Every since seeing SymbOS at Fujiama running on Prodatron’s CPC I have been intrigued by this 8 bit computer which I have never known.
The Amstrad CPC.
It was my best friends first computer although he had the Schneider version of the Amstrad CPC 464.
Recently discovering that it shares almost the same sound chip as the Atari ST , ST having the YM2149 and CPC having the AY-3-8910 , it started to peek my interest.
Then at GEMTOS beginning of May this year I got to see one IRL and it was running Contra (or Gryzor) looking very similar to the Arcade version.
Ah , Contra, I used to go to a local chip shop 2 streets
from my home, order a sausage (frikandel) just to play the Arcade version of Contra.
The chip shop was very small , it had a table with 4 chairs and the Contra Arcade , I guess the owner wanted
to draw in the youngsters.
Off course I also played it in the bigger local Arcade halls here in Antwerp amongst so many classics.
Anyhow I digress, being a sucker for 8-bits with tapedrives I started looking around on eBay France and found a decent priced Amstrad CPC 464 with no power supply or monitor.
Luckily it can run of a DC jack to USB as long when it has enough Amps so having no powersupply wasn’t an issue.
But video ?
The Amstrad CPC has a connector specifically for its monitor , no composite out, no TV out.
And then I found this article about the RGB4ALL project by Drygol/Lamers.
RETROHAX
Looking at the article, it clearly described where to find all signals and it looked very easy then to get
a composite and/or s-video signal out of the CPC.
Since I have bought and mailed with Drygol (Lamers) of RetroHax in the past , I mailed him and asked if he still sold these universal RGB4ALL boards.
But unfortunately he closed his webshop so he didn’t have any to sell anymore.
Then on the web I did find an UK seller who still had it in stock but importing something from the UK to Belgium is sadly too expensive nowadays with the customs fees and import duties.
So I stumbled upon this Amiga webshop in Finland who sold the external version catered to the Amiga.
AMIGARAGE
Tapio, the owner was very fast and friendly in responding to my emails and he send me the external version which has an Amiga DB25 connector.
As I wanted to be sure that my eBAY Amstrad CPC worked, I quickly soldered the wires, had the ribbon cable exit through a vent in the case and connected the RGB4ALL directly to it.
This worked perfectly but one caveat, everytime I want to do something to the CPC, the short ribbon cable
would keep me from removing the motherboard.
A plan was devised on to find a good spot where I could place the external version without modifying the RGB4ALL and destroying the CPC case too much.
And I found a spot which would work, the RGB4ALL would sit angled, not touching the motherboard and stay sandwiched into position due to the holes in the bottom CPC case.
After a bit of filling, I started to install the wires again, added a plastic sheet to be sure that no shorts
could happen and re-assembled the CPC.
I am pretty happy with the end result, only thing is to add something to the metal that is now visible on the bottom of the case.
If I ever have to part from this CPC, I can easily remove the RGB4ALL board again.