Acorn Archimedes User Manual

VIDC Enhancer board and Sync on Green fix for Acorn Archimedes A300, A400, A400/1 and A3000

10 Fitting the Retro-Kit VIDC Enhancer board The riser board configuration has a more involved installation process requiring some solder work to b

11 Orientation of the Archimedes motherboards All the references to the orientation of the Archimedes motherboards are based on the compass points

12 Fitting the VIDC Enhancer board to an Acorn BBC A3000 Parts list Please check the supplied kit to ensure that you have the following parts for f

13 8. Locate a suitable space to place the VIDC Enhancer board close to LK 28. 9. Remove the jumper from LK28 and connect the supplied VIDC cloc

14 10. Remove the black and red power cables from the motherboard that connect to the PSU.

15 11. Connect the supplied power cables to the motherboard and then the PSU power cables to the piggy back connectors. 12. Connect the supplied

16 To configure the A3000 with VIDC Enhancer for a VGA monitor 1. Locate the links LK24, LK25, LK26 and LK27 2. LK 24 should be set to the NORTH

17 Fitting the VIDC Enhancer board to an Acorn Archimedes A300 or A400 Fitting the VIDC Enhancer to the A300 and A400 series Archimedes requires th

18 To fit the additional parts to the A300 and A400 motherboards 1. Locate the Aux I/O header location on the motherboard marked as PL10. 2. If

19 3. Solder in the supplied 5-way header. 4. Locate the jumper location LK10. Cut the track connecting the inner pin to the outer pin on the un

2 Contents About the Retro-Kit VIDC Enhancer board ... 4 H

20 6. Locate the chip in position IC4 and remove it. TIP: The easiest way to remove a chip like this is to cut each leg to remove the body of the

21 This completes the fitting of the additional parts to the A300 and A400 motherboard and it can be re-fitted to the Archimedes case. Follow the s

22 3. Locate the Aux I/O header marked as PL10 and connect the Aux I/O connecting cable to pin 3 (the middle pin). 4. Connect the Aux I/O signal

23 2. Set the position of LK10 to the WEST position. 3. Set the position of LK11 to the WEST position. 4. Remove the jumper marked 3/400 on JP1

24 Fitting the VIDC Enhancer board to an Acorn Archimedes A400/1 Fitting the VIDC Enhancer to the A400/1 series Archimedes requires the addition of

25 To fit the additional parts to the A400/1 motherboard 1. Locate the Aux I/O header location on the motherboard marked as PL9. 2. If no heade

26 4. Locate the chip in position IC9 and remove it. TIP: The easiest way to remove a chip like this is to cut each leg to remove the body of the

27 To fit the Retro-Kit VIDC Enhancer Once the Archimedes is ready to accept the VIDC Enhancer, the following steps should be carried out to comple

28 3. Locate the Aux I/O header marked as PL9 and connect the Aux I/O connecting cable to pin 3 (the middle pin). 4. Connect the Aux I/O signal

29 To configure the A400/1 with VIDC Enhancer for a VGA monitor 1. Locate the jumpers marked LK1 and LK2 on the motherboard. 2. Set the position

3 Powering on your Archimedes after fitting the VIDC Enhancer ... 30 To set your Archimedes’

30 Powering on your Archimedes after fitting the VIDC Enhancer NOTE: Before you power on your Archimedes, please double check your work to ensure t

31 Installing the software for your VIDC Enhancer The Retro-Kit VIDC Enhancer is compatible with several pieces of software that can control VIDC E

32 Using your VIDC Enhancer with optional manual override The VIDC Enhancer board once fitted and with suitable software installed should be transp

33 Resetting the Archimedes for a Composite Sync monitor If you wish to return to a traditional 15kHz monitor like the AKF11 or AKF12 or an old mul

34 Troubleshooting Archimedes fails its POST If the VIDC Enhancer is left in the permanent ON state, it can cause the RISC OS 3 POST sequence to fa

35 Appendices Appendix A – RISC OS monitor type definitions The Archimedes range of computers can support several different types of monitor as sta

36 Appendix B – Screen modes and refresh rates Below is a reproduction of the mode definition table that is on page 575 in volume 1 of the RISC OS

37 Notes on display modes 1. These modes are not available in RISC OS 2.00, nor (except for mode 31) are they available in RISC OS 2.01 2. These

38 In 256 colour modes, there are some restrictions on the control of colours. Only 64 base colours may be selected; 4 levels of tinting turn the b

39 Appendix C – Dual VIDC Enhancer A dual VIDC Enhancer configuration provides the ability to deliver an extra two VIDC clock frequencies in additi

4 About the Retro-Kit VIDC Enhancer board The Retro-Kit VIDC Enhancer board is a hardware upgrade that allows early Acorn Archimedes computers to a

40 Appendix D – Overclocking the VIDC chip NOTE: Any over clocking of the VIDC chip is done at your own risk and Retro-Kit does not advise that it

41 Appendix E – Tested monitors The following monitors/VGA capable flat screen televisions have been tested as follows: IIyama ProLite E430S Displ

5 A note about monitors In order to support as many Archimedes screen modes as possible, ideally a Multisync monitor capable of horizontal Sync fre

6 Archimedes, the refresh rates are 4.7% slower than the equivalent modes on the later Acorn computers such as the A5000 due to the lack of a 25.17

7 VIDC Enhancer board differences for each model of Archimedes Riser board configuration When the VIDC Enhancer board is supplied in its riser boa

8 The bank of jumpers JP1 on the VIDC Enhancer board will also have different settings depending on which series of machine the VIDC Enhancer is fi

9 Preparing your Archimedes for the VIDC Enhancer board If you intend to change your monitor immediately after fitting your new VIDC Enhancer then