Hi all!

I'm pretty excited at the moment because I've managed to get an old Macintosh Portrait Display (of the early 90s) to work with my iBook G4 as a 2nd display. I had to do a few hacks to do so which I'll briefly outline below:

* Installed ScreenSpanningDoctor to allow the iBook to treat another monitor as a 2nd display - rather than simply mirror as is it's default setting.

* Attached the display to the iBook's video port using the iBook's VGA adapter, then a VGA to DB-15 adapter.

* After doing the above things, the screen was showing life but displayed diagonal flickering lines. You couldn't make anything out. It was apparent that OS X doesn't support the low resolution / refresh rate that the Macintosh Portrait Display uses. I was about to give up when someone directed me to a utility called DisplayConfigX. I fired this up and I tell you, it's not an easy program to use.
I got the specs of the display from the net (things like resolution, refresh rate, horizontal refresh, pixel frequency etc). However it it not obvious where to put these in DisplayConfigX and after entering numbers, the program changes them! It was trial and error but I eventual worked out the settings I needed. It took forever because you need a restart between each try.
If anyone wants to know the settings just message me.

Now I have a wonderful A4 sized portrait display - all in glorious grey scale!

http://homepage.mac.com/joel_cooper/.Pictu...rtrait_disp.JPG

DUDE!

That is so cool!

Coolest thing ever! I've only recently been using mine here too - although on a IIci, a machine more traditionally used with the portrait displays .

http://www.danamania.com/temp/anticinema.jpg

dana

If memory serves me correctly, that is the machine that was originally launched with the portrait display. And you've got it on the Internet etc. That's pretty unreal.

In the corner of an unused part of my office, I've set up a little Apple museum with a small collection of legacy Apple hardware and software (E.g. Visicalc) including a Quadra 605 with a portrait display. Unfortunately it doesn't work - but I've stuck an A4 piece of paper on there with a System 6 screen shot just for effect. I'll try and get a photo of the "museum" soon.

Edit: Danamania - I've just seen your Quadra 605 page. What a coincidence. Oh and I'm aware that the Quadra would have shipped with System 7 not 6 - but hey, not many people in my office would know that

Oooh. Quadra 605. Best looking mac ever, too!.

By any chance would it be turning on, chiming, ticking the HD a bit but showing a blank display and not booting? If it is, and if it has a missing/flat PRAM battery, turning it on, then off, then on again within about a second may help bring it up. (assuming that's the problem ).

dana

Nice...

I also note you have your ibook power cord wound around the supply while its in use... *ouch*

To be honest I haven't even tried turning it on. I found it in our storeroom and someone has gutted the HD from it. I've got an internal SCSI drive here somewhere so I might give it a try when I'm feeling adventurous.

Ok, I admit I'm lazy I've unraveled it now.

hey - in tiger, you can rotate displays via the display preferences....

Wouldn't that make your portrait display into a widescreen?