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| Can an Apple IIc Flat Panel Display be used on any other computer? |
Posted by: snuci on 2015-02-19 15:36:19
Like the title, can the LCD panel be used on a different computer for testing? i don't have a IIc yet.
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Posted by: Gorgonops on 2015-02-19 15:57:01
No. The IIc's video port is unique to it and you'll very likely murder your panel if you try to connect it to something else.
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Posted by: unity on 2015-02-19 16:04:15
I always wondered if it would work on the Macintosh Portable.
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Posted by: Gorgonops on 2015-02-19 16:18:12
Again, no. The IIc's display port is *seriously* not-kidding unique to it. It taps directly into pre-output-stage portions of the Apple II's video generation system at TTL signal levels and is completely 100% incompatible with the DB-15 plug on any other Apple machine including the Macintosh and IIgs.
(Okay, in principle you can tap composite video on the same pins in the IIc and the IIgs, so *if* the LCD panel was composite you could use it on both machines. But the Apple knowledge base article specifically says the FPD is *not* compatible with the IIgs, which at least implies it uses the TTL-level signals to work.)
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Posted by: unity on 2015-02-19 16:31:44
Geez, okay. Just asking since the portable port is also very unique as I am sure you know.
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Posted by: snuci on 2015-02-19 16:32:56
Great. Thanks for the info. I gotta stop buying stuff. Now I need an Apple IIc.
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Posted by: Gorgonops on 2015-02-19 16:46:21
Geez, okay. Just asking since the portable port is also very unique as I am sure you know. It wasn't actually on my radar, but what do you know it's certainly unique and completely different from all of the above.
Anyway, didn't mean to sound like I was "snapping", just reiterating the FPD is "special". Of course, electrical incompatibility aside I'm not sure what use it would be attached to a Portable; it has less than half the vertical resolution. (560x192 vs. 640x400.)
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Posted by: mbaran on 2015-02-23 16:33:37
How much did you snag that LCD for? I know they're somewhat rare...
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Posted by: snuci on 2015-02-23 17:22:47
How much did you snag that LCD for? I know they're somewhat rare... I managed to pick it up for $200 shipped but it has some yellowing and no box or manuals. I'm glad to even have found it. It's funny that the previous owner tried to warn me that it's not a very good display because of the contrast. I replied that I knew about that being an issue and it was okay 🙂 He sent me a picture of the display in direct sunlight so that I would not be surprised at the quality. I thought it was pretty good for the technology of that time.
Here's the pic:
View attachment 5529
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Posted by: TheWhiteFalcon on 2015-02-23 17:42:19
Best LCD's for their time, IMO, are the Newtons. Sharp as heck, and part of why they cost so much.
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Posted by: olePigeon on 2015-02-25 10:49:42
$200 isn't bad for the //c LCD. They're really expensive.
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Posted by: Bunsen on 2015-02-26 11:49:27
I'm wondering why you would want to use it on any other machine, considering how terrible they are.
Conversely, the pinout for the IIc video port somewhat suggests it might be possible to roll a new display with a better panel.
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Posted by: snuci on 2015-02-26 12:41:23
I'm wondering why you would want to use it on any other machine, considering how terrible they are. I don't have an Apple IIc but I have lots of other stuff. I just wanted to see the output.
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Posted by: Gorgonops on 2015-02-26 15:51:22
Of course, if you did have an Apple IIc and wanted a portable monitor for it a small LCD TV with composite input would probably do the job just fine. Adapting the signals from the IIc's output port to directly drive an arbitrary panel would probably be... non-trivial. How non-trivial would probably depend on exactly how forgiving your targeted panel is when it comes to clock speed/etc. (The resolution of the Apple panel is nonstandard by any measure and may well have been made specifically for the application.) If you wanted to *improve* on it it's probably worth noting that the port doesn't really support color; to drive a color display with that port you need to drive an "encoder" that turn the Apple II graphic dot-patterns into a color... like a DAC, but more complicated because it has to emulate the Apple II's weird NTSC color generation system. They did make RGB adapters that plugged into it but they were rare.
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Posted by: uniserver on 2015-02-26 15:57:24
i wonder if the screen needs to be re-capped. that might help the contrast issues.
looks like a cool screen... makes the IIc, a little more cool. 🙂
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Posted by: snuci on 2015-02-26 16:36:09
I think it's always been sub-par because of the early technology.
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Posted by: olePigeon on 2015-02-27 08:50:35
Yeah, it's always been hard to read. Probably part of the reason not very many of them sold.
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Posted by: theslownorris on 2016-11-10 09:58:09
BUT... will it work with a IIc Plus? ????
Be as snappy as you like. ????
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Posted by: snuci on 2016-12-30 20:27:32
BUT... will it work with a IIc Plus? Apparently, it will judging by the pics in this auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/201767373902 Now that I have a IIc and IIC Plus, I'll have to finally try the screen.
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