*BSD News Article 6530


Return to BSD News archive

Xref: sserve comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:33488 comp.unix.bsd:6578
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.unix.bsd
Path: sserve!manuel.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!sgiblab!darwin.sura.net!spool.mu.edu!think.com!paperboy.osf.org!kenny
From: kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup)
Subject: Re: Question on Diamond Clock Synthesizer
Message-ID: <1992Oct14.144110.8875@osf.org>
Sender: news@osf.org (USENET News System)
Organization: Open Software Foundation
References: <1992Oct13.175214.19534@fcom.cc.utah.edu> <1bfp2oINNn4a@maverick.ksu.ksu.edu> <1992Oct14.033731.28397@fcom.cc.utah.edu>
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 14:41:10 GMT
Lines: 41

In article <1992Oct14.033731.28397@fcom.cc.utah.edu>
terry@icarus.weber.edu writes:
>All this is now totally beside the point:  I now have it on good authority
>that the original code posting was either accidently or maliciously "doctored"
>to set the clock at the highest possible value -- 

>..."If someone compiles that code thinking that it will set up the clocks
>for him, his monitor will likely go 'pop'".

Yeah. Right. Who is your "good authority"? Someone from Diamond Legal?

The old IBM monochrome monitors had a non-recurring-sweep horizontal (==
high voltage) output section. You could feed that monitor any H and if it
was outside a certain range, the HV output transistor would draw too much
current through the flyback transformer, and the only damage was a 10-
cent fuse, (which IBM in its infinite wisdom (NOT!!) decided to solder in
so that the non-wireheads had to take it in for service).

Any VGA monitor (== any monitor you're going to plug into that SS24X) has
a real, live horizontal output section with lockable free-running oscillator.
If you feed that monitor a signal out of range, the PLL (or whatever is
applicable) will say "screw you", do the best it can, but not fall outside
of its designed range. No "pop".

Please don't spread propaganda. 

I for one, bought the SS24X for two reasons- it was the cheapest HiColor 
card I saw ($150 at a computer show), and despite all the bad press it's
dickheaded tech/legal department(s) were getting, since "Batman" generously
provided routines (which I still don't consider suspect- anyone technically
inclined enough to use it will be able to realize what's going on and fixup
the appropriate constants) I figure if I can't find what I want, I can
write it.

	-Kenny

-- 
Kenneth R. Crudup, Contractor, OSF DCE QA
OSF, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142	+1 617 621 7306
kenny@osf.osf.org			OSF has nothing to do with this post.
	  Religion: The longest-running gag ever played on Mankind.