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A few questions about IBM PCs, I'm new at this...

Tr3vor said:
... I remember spending lots of recesses in the classroom playing some of those weird old games.
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Weird old games? Hey, to us weird old guys they were the height of gaming sophistication :)

Good luck with you search. For nostalgia purposes, there is nothing like the genuine article!

Tez
 
I was just messing around with the emulator pce, and I just learned that the basic programs can be saved to floppy disk, so I guess that the cassette port isn't that important to me now anyway. I think I'm gonna go with an XT probably.
 
Hmm... Terry, you're not talking about a simple 9->15pin VGA adapter, are you? Unless there's a nice CGA->VGA adapter that's cheap enough so as to be given away :) (so far as I know, there's only a few hack-style adapters, usually with a home-built circuit and a Gonbes-8220 arcade CGA->VGA)
 
Maverick1978 said:
Hmm... Terry, you're not talking about a simple 9->15pin VGA adapter, are you? Unless there's a nice CGA->VGA adapter that's cheap enough so as to be given away :) (so far as I know, there's only a few hack-style adapters, usually with a home-built circuit and a Gonbes-8220 arcade CGA->VGA)
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Yeah, but that's the catch--it only works with certain monitors. Multi-sync for sure, but some later SVGA don't have switches, but still lock in on the right freq on their own. It's more art than science.

--T
 
Terry Yager said:
Yeah, but that's the catch--it only works with certain monitors. Multi-sync for sure, but some later SVGA don't have switches, but still lock in on the right freq on their own. It's more art than science.

--T
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Here's the pinouts for that adapter:

MultiSync ........................ VGA Video Card
9 Pin D-sub .................... 15 Pin Mini D-sub
Female ................................ Male
----------- .................... -----------------

1 <-------------------------> 1
2 <-------------------------> 2
3 <-------------------------> 3
4 <-------------------------> 13
5 <-------------------------> 14
6 <-------------------------> 6
7 <-------------------------> 7
8 <-------------------------> 8
9 <-------------------------> 10,11


This is from a file here, on this site, called, nec1401.zip. But this will only work with a multisync monitor.
 
I've got several multisyncs -- the original NEC and its Forefront clone. They not only have 9 pin inputs but they also have an Analog/TTL toggle switch. So, you need to understand that there's more to the CGA to VGA conversion than just the cabling.

Without getting into detail:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/vidconv.htm#nvcvgtl


If you decide to get a good multisync I've still got one available for $100 plus shipping.​
 
I just recently jumped into vintage computers myself, and in the last couple of months have picked up a few IBM PCs. You've already received lots of great advice, but since I just did this, maybe I can help as well.

I bought my first PC 5150 on eBay for about $140 (closer to $200 with shipping). It was an early 16KB-64KB unit, and it came with a CGA card, an all in one card with serial and parallel ports, a 5153 CGA monitor (unfortunately DOA due to shipping damage), and appears to have an issue with one of the memory chips that keeps it from loading some DOS and programs. It's a good-looking machine, but it was filthy inside and the drives took a lot of cleaning before they recognized my floppies.

On the other hand, I was watching Craigslist for PC parts and accessories, and noticed somebody giving away a PC. It turned out to be a fantastic machine and my primary now - 640KB of RAM, spotless inside, CGA card, all-in-one card, works great. The only issue that the b: drive isn't reading anything and isn't responding to cleaning, so I may need to give it some additional attention.

But my point is this - how much you pay is directly related to how patient you are and how much work you want to put into it. It's easy and quick to go onto eBay and buy a system, but you'll pay for it. If you keep your eyes open and are willing to wait, you might be able to get a less-traveled machine for less (or no money).

Parts haven't been too hard to find. I have a computer recycler near me that had a few CGA monitors for sale for about $30, so I picked one up to replace the broken 5153. I also picked up a cheap parallel port Zip drive to serve as an inexpensive hard drive substitute that didn't require me to make the PC itself non-original. The trickiest part is bootstrapping the machine if software doesn't come with it - most ways to get software onto your machine require you to boot into some sort of DOS. If you're interested, I'd be happy to send a 5.25" floppy out to you with basic DOS tools on it, along with a trial version of Klaus' Zip drive driver. That way you could pick up a cheap Zip drive and use that to move data back and forth. Or you could install a 5.25" drive on your older machine, as long as you make sure it's 360KB and not 1.2MB - I tried the 1.2MB on my bridge computer and it didn't work, but the 360KB works great.

