> >CBM PETs??? I remember the name, but not the computer itself, is it
> >from the VIC20 and C64 era?
> >
>
> PETs - 1977 to 198mumble.
<boring_mode=on>I believe the PET was designed by Chuck Peddle around the 6502
processor he designed based on a PDP processor of some sort (though I may be
wrong). The VIC-20 was CBM's "home-computer" that the PET begat; it used the
same basic + video character set, but added colour and high res graphics, and
removed ~27K of RAM - it came with ~5K as opposed to the 32K of the 3032 that
I used at school. The c64 was then begat by the VIC-20, having an enormous
64K of RAM!<boring_mode=off>
> >Now all I need is a monitor, to save me from having to use the TV (which,
> >for some reason, has a lousy picture - maybe the UHF modulator is on the
> >way out).
Vaguely following instructions in PCW magazine, I added a composite input to
my Phillips TX range TV that I originally brought for my ZX81(s) - this
improved picture quality dramatically (bypasses modulation and demodulation).
> Contact Bill Richardson - he has a few. The TV picture may well be
> influenced by Channel 5 which, I believe, is on the same frequency. I am
> not sure if I recall this correctly.
Channel 5 is on channel 37 (in the London area at least...the channel list I
have is from 90/91 prior to it - on all the transmitters listed there is
generally at least a 3 channel difference between the stations [eg Crystal
Palace: 23/26/30/33 for ITV/BBC1/CH4/BBC2] which I presume is to prevent
interference).
Thus I suspect that CH5 interferance could well be the problem; as I have with
one of my video players. I also believe the modulator has a tendency to
wander frequency (or was that the ZX81/2). Tho' I did have a washy-like
output that improved after I had re-seated (pushed back in) the chips on the
QL (de-static-adize yourself first! - by touching something earthed).
