Commodore 1080 monitor

Got a free, 100% perfect Amiga 1080 monitor. I'm aware these are different than the 1084s units the Amiga 2000 expects, however I do plan on adding a 1000 to the collection eventually anyway and like I said, it was free.

However, IS there a way to make this monitor work with the A2000 short term? Or are they just too different? I note in pictures the back of the 1084S appears to have round jacks similar to the serial jacks Commodore used on its disk drives... not the DB9M connector on the back of the 1080... which has a switch too from Digital to Analog?

I have a 1080 (its labeled Amiga on the front) connected to my A2000, you just need the correct Amiga cable.

It sounds like your 1080 has the same inputs as later 1084S monitors, i.e. the DB9M and a switch. I believe the RGB cable for 1084S is more common than cables for the DIN-style 1084, so in that case you probably are lucky and could use the same cable. Try to look up some pinouts, but I can't see why it would differ.

Yes... did some more reading this morning and finally found a site where someone else also apparently was running a 500 on an 1080. There was a debate about the superiority of the 1084 vs. 1080 and apparently a lot of long time users preferred the 1080 due to its alleged resilience (claims of never seeing one in a repair shop vs. lots of 1084s). Also better black?

Well... can't beat free. Now I just need a cable and a keyboard for the 2000 and it's good to go. Unfortunately when I was testing last night the 2000's sound is sounding scratchy compared to the 500... hope that battery leak didn't eat through traces involving the sound system.

falter said:

Yes... did some more reading this morning and finally found a site where someone else also apparently was running a 500 on an 1080.

Click to expand...

Maybe that was me. I'm still using a 1080 with my A500. It was manufactured in November 1985. I've had two 1084s fail, but that 1080 is still working fine.

The main thing I like about the 1080 - aside from that nice Amiga logo - is the anti-glare coating. The 1084 doesn't have this.

(hmm...seems Apple later copied Commodore in the stupid move from matte to glossy screens...)

The 1080 is a much better monitor. 1080s were prone to arcing on a heatsink, but that was the biggest problem they tended to have and it's a simple repair. 1084s had a lot of other problems. 1080s work fine with later Amigas; a lot of people used them.

Ditto the 1080. It is one of my workhorses. I've been using one on a IIgs, Amiga (all varieties), Tandy 1000HX (CGA mode of course), and I've even used it as a TV as well. I prefer it greatly over the 1084S. As mentioned it has anti glare coating on the tube, but beyond that it also has a much better dot pitch than the 1084 (it looks like it's about a .28DP vs the 1084's .42DP), and generally better build quality IMO.

I have repaired it once when I zapped the input ages ago when I made a boneheaded mistake. Had to replace a small DIP that's used to switch inputs.

Oh yeah... another thing I like about the 1080 vs 1084. Have you ever seen a 1080 with a broken controls door?

About the only complaint I have about it is that the v-size control is in the back of the monitor... otherwise it's easy to switch back and forth between 50/60Hz scan rates. I hesitate to call it "PAL/NTSC modes" as that is a misnomer... every single North American Commodore branded monitor is NTSC only, even the 1084.

Great! Glad to hear I got a good one. You're always hesitant about jumping on 'free' things, especially when the model # is older than what you were originally looking for. It'll be good to get a cable finally and be able to test this thing. He demonstrated it in composite mode and the picture looked nice and sharp.

So are we saying the 1084/S is a piece of junk basically?

Looks like I'm getting a 1084S anyway on another deal.. $75 for an Amiga 500, working 1084s, some software and extras. I'm thinking about selling the 500 (which would be my second) -- couple went for $80+ on ebay by themselves. Not sure if I should keep for parts though? Also found an A600HD for $25. Thought that was reasonable.

Overall I'm not a fan of the 1084s. When they work they have a great picture. I've personally had a couple (Philips model) and both ended up with bad flybacks. When they were working they would occasionally "pop" at or near some of the connections to the flyback (arcing) which probably explains why the flybacks would go (that is a common complaint). I don't have a lot of experience with the later 1084D model which I assume was made by Daewoo, other than to say that Daewoo made some pretty sub-par TVs when I worked at a consumer electronics store back in the day. They also stupidly put the power switch on the very back of the monitor.