•
Technical
Information
•
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Introduction
The TV
DAZZLER®
color graphics module
provides ageneral purpose interface between
your
computer
and
your
color TV,
The
DAZZLER®
can
be
used
to
generate games, animated displays, educa-
tional learning drills
or
even light shows,
all
in full
color. The DAZZLER@)
is
manufactured
by
era-
memco Inc.,
280
Bernardo Ave., Mountain
View,
CA
94040.
The
DAZZLER@
is
built
on
two
boards
design-
ed
to
plug directly into any
computer
using
the
5-100
microcomputer
bus. The video output
of
the
DAZZLER@
can
be
connected
directly
to
the
video
input
of
acolor
TV
set.
By
using
an
optional RF
modulator,
the
DAZZLER@ can
be
conveniently
connected
to
the
antenna terminals
of
the TV set,
rather
than
the
input
of
the
video amplifier.
With the DAZZLER® interface,
TV
games
that
are
either
unavailable,
or
available
only
in black
and
white, can now be programmed
in
full calor. A
foot-
ball
can
now sail over abright green playing field
under
the software
control
of
your
computer.
Rocket
ships
can
spew red-yellow flames against a
brilliantly blue sky. Or
perhaps
you
wish
to
chal-
lenge
your
computer
to
agame
of
checkers
or
chess
on ared and
black
playing
board-again
generated
on
your
TV
screen by
the
TV DAZZLER® inter-
face.
If you use
your
computer
for business
or
ac-
counting
purposes,
the
DAZZLER® interface can be
used
to
display multi-colored graphs
of
the
data
stored in
your
computer.
Your
computer
can
be
used
to
process and
format
the
raw
data
while his-
tograms, charts
or
graphs
of
the
data
are displayed
on
you
rcolor TV.
The
DAZZLER® interface can
also
turn
your
color
TV
into a
TV
terminal. Alphanumeric charac-
ters
entered
from
a
teletype
or
ASCII keyboard
can
be displayed
directly
on
the
screen
of
your
TV
using
our
DAZZLEWRITER
software
for
character
gener·
ation.
Messages
can
also
be
generated internally in
your
computer
and
displayed-in
full color. Alpha-
numeric
messages, titles
or
comments
can
similar~
be displayed in
conjunction
with DAZZLER
games
or
DAZZLER® graphic displays.
1
Anew interface board
from
Cromemco,
our
D+7A I/O, is particularly useful
for
inputting analog
signals
for
use
in
conjunction
with
the
DAZZLER®.
Analog signals from joysticks,
for
example, can be
input
to
the
computer
with
the
D+7A
module
for
use
in
controlling aDAZZLER®·generated display.
Another
use
of
the
DAZZLEA® interface
is
in
computerized
instruction
either
at
home
or
in
the
classroom. Word recognition tests, "flash
card"
arithmetic
drills,
and
memory training
can
all be
carried
out
with
the
excitement
of
afull-calor dis-
play. Games can be interspersed with learning exer·
cises
to
maintain
student
interest
and enthusiasm.
(For
more
information on
the
use
of
the
DAZ-
ZLER® see
the
December
1976
issue
of
BYTE mag-
azine,
"The
Cybernetic
Crayon,"
pp.
24-29,
138·
141,
and
the
September
1978 issue
of
PERSONAL
COMPUTING,
"DAZZLER®
Graphics," pp. 58·72.1
Design
The
DAZZLER® interface
is
avery advanced
design using over
70
MOS
and
TTL integrated
circuits
on
two
printed
boards.
Yet
the OAZZLEA@
kit
is
easy
to
build. Aspecial varnish
or
"solder
mask"
is
used
to
guard against shorts
during
board
construction.
And alegend
mask
is
silk-screened
directly
on
the
board
to
show precisely where each
component
is
plated.
Only
the
highest quality
parts
are used
in
the
DAZZLER® interface. The
printed
circuit boards
are
double·sided glass-epoxy
with
plated-through
holes and gold plated edge
contacts.
IC
sockets are
used
for all dual-in·Jine
ICs.
And
carbon film resist-
ors
are
used
for high-speed
operation
and tempera-
ture
stability.
The
mo
DAZZLER®
boards
may
be
plugged
directly
into
two
adjacent
slots in your computer.
A
l6·conductor
ribbon
cable,
with
DIP plugs
on
each
end, is used
to
interconnect
the
two
boards.
Alternatively Board 2
may
be
mounted
"piggyback"
on
Board 1
so
that
only
one
slot
is
required.
In
this
configuration, seven additional
jumper
wires must
be
used
to
interconnect
Board 1
with
Board 2.
