Looking for: Commodore 128 Sub 9 to DIN 8 pin CGA cable

[level42]

Yes you read that correctly.....I am looking for something "Commodore".....and since there are some people who seem to be Commodore fans here......

If anyone totally by accident still has a (unused) Commodore 128 Sub 9 connector to a round DIN 8 pin connector video cable, I am looking for one.

I was working on making a cable for my Fluke 9100A to hook up a monitor, and was walking the "SCART path" until via-via I realised I had a Philips CM8824 monitor still around....I hoped it would have also a sub 9 connector but it didn't, but it DOES have the 8 pin round DIN TTL RGB input which is just fine

[Belike]

Do you have a pic from your wanted cable?

[Etienne MacGyver]

commodore used the din plug in both sides IIRC.

at least the C64 did, so i guess the 128 did the same..



why not create a adapter plug ?

[level42]

Never guess when it comes to electronics

No, the C128 was this totally weird machine, in which Commodore pathetically tried to relive the success of the C64 after the insane Plus/4 and C16 follow ups which totally flopped.

The C128 was indeed a bit more successful but that was only because it was 99,8% C64 compatible. Nobody used the CP/M mode (for which they included a too slow Z80 processor for it's time) and the C128 mode......were there actually any programs made for it ?

Yes I have actually used the machine, my uncle bought it as his follow up for his C64. The only big improvement I saw was the matching floppy disk drive, which finally could reach about the speed of the Atari 1050. (OK it was double sided too, but that too was hardly ever used since everbody made their floppies "flippers" by punching an extra hole...

Apart from that , the C128 kinda reached the market when the Atari ST entered (I remember having a PCM magazine which showed both machines on the cover) so it was already obsolete when it was new....especially considering the price.

OK...enough Commodore bashing

On the side, if you read this you do get a lot of respect for the designers of the machine, and it's also a funny story to read, incl. some nice Commodore vs. Atari warfare: http://www.commodore.ca/products/128/Commodore_128.htm


To get to the point: the C128 had a "80 column" mode that was probably mainly meant for the CP/M mode I guess. For this an extra sub D 9 video connector was built on the C128 that was (almost fully) compatible with the IBM CGA standard. You can see it here:



For some weird reason (probably saving some money on production costs), the Commodore 1084s monitor (which is actually a rebadged Philips CM8524 like I have) used a round 8 pin DIN plug for the TTL RGB input:


Actually this is the US version (I believe) of this monitor, or maybe this was standard for the 1084, but my Philips has a SCART port and is lacking the analogue RGB din connector. (I could solder one in right away though).

Anyway, yeah I can make my own cable but I prefer ready made stuff _IF_ it's available (and I'll have to order the DIN connector if I make my own)

[Belike]

Checked my box with stuff for various commodore machines, unfortunately nothing like this.

[level42]

Thanks for checking Béla ! (Esp. after my C bashing

I found one online for a price that is not much more than ordering the connectors and cable separately.....I'll get that

[Etienne MacGyver]

funny to see that the C128 has both connectors, one round din and a sub d connector

I do remember something about that 80 column thing you are talking about, a friend back in the day gave me an extension board that you could plug into the C64 that was called a "tachtig teken kaart" in dutch and that means 80 columns ..

i never actually knew what to do with that card so i never used it 

[Belike]

Thanks for checking Béla ! (Esp. after my C bashing

Hehehe, I like that, Atrai vs. Commodore and Galaga vs. Galaxian warfare is fun.

[level42]

Yeah there was one for the Atari 8 bit line too.



Since these things were very expensive and mostly targeted on word processing etc. I never got one...and so didn't anyone else judging the very few programs making use of it...

AFAIK the DIN monitor output on the C128 is compatible with the C64 one and thus carries only the standard "40 column" C64 resolution with composite video out. In fact, there are special cables that make it possible to hook up both outputs to a monitor like the 1084/CM85xx so you can switch between the two modes.

[Etienne MacGyver]

Since these things were very expensive and mostly targeted on word processing etc. I never got one...and so didn't anyone else judging the very few programs making use of it...

That explanes it, i mean, who wants to do word processing when you can play so many games on it and youre young 

[level42]

O but I definitely did do Word processing with Atari's excellent Atariwriter Plus, which had a spellchecker and a preview screen to see how the document would look when printed on a 80 column printer. For me, and I guess most people, that was good enough at the time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AtariWriter

[level42]

Forgot to mention but I found the correct cable and it works like a charm !

Big thanks to Luigi for helping me get it