1084S Vertical Height Modification by Brian Lloyd Disclaimer: This document is just a simple hardware hack that can, but not guarantee, improve the quality of your monitor. I am not responsible if you nuke your machine or yourself while making modifications to your monitor. This modification is not supported by Commodore in any way shape or form to the best of my knowledge. I have included some safety tips and guidelines to help you along the way. By taking on this project puts all responsibilities on you, not me! This modification will not work on all monitors. Some 1084S's had it built in while others don't have it at all! Also, just in case anyone else has sent out instructions on a project to do the same thing, sorry if it is a repeat! The only thing it does is to instruct you in how to make your V-Height knob external. This project is CardWare!!! If you like it then send me a postcard! Note: You do not have to limit yourself with a postcard. I also will accept a shareware fee of US $5 or DM 8.50- in which you will recieve an AmigaGuide'd version with a bit more detail. In Europe: US Postal: In America: ----------------- ------------- ----------------- Brian Lloyd Brian Lloyd Brian Lloyd 9-11 Hauptstrasse or Box 1208 or c/o Kenneth Lloyd 67688 Rodenbach APO AE 09180 Route 8, Box 8 GERMANY USA USA NOTE: After 31 January 1995 I will no longer be able to be reached at the first two addresses. You will have to use the third. Sorry! If you have successfully modified your monitor then please contact me, or if you would like to contact me then please contact me. I would like to keep track of how many users out there actually have benefited from this project. About the Author: I am in the American Army (until April 1995) and the proud owner of an Amiga 1200 (3 1/2" internal 170 MB Hard Drive, 8 MB Fast Ram, 50 MHz 68882). I am also the current librarian of the Kaiserslautern Amiga Users' Group. I did this modification on my 1084S over a year ago and the monitor has worked like a charm ever since. I run my Amiga 1200 in PAL screen mode to take maximum advantage of the extra vertical height. Materials Required: Phillips Screwdriver Soldering Iron Silver Solder Solder Removing Braid 100K Ohm Variable Potentiometer Small Wire Wire Cutters -These may be purchased at any specialty electronic store like Radio Shack for just a meager few dollars. Do not start on this project until you have all the parts. It is not specific which Potentiometer style that you must use-that is up to you. Background: I got my first A500 and 1084S back in 1990 when I joined the American Army. I was the envy of everyone with their Tandy 1000's and IBM 8088 PC's. After a year or so I started buying software that was created in Europe. Some of the game screens were so large that it went beyond the normal overscan of my monitor, namely, Alien Breed. It got to be aggravating that I could not see my score or how many lives I had remaining. I looked on the back of my trusty 1084S and saw the V-Height knob. What luck! The problem was that I had to use a small flathead screwdriver in order to make adjustments. This 'worked' but I had to take my monitor out of my computer desk hutch to make changes. My NTSC machine needed to be PAL some days, NTSC on others. After a while my knob gave out and I was stuck with a screen that was about 50" tall on my 13" screen. This was the end so I opened up my monitor, found the problem and went shopping! Here is what to do: -Find some decent work space. You will also be taking several screws off your monitor so it would be a good idea to get a couple of small cups to keep track of them with. -Unplug your monitor. There is a wire in your monitor that can discharge 20,000+ volts if the monitor is in use. No joke! You want to live through this project. -(optional) Do not use your monitor for at least 24 hours. Some monitors can keep a charge within themselves and a shock is not what you are trying to achieve. For the record, I let mine sit overnight. -Remove the outer shell of your 1084S. There are two screws on the top and two on the bottom. A phillips screwdriver will do nicely. -Gently pull the monitor's front and back halves apart very slowly. Where the headphone jack is located on the side you will have to use a phillips to remove it. Note: The 1084S has several plastic knobs on the front and they may fall off. Just keep track of them as you will be putting them back on later. -On the back of the 1084S there are connectors for L-AUDIO IN, R-AUDIO IN, VIDEO IN, 9-PIN IN, etc... You must locate the screws that hold these mounts in place and remove them also. -By this point you should have the back half of the monitor shell completely removed. If not, then finish removing anything else that I may have missed. Put the shell beside the rest of the mess you just made. -At the bottom rear of the monitor you will notice a circuit board loaded with all sorts of components. The only one we are interested in is located at the very rear. It is a potentiometer (or variable resistor). It looks like a white plastic button that could be off of one of your shirts. Make sure you are looking at the right one. I should be labelled V_Height or something similar. -Take your soldering iron and the copper solder removing braid into your hands. Use about 1" of the braid and place it on the metal leads that are currently fastening the white knob onto the circuit board. Note: The leads may be either on top or on the bottom of the board depending on the version of the board. -Apply the soldering iron on top of the braid (gently) and it will start absorbing the solder off of the connectors. Note: Some more advanced users may have solder suckers, this works too. Don't apply the iron for more than TWO OR THREE SECONDS at a time. The excess heat may cause damage. If you need to repeat then do so until the knob is off. If you wish you may use the braid and clean up any mess. -Use the wire cutters and cut off the used soldering braid. Discard the used part. -You may either re-use (recycle) the small part or you can do what I was forced to do and replace it. -Figure out where you want your new knob to be located at. I wanted my knob to be external so I routed wire through the hole for the V-Knob and velcro-mounted the knob on the side of my 1084S. For the purpose of this project we will mount it somewhere on the rear-left of the 1084S so it will be accessible but out of sight. -Strip about 1/4" or less of plastic from your wire. You need three pieces that are about 8-12" each, both ends stripped. -The potentiometer was mounted by three leads on to the circuit board. I only used two leads but you may have to use three. Follow on... -Solder one wire to the middle lead on the circuit board. Solder one wire to the left one and one to the right one. -Now is the test phase. Do the same to the potentiometer but be sure to keep it oriented so the correct leads are connected to the right wire. -You can now CAREFULLY re-connect your monitor to your computer. Do not rebuild your monitor completely now. -If it worked for you then you should be able to modify the height of the screen to your liking by turning gently on the knob. If not you may try removing one of the outer leads (Don't forget to shut everything off!). This worked for me. -I then noted which one was not needed and cut it short, isolating it with some black electrical tape. -Remove the potentiometer by using the soldering braid. Run the two wires out of the V-Height hole on the monitor shell and proceed to re-solder it. -Test it again just to be sure. It it works then proceed. -Rebuild your monitor using the same process listed above but in reverse. (Don't forget to shut the 1084S off and unplug it first!) -Mount the potentiometer onto the outside of your 1084S somehow. -Finished! This project is CardWare!!! If you like it then send me a postcard! Note: You do not have to limit yourself with a postcard. I also will accept a shareware fee of US $5 or DM 8.50- in which you will recieve an AmigaGuide'd version with a bit more detail. In Europe: US Postal: In America: ----------------- ------------- ----------------- Brian Lloyd Brian Lloyd Brian Lloyd 9-11 Hauptstrasse or Box 1208 or c/o Kenneth Lloyd 67688 Rodenbach APO AE 09180 Route 8, Box 8 GERMANY USA USA NOTE: After 31 January 1995 I will no longer be able to be reached at the first two addresses. You will have to use the third. Sorry! If you have successfully modified your monitor then please contact me, or if you would like to contact me then please contact me. I would like to keep track of how many users out there actually have benefited from this project. I would like to thank the guys of SASG for their creation of the "Magic" series of software. I urge everyone to upgrade to MagicWB 2.