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Could I use this vintage Apple Color RGB as a monitor for an arcade mini project simmilar to Ben's Neo Geo mini arcade?

kennyl

I was looking at different kinds of vintage RGB monitors I could use for a mini arcade project of my own when I came across this vintage Apple Color RGB, model M1297.  Screen size is about right for a mini arcade (roughly 11.5" viewable), and it seems to support RGB.  My question is this:  The JAMMA arcade wants a video connection of 5 things:  R, G, B, Sync and Ground.  The 15 pin connection used on the Apple RGB has R, G, and B grounds as well as R, G and B signals.  There's also a C-Sync (composite H and V sync, which I assume is what we want) and a Sync Ground.  Could this be wired to a vintage arcade board somehow?  I had read elsewhere in my research that just tying the video grounds together is generally not a good idea and might cause noise, and that you might be able to use just the R, G and B signal connection and one of the video grounds.  (note first research link below)

 

Also, if there are any other vintage RGB monitor of similar size that you might recommend searching for, I would appreciate that as well.  I imagine a 13-14" viewable would be a bit better, but 11.5" is probably good for a really mini arcade.  I'd like to avoid the 8" "field monitor" RGB tubes, though.  Talk about an ultra-mini arcade screen. image Thanks.

 

Research:

 

http://compgroups.net/comp.sys.apple2/apple-iigs-monitor-hookup-to-jamma/2088656 Similar question to mine, but no real answer in the thread only speculation.

 

http://www.retrotechnology.com/herbs_stuff/macmons.txt Contains the Apple Color RGB screen's 15 pin connector pin outs as well as information about the way these monitors communicate with vintage apple PCs via 3 "id bit" pins.  These are for telling the PC what kind of monitor is connected, so they make no difference here.

 

http://www.hardmvs.com/manuals/Jamma2NeoGeo4SlotPinout.pdf JAMMA vs. MVS pin out guide in PDF format for handy wiring.

  • 0

    Not sure about that monitor, it looks compatible, but I am not 100% sure. My personal preference would just be to find an old CRT TV with scart and use that to connect it to rgb.

  • 0 in reply to kidiccurus

    Yes, that's always an option, but I would prefer to use an RGB monitor.  I imagine, if this one works, it would look pretty decent for it's size.  I may end up sourcing one and experimenting with it.  Test using combined video grounds and just using a single one.  See how it effects the display.  I have a suitable PC power supply laying around. To bench test I'd just need the arcade board/cart/JAMMA harness/RGB monitor.  As cheap as those RGB/VGA and other adapters are, I might experiment with one but I really would prefer to keep it on native RGB from the board to the display once I build my cabinet.

     

    Thanks for your response!

  • 0 in reply to kennyl

    A scart connector actually supports analogue rgb, as well as composite, making the TV work just like an rgb monitor. In fact, I have seen an broken arcade machine repaired by installing a correctly sized tv with the case removed and wiring directly into the scart connector. A good trinitron would definately be my screen of choice for this project. Scart is a really versatile connectors and it is a shame to see them going extinct.

  • 0 in reply to kidiccurus

    Upon further research, it would appear that we never really got scart in the United States.  Importing a CRT or wiring a scart into a CRT aren't feasible options when other RGB capable monitors can be had here.  I appreciate the input, though.  I honestly had never heard of scart.

     

    Whenever I can source the Neo Geo arcade board and harness, I may use a RGB to VGA/component video to test since that's probably the next best option visually and will be easier to obtain for initial bench testing of the arcade board.  Then, before the cabinet planning and building, I'll have to source an RGB monitor.  The Apple monitor is still possible, but I may try for a tad larger size if I can find one. A 13-14" Trinitron with RGB would be ideal.

  • 0

    Upon even further research, I think my absolute best option is a Trinitron "PVM-14" series 14" Professional Video Monitor.  There are many of these available that support RGB and sync (though not all of them do, so I have to be careful of what model I choose).  14" is a much better size for this use anyways and I'm 99% sure one of these would work just fine for the build.  Even at current US market eBay inflated pricing standards, it appears I could source one for less than $100 USD including shipping.  Sometimes less than $50 if I could luck out and find a cheaply priced one local enough to pick up instead of having it shipped.  Shipping can kill you on something like a tube type video monitor...heh.  Thanks for the input everyone, now to save up some cash and start sourcing some parts.

  • 0 in reply to kennyl

    Bad luck USA, scart is awesome. Sorry for not noticing that before I posted.