what does this do?

[dcdrac]

I have asked before but what does this do?

replace Amstrad CPC 464 664 6128 old Monitor to LCD video converter , in UK. |

[Bryce]

It converts the 15Khz RGB signal of the CPC into a 31Khz VGA compatible signal, so you can connect your CPC (or many other old computers) to an LCD monitor.

Bryce.

[dcdrac]

Thank you so it plugs into the video out put of the CPC ? would it come with the cable to connect it or is that generally bought seperatly?

[Joss]

I was getting the same one from german ebay. I think it's the same (really little indeed) but not tested at the moment.  It comes only with the cable you see in the picture. You will need to make yourself an adapter for the Amstrad and get a power supply for the Amstrad and for the board.

[Bryce]

It's not specifically made for the CPC, it works on so many different devices, so there's no CPC connection with it, but they are easy to make. It also needs its own 5V power supply.

Bryce.

[dcdrac]

the power supply I already have so to get this to work needs a cable with a CPC video output one end and VGA the other?

[ralferoo]

Essentially, it'll convert CGA or EGA to VGA by sampling the image and playing it back. In theory, it should be fine with the Amstrad, but quite a few people report speckles when using it with PAL signals as it always outputs 60Hz and sometimes displays speckled pixels when it's writing to RAM at the same time as it's reading it.

I've bought one of these to use with my FPGA board and not yet managed to get a stable signal from it yet (though I've not tried it with the CPC which might work better). Apparently these things are really sensitive to very clean 5V sync pulses, so much so that a lot of people use sync cleaners as an input stage. I think it's because my sync pulses are 3.3V which are technically in spec with VGA, but not good enough for this board.

You might also like the 8220 which is a couple of quid more but has 2 mirrored VGA outputs instead of 1.

[ralferoo]

the power supply I already have so to get this to work needs a cable with a CPC video output one end and VGA the other?

Be warned. You need a 2 (TWO) amp power supply to run this. Any less and you'll definitely get an unstable signal. That's the other cause other than a slightly less than perfect sync signal.

[ralferoo]

Thank you so it plugs into the video out put of the CPC ? would it come with the cable to connect it or is that generally bought seperatly?

Sorry, I've replied fairly piecemeal...

You typically get a 6-wire cable (R,G,B,GND,HS,VS) which you only need to connect HS to SYNC or a cable that plugs into the bigger socket but essentially has the same connections. You can use either (or the CGA input).

[00WReX]

I have been using one of these adapters for a while now and they work fairly well. Not 100% though.
Everything ralferoo posted is correct.
I managed to the pretty much clean up the "speckles" with some trial and error on the "clamp" setting options on the board.

The link is to some previous discussion on the VGA adapter board...

Amstrad CPC 464 to VGA


Cheers,
Shane

[dcdrac]

Got an adapter got the card and everything looks so much better on a dedicated flat panel monitor than the tv.
HXc and this video adapter perfect for using with the 6128 Plus, can keep the original Monitor and floppy drive safe and unused.