Hope that helps!
 
Stone said:
I've got several multisyncs -- the original NEC and its Forefront clone. They not only have 9 pin inputs but they also have an Analog/TTL toggle switch. So, you need to understand that there's more to the CGA to VGA conversion than just the cabling.

Without getting into detail:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/vidconv.htm#nvcvgtl


If you decide to get a good multisync I've still got one available for $100 plus shipping.​
Click to expand...

That pretty much says it all. I suggest tr3v read the pertinent parts of the file (don't try to digest it all at once, it can be kinda overwhelming). Also, if ya don't mind an unsolicited plug, a C-note for a good multisync ain't too bad these days, provided it can be shipped in one piece. Still, I suggest trying the monitor he has with just the adapter first, he might just get lucky and find that it does the necessary conversion all on it's oddy-knocky. (Don't forget to wave a dead chicken over the thing, wait for the right planetary alignment, sacrifice a virgin, or call upon any other spiritual assistance you can think of before hitting the big red switch).

-T
 
Terry Yager said:
Also, if ya don't mind an unsolicited plug, a C-note for a good multisync ain't too bad these days, provided it can be shipped in one piece. -T
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Why should I mind? :)

I shipped one to Chromedome last year via FedEx and to be safe, I had them pack it in their facility. Needless to say, they know what they're doing as it arrived in perfect condition.

I use my multisync(s) nearly every day, lately, since I need to test a lot of old stuff I recently dug up outta' storage in my basement. I have a pile of older VGAs that are in excellent condition that I haven't touched in mucho years. I only use the multisyncs for this. One, it's convenient and easy since I don't need to swap monitors when I change video cards to EGA, CGA or MDA. Two, their picture quality is superior. I guess it's partially because they're just made that well and partially they've been sleeping in my basement for 20 years and never saw much use since I originally bought them. So they're nearly new in that respect(useage).
 
Don't know what make/model you use, but I always had a Mitsubishi DiamondScan on my bench, simply because it has all the jacks for everything I ever needed if for (even *choke* Macs). Didn't even have to swap out cables or anything on the back of it, just left 'em all jacked in and reached around to hit a switch occasionally.
 
FWIW, I can verify that the Multisync shipped to Chromedome works fantastically... and it was cleaner than the one that I picked up off of ebay for $75 shipped (for some reason, no one was jumping on it - and the guy had 2 Multisyncs listed!)

also, the 9->15pin VGA convertor is all over pinouts.ru. It will only work on a CGA/EGA style monitor IF yours will do he correct frequency and type (TTL)

I tried this trick YEARS ago with several VGA/SVGA monitors that I had with no luck. The only one that would work as a CGA was a 9-pin HP VGA that had a bad picture (which knowing what I know now, could've been fixed... Ah, hindsight)
 
Chromedome and I use the NEC JC-1401P3A. It's the first multisync NEC produced in the mid-late 80s. I also use and have available the Forefront MTS-9600 which is a clone of the NEC JC-1401P3A. It performs at least as good as the NEC or maybe a little bit better, picture wise. In the early 1990s, when the EGA on my Osicom 286 died I got one of these multisyncs to replace it from a dealer I knew. I was so impressed with it that I went back later that week and bought him out! Within a month or so everyone I knew or did work for had one of them.

BTW, I just revived that Osicom 286 last week. It's quite unique in that it was a 1985 or so era 286 with no cards in it. It's got a WD MB in it with all the I/O, Video, FD/HD and everything but a modem on the mainboard.
 
Welcome to the madness, you have no idea of the path you have stepped onto, or into...
You're only 18 and you are already trying to relive memories? The dark side, a powerful temptation, is...
Anywho, like I said welcome to this shared madness, you will need one of everything of course, clear some space!
 
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