about shipping...I recall someone once commenting they had tried to buy a few CM-11's and they kept arriving dead...he was looking for one that he could pick up in person. Not sure if that's really an issue or if he just had bad luck...

Wesley
 
wesleyfurr said:
I would also be concerned a bit about shipping...I recall someone once commenting they had tried to buy a few CM-11's and they kept arriving dead...he was looking for one that he could pick up in person. Not sure if that's really an issue or if he just had bad luck...
Click to expand...
Luck has nothing to do with it! It's attributable to bad packing practices. I've shipped multisyncs and other monitors from here to the west coast, Florida, Georgia and even Eastern Europe and all have arrived in excellent working condition.
 
What are your recommendations for packing for shipment? Best recommendation I've seen is packing peanuts in plastic shopping bags packed around the object in question...if I end up shipping one, I definitely want to make sure it arrives safely...

Thanks,

Wesley
 
vwestlife said:
Any CGA monitor will work fine, so it might be easier or cheaper to find something like an IBM 5153 or Commodore 1084, both of which are very good quality monitors... but there is definitely a visual appeal to have a matching Tandy monitor to go with it.

You can also try looking for a Tandy CM-2 or CM-10. They were predecessors to the CM-11, and also have the fine-pitch, anti-glare display. But avoid the CM-4, because it has the same large-pitch, non-anti-glare display as the CM-5.
Click to expand...

This is very helpful, thanks. I didn't know Commodore monitors were compatible (the Tandy model I have has a 9 pin connector). That actually may be the best way to go, since those monitors are often sold as part of complete systems (where I could get some resale value out of the rest of the system), like this one I found recently: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-A...tage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item4d127354e7

The IBM 5153's seem pretty sought after, and expensive. But I'll definitely keep my eye open for Tandy CM-2 and CM-10's as well, I agree about the visual appeal of a matching system. Thanks for your help.
 
Yup, most late '80s/early '90s Commodore monitors will work, because the C128 uses the same pinout and video signal specs for its digital RGBI output as IBM's CGA. So that makes it easy to find a cable -- just look for a C128 cable for whatever model and version of Commodore monitor you have. Some used round DIN connectors for RGB video while others used a 9-pin D-Sub connector, so make sure to get the corresponding type of cable for it.

And the most popular version of the Commodore 1084 monitor was just a rebranded Philips monitor, which was sold here as the Magnavox RGB80, so sometimes you can find those as well.
 
vwestlife said:
And the most popular version of the Commodore 1084 monitor was just a rebranded Philips monitor, which was sold here as the Magnavox RGB80, so sometimes you can find those as well.
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I've got the mono version of that, the Magnavox Computer Monitor 80 (BM7652) which is the green version. It has two RCA jacks, one for the video and one for audio. It's available if anybody wants it. I also have the manual.
 
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