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Want to get: Mono video on Color VGA Adapter/Color VGA monitor

lucasdaytona

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Joined
Jul 23, 2011
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560
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Brasil
Hello, as the title says, is it possible? I've searched like a madman, but no lucky.

Here we don't have older hardware (much) avaiable, VGA ISA is ok to find, but anything beyond that is insanely expensive, and the cool look for a mono display keeps (only) in my memory. There's a way to do this trick?

Thanks!
 
What video card are you using? Paradise models are listed with a function (Int 10/AX=007Fh/BH=06h) that is supposed to force the card into monochrome VGA mode. In theory, you could write a wrapper around that function and get into the mode you are seeking. (If the function works the way I expect; I have not tried.)

I do know that Windows 3.x can be forced into monochrome VGA with either winsetup /b or picking monochrome VGA monitor from the selection list.

Stopping every other program from detecting that the monitor is actually capable of color and resetting the mode accordingly is impossible but at least some other programs did have monochrome option switches. Check manuals.
 
The problems is some thousand miles apart us... Even with safe shipping it could break on it's long way.
Nah, I use Fedex and they're really good. But I just checked with them and they want over $600.00. :smile: :smile:

A Trident TVGA-8900C can possibly be jumpered to do this. I have one but it doesn't work so I can't test it to be certain.
 
Unless I'm misunderstanding, why not simply lift two of the VGA color lines? If you want a period-appropriate green display, simply disconnect the red and the blue lines?

Or am I missing something here?
 
Nah, I use Fedex and they're really good. But I just checked with them and they want over $600.00. :smile: :smile:

A Trident TVGA-8900C can possibly be jumpered to do this. I have one but it doesn't work so I can't test it to be certain.


I looked carefully the TVGA-8900D manual, and no option like this has been found. I have a WD90 ISA VGA card here, never tested, it looks like this, maybe this will work. $ 600.00? It's the same problem of the Tandy 1000 that Chromedome45 was selling, the shipping to here is simple crazy :crazy:
 
Unless I'm misunderstanding, why not simply lift two of the VGA color lines? If you want a period-appropriate green display, simply disconnect the red and the blue lines?

Or am I missing something here?

Maybe.
I have a beautiful Compaq P110 Monitor here, and it can use the 5 BNC to VGA cable, when I disconnect the Blue and Red lines, I don't get only Green, but a strange and wrong black and white (this test was done few weeks in past, I will try this again today.)
 
That's odd--I just tried this on the monitor that I'm sitting in front of--a NEC Multisync LCD with the 5 BNC connectors. If I disconnect the red and blue, I get a green image. I wonder if your monitor or VGA card tries to sense the presence of a cable connection. Doesn't seem likely.

I assume that you still have a bunch of BNC network stuff kicking around for 10Base2, so maybe some experimenting with 50 ohm terminators and the like might change the outcome.
 
I'm feeling stupid right now... Just tried removing again the blue and red lines, and now everything is green, insanely good looking green! But now I'm using a PCI-Express Video Card, later I will try on the TVGA-8900C again, but probably I've done something pretty stupid in past. As you, I don't believe in a card that searches for all the connections. BNC network stuff? Man, I'm just a kid, my first networking was done on RJ45 stuff :cool: ... I only have BNC network cards, but nothing else. well, your assumption was correct, Now I've got a green monitor. My original question wasn't that, but I'm real happy (and going play some DOS right now!), thanks!

I still want the B/W only display hack (if possible).

Thanks to everyone, and please keep thinking.
 
To get a B&W display, pick a color signal and drive all three (RGB) inputs to your VGA display with it. That's one of the reasons that I suggested the BNC stuff--you could easily assemble something from some T-connectors and a few bits of cable.

You can easily pick other colors by driving any 2 of the three inputs (R+G = yellow, etc.)

At least one of the old multipurpose displays (Amdek?) allowed you to select the color for monochrome mode.
 
Thanks for the advice. I will buy some BNC stuff, and do the tests. I was reading some pinouts, and decided to make some adapters, for regular monitors (that doesn't have BNC), I know a lot of people here who will be very happy to have a mono monitor again, and even a hacked monitor to display only green.
 
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