[Coco] CoCo 2

[Robert Emery]

I am pretty much in the same boat, having been away from the CoCo scene for
a couple decades. Here's what I've found...
 CoCo DV is pretty much the only _currently_ available product that will
give you artifact colors via HDMI. The main drawbacks are that it doesn't
include audio and it doesn't work on a CoCo 3.
 I installed one in a CoCo 2 that had no working video output (early model
converted to composite-only by Tandy) and it works great! My biggest
complaint was that I kept mindlessly hitting reset because I forgot I now
have a button to control artifact colors!
 For the CoCo 3, I went to AliExpress and got a GBS-8200 for $15. Turns out
it works great for the CoCo 3 without modification... I just had to combine
the sync signals and viola!
 I even made a straight Coco 3->VGA cable, with integrated audio and
combined sync (to H-sync)
 Along with the 8200, get a VGA to HDMI adapter with audio input...  Grand
total ~$25-35 off AliExpress, probably three times that with local sources.
 HTH,
Bob (LaCoCoStrangiato on YT)

On Fri, Jan 13, 2023, 3:51 PM Rob Rosenbrock via Coco <coco at maltedmedia.com>
wrote:

> Not too keen on what I’m seeing with AC. The CoCoDV looks interesting, and
> he seems very knowledgeable, but I hear alarm bells ringing.
>
> He has posted many videos on youtube and Facebook telling people to email
> him for details rather than creating a quick and simple webpage with
> answers to common questions. In a post where someone criticized the many
> options (?!) available, someone said that the $100 for CoCoVGA was too
> expensive while the CoCoDV was more affordable. Yet I have been told that
> the price of the CoCoDV was $120 + shipping! This just isn’t adding up
> right.
>
> In another video, (that runs 1:16:01,) he talks about building S-Video and
> Composite video mods for the CoCo. After a lengthy discussion about the RF
> modulator, he then discusses an S-Video to Composite converter that you can
> buy at Amazon and then shows his final results. One is left no wiser about
> actually building an interface.
>
> Thanks, but I think I’ll hold off on this idea. I don’t feel right sending
> him money.
>
> > On Jan 13, 2023, at 11:06 AM, Clifford Flath via Coco <
> coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote:
> >
> > I recently installed  ACs 8-bit Zone CocoDV on a on my Coco1 F board,
> and I am very pleased with it.
> > It arrived about a week after I ordered it.
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZztOCo-0GKI
> >    On Friday, January 13, 2023 at 02:23:54 AM CST, Rob Rosenbrock via
> Coco <coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote:
> >
> > Brief: I’m looking for what options exist currently for connecting the
> CoCo to a VGA/HDMI monitor. I’ve gone through the archives somewhat, but
> everything I’ve seen seems to be out of stock. I want to know what I will
> need now, or in the future, to get my CoCo’s usable.
> >
> > Background:
> >
> > The 26-3136A I bought through eBay looks nice and seems to be working
> just fine. On this model, the RF converter lies parallel to the board
> rather than standing up. It has a 6847 VDG rather than the 6847T1. I
> haven’t broken the warranty seal yet, but I can see that the memory on this
> model is on a daughter card rather than being populated on the system
> board, and all chips appear to be soldered in place.
> >
> > I have connected both it and the CoCo 3 to a Dynex 19” HDTV through the
> cable input and they both presented a rather poor image. Same thing if I
> connect the composite signal on the CoCo 3. I was able to get a half-way
> decent image (readable) by bringing the color down to 0.
> >
> > I then tried my old Sakata composite SC-100 monitor with the CoCo 3.
> It’s not crystal clear, but the picture is much better and I can even read
> WIDTH 40. If I turn the color all the way down I see what looks like a
> white band on the left edge of the screen and a white border on the right
> side of each character - like ghosting.
> >
> > That sounds familiar. On the CoCo 3, the composite output is merely a
> transistor buffer for the same signal that is going into the RF modulator.
> I’m suspecting that an aged capacitor in that circuit is screwing up
> alignment with the color signal. I have a recap kit on the way, so I might
> just replace them after all.
> >
> > Either way, that CoCo 2 is not going to connect to the composite monitor
> without a mod. I like the idea behind the CoCoVGA - replacing the RF
> modulator with a composite interface without modding the case. I am
> interested in one if they are available somewhere. My other option is to
> build my own.
> >
> > I’m open for options on the CoCo 3 as well. I’ve got a (hopefully)
> perfectly good CM-8, but it won’t last forever. All of the options I’ve
> seen to convert the RGB to VGA look rather convoluted involving multiple
> adapters to convert from one connection to another.
> >
> > Sorry. I know this has been discussed before, but there’s a lot of
> messages to look through - and much of it seems obsolete.
> >
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> >
> >
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