[Coco] Re: Roy's SVGA Converter for the Color Computer 3

[Ken Carlin]

I just wanted to add my comments too.  Roy has worked with me extensively
to fix some issues I was having with the converter.  He has been a very
nice and professional person to work with, and I've really appreciated all
the help he's given me.  His converter is an excellent piece of work.

By the way, the "unknown" jack on the back of the converter is an 1/8"
jack to plug in external speakers.

--Ken

On Thu, 8 Jun 2006, Andrew wrote:

> All,
>
> I ordered and received (tonight) Roy's SVGA converter, and I thought I
> would give a small review here. I played around with it briefly, and
> other than one minor issue (something I can forgive in a "homebrew"
> project of this nature), I have to say I like the device. Very simple to
> set up, just plug in and go.
>
> Basically, it is a small gray-beige box that goes well with other Color
> Computer hardware. It has black front and back panels. The front panel
> features a red power LED, a power switch, and a reset button. The back
> panel features a female SVGA connector for the monitor, and a couple of
>   connectors. One is for power, the other is currently "unknown" (at
> least to me, I have the question in to Roy, maybe he can enlighten us here).
> The top of the case has 16 holes drilled in a squarish pattern over some
> components that look like a part of the power supply system. The power
> supply itself is a small 6VDC wall wart. A 10 pin IDC connector on a
> flat 10 lead cable leads into the box. This connector plugs into video
> port on the bottom of the Color Computer 3. A sheet of printed
> documentation is provided.
>
> Basically, you plug cable into the CoCo, then plug the power supply into
> the converter, then hook up your monitor to the SVGA port on the back.
> Plug in the power supply, turn on the converter, then turn on your CoCo
> system as normal. You may need to press the reset button to get the
> screen to come up.
>
> My screen had great color and crisp letters in all text resolutions, as
> good as the CM-8 monitor I normally have my CoCo 3 hooked up to. The
> only issue I experienced with the converter was a "noise" issue - I had
> some horizontal bands of noise which scrolled up the screen appear.
> Repositioning the converter, the cable, and plugging in the power supply
> wall wart into different outlets helped, but did not completely
> alleviate the issue. Roy notes in the documentation that some noise may
> be present on the output, but my noise issue didn't quite match the
> examples he gave. Your results may vary.
>
> Other than that, the converter works great. Roy notes in the
> documentation that custom startup config software will be available in
> the future, in both RSDOS and OS-9 versions, and will be made available
> to buyers at no additional cost when they are ready.
>
> Personally, I think Roy has done a wonderful job on this device. The
> price is great for such a hand-built (?) device, and it shipped and
> arrived very quickly. Let's all give Roy a hand for helping to continue
> the legacy of our beloved machines.
>
> Thank you, Roy.
>
> -- Andrew L. Ayers - Glendale (Phoenix), Arizona
>
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