The Sinclair QL Forum

grafvonb wrote:it's a German one (which is good because they are SO MUCH BETTER than the UK ones where the connectors are concerned, and I believe the microdrive units are more reliable too...)"

NOPE! German QLs are HORRIBLE! First of all other (DIN/SUB-D connectors - you have to wire your cables yourself), AND

YOU CANNOT SEE COLOURS ON A TV WITH A GERMAN QL.

They had to drop this, to get the allowance to sell the QL in Germany (don't know what was wrong with the video hardware).

And I don't believe that the MDVs of German QLs are any better. They work for some time (same with floppies, albeit they last longer), then the cartridges (NOT THE MICRODRIVES, they seem to last longer) are damaged (as floppies) and do not work any more without reformatting.

ql_freak wrote:

grafvonb wrote:it's a German one (which is good because they are SO MUCH BETTER than the UK ones where the connectors are concerned, and I believe the microdrive units are more reliable too...)"

NOPE! German QLs are HORRIBLE! First of all other (DIN/SUB-D connectors - you have to wire your cables yourself), AND

The pinout unfortunately differs from the RS232 standard, but DSUB is much more common standard and much easier to make. Also, joysticks didn't need any adapter.

YOU CANNOT SEE COLOURS ON A TV WITH A GERMAN QL.

Wow, never heard that claim before. I have exclusively owned German QLs up until now and though I didn't use the TV out often colour was never a problem.

Marcel

Try and purchase a new BT connector for UK QLs. Latest then you will start to love DSUB, whatever the pinout might be.

And no, even if I haven't been using it for years, all of my German QLs display colour just fine on old TVs.

ql_freak wrote:...And I don't believe that the MDVs of German QLs are any better. They work for some time (same with floppies, albeit they last longer), then the cartridges (NOT THE MICRODRIVES, they seem to last longer) are damaged (as floppies) and do not work any more without reformatting...

They are better. I own 8 QLs, and the MDVs work properly in my three German QLs only, including multiple format runs of the same microdrive (I bought some "recreated" ones, to be sure the problem is not the microdrive). All other MDVs behave often "unstable" or saying better "non deterministic" .

mk79 wrote:

ql_freak wrote:YOU CANNOT SEE COLOURS ON A TV WITH A GERMAN QL.

Wow, never heard that claim before. I have exclusively owned German QLs up until now and though I didn't use the TV out often colour was never a problem.

tofro wrote:And no, even if I haven't been using it for years, all of my German QLs display colour just fine on old TVs.

Well I only have one German QL, and I tried once to connect it to a TV (not a color monitor) via the TV connector and the output was just B/W. I think I have asked (25 years or so ago) in one of the MausNet groups, and as far as I can remember, someone told me, that German QLs do not support color on TVs. But perhaps my German QL is faulty.

When I get the new keyboard membrane I will test it (I still have an old tube TV).

OK, I was wrong!

Just tested my German QL with my old tube TV with an antenna cable (unfortunately a very long one) and now it shows all 8 colors (but the picture is horrible, maybe because of the long cable).

Is it possible to connect a BBQL (1) with a multi frequency tube monitor and VGA D-SUB connector? I have a cable with an 8 pin male DIN plug and a solder iron :-)

I also have a flat (analogue?) LCD monitor (has just a VGA D-SUB connector), 14", resolution 1280x1024. Can this be used with a BBQL?
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(1) BBQL Black Box QL / Bare Bone QL (i. e. an original QL)

ql_freak wrote:Is it possible to connect a BBQL (1) with a multi frequency tube monitor and VGA D-SUB connector?

Only, if the monitor supports 15 kHz.

This evening I have soldered a connector for a VGA-monitor. I have until now tested just a 14" CRT (tube) VGA-monitor (I think multifrequency). But it does not show anything (black). Sometimes, when I power up the QL, the screen flickers for less than a half second. Is this normal (I thought there should at least be some "glibber" on the screen), or is my "wiring" of the adaptor wrong?. Tomorrow I will test other monitors.

Some VGA monitors won't display anything if the signal is 'out of spec', this is a safety function. So no display may be a good indication that the monitor can't handle the QL signal.

Hi,

The QL outputs digital RGB and VGA is analogue, you need a RGB-VGA converter like a Jamma GBS 8200/8220.

I suppose a circuit to convert the QL RGB signals to VGA could be used, but the GBS 8200/8220 is a better option, there is a discussion thread in the Hardware section.