Vic-20 TV/Monitor Connection Questions

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xanfan
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Vic-20 TV/Monitor Connection Questions

Post by xanfan »

Hello everyone, very new not only here, but to the Vic-20 all around! Just received my very first Vic-20 from a friend who found one in his friends attic.

I have a question about connecting the system to a display. The cable that I have to connect it to a TV/monitor is the cable that bypasses a modulator. (5 pin on one side, dual RCA style on the other end.) When I plug the cable into my modern HDTV with the composite cable, I have no problem getting a display. However when I went to plug it into a CRT television (from 1987 no less), I was unable to get a display to show. The CRT television requires an RF modulator to use coaxial, and when I turn the Vic on, the modulator detects the signal, but does not display the system. I tried hooking up other devices to the CRT TV that way, and it was working fine. Is there something I am doing wrong? I would have thought it would have been harder to get it to work on an HDTV but it ended up being the other way around, and I am unable to get it to work on a TV that was made in the same era!

Also, I have a Commodore Amiga 1080 monitor that I use for my Amiga 1000. I was wondering if that monitor was compatible with the Vic-20 since it has similar RCA style connection inputs as an option on the rear aside from the RGB video port. When I tried to use the monitor, with every connection and switch set to every position (both the front and rear selection switches), I still could not get a signal.

Does anyone have any suggestions to get me started? I didn't want to hook it up to the 50" HDTV, I'd rather use a smaller CRT so that it can be a part of my other retro computers on my desk... But for some reason I'm stumped and I wanted to know if I was doing something wrong, since I've never owned a Vic-20 before.

Thanks in advance,
-Kris
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Mike
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Re: Vic-20 TV/Monitor Connection Questions

Post by Mike »

Hi, Kris.
xanfan wrote:The CRT television requires an RF modulator to use coaxial, and when I turn the Vic on, the modulator detects the signal, but does not display the system.
Since you got your VIC-20 working on your new TV, this is a strong hint, that the RF modulator is defective. Unfortunately, this is something that can't be fixed without the means of an electronic workshop at hand.

The 1080 should work with the VIC-20 if both share the same TV system (NTSC or PAL): white connects to (mono) audio, yellow to video (composite). Red (chroma) isn't used, unless you happen to own a VIC-20 modded for S-Video.
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mrr19121970
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Re: Vic-20 TV/Monitor Connection Questions

Post by mrr19121970 »

According to this:

https://ia801709.us.archive.org/10/item ... ore_US.pdf

The 1080 has only RGB, You need CVBS to use your VIC20
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eslapion
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Re: Vic-20 TV/Monitor Connection Questions

Post by eslapion »

mrr19121970 wrote:According to this:

https://ia801709.us.archive.org/10/item ... ore_US.pdf

The 1080 has only RGB, You need CVBS to use your VIC20
Did you go to page 2 of the PDF to check the inputs ?

It says:
  • NTSC Composite
    NTSC with separate chroma and luminance
Having had a monitor like that from 1989 to 2015, I can tell you it works perfectly well with both the C64 and VIC-20 and it was the only CRT monitor I had which would display PAL (in B/W since colors are encoded at a different frequency).
Be normal.
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eslapion
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Re: Vic-20 TV/Monitor Connection Questions

Post by eslapion »

This is the only image I could find on the web that matches what I remember about the backside of the 1080:
Image
The composite video connector is the center RCA jack.

Then you have to set the switch in the front panel to the correct position - there are 3 possible positions:
  • RGB - a switch in the back selects RGB Analog or digital RGBi
  • Composite
  • Separate
Only one position will give you no image and that's RGB.

If you set it to composite, you'll get the correct image. Set it to separate and you'll get a B/W image but you'll have something.

If you have no display then the problem is either with the VIC-20 or cabling.

You can "test" your monitor with a VCR or DVD with standard "Video Out" to make sure it has no technical issues.
Be normal.
xanfan
Vic 20 Newbie
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Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2017 9:09 pm
Location: NJ

Re: Vic-20 TV/Monitor Connection Questions

Post by xanfan »

First of all, thank you to everyone that has given me some guidance in trying to get my Vic-20 up and running! I tested the Vic-20 on another CRT television that has component jacks, and it worked perfectly. I also tested out a portable DVD player on both the other TV that I had (the one that needed the RF modulator), as well as on the Amiga monitor. Neither worked, so I assume that the RF modulator (which I remembered was giving me issues a long time ago) must not be working right, and that the composite ports in the rear of the Amiga monitor I suppose are defective? (I've never used them before so they were never tested.) I assume there is no easy way to repair those ports that doesn't involve getting invasive...?

At least I know that the computer itself is still working, which is a good sign. I can always get another TV with proper inputs so I can bypass the modulator all together, or I can buy another modulator! (At least I know where I am standing at this point.)

Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions and recommendations! :)
-Kris
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