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Koala MacVision- noise captured

opualuan

Active member
I have two Koala MacVision serial capture boards, hooked to quadra 605 running 7.5.5. Both capture a single frame of wavy noise, regardless of the video input I try. Recapped one, same result. These are different internally, with one comprised of discrete logic/opamps. I’m trying to determine if this is a circuit fault or SW/compatibility issue- these were released originally for 68000 macs, but I’m using updated SW.

Anyone used this capture board successfully?
 

opualuan

Active member
Successfully tested with Mac SE with 7.5.5. Does not work at all under macos9 with a serial card. It was suggested clock speed may be an issue, any ideas welcome!
 

beachycove

Well-known member
Interesting device, especially given the direction that computing has taken in streaming, etc.

A quick search tells me that Bill Atkinson wrote the software: https://32by32.com/macvision/ . If you can find an address, why not write him a letter and ask about it? If he answers, you can then frame the letter!

In answer to your request for ideas, my uninformed guess would be that the device maybe only works with a Compact’s video specifications, since it is designed for the Compact-era screen display. It is sending data through the serial port, in other words, which the software expects can be read as Compact video signals rather than those of the Quadra 605. I would seriously doubt that a Q605 can display any video signals native to a Plus or SE in unmodified form.
 

opualuan

Active member
Thanks for the ideas! It is passing in serial data, and I used it long ago with a Mac LC, so I know it can be used with a slightly newer gen equipment, but a quadra may be too much.
 

opualuan

Active member
Resolved- It’s got to be a problem with the newer serial port on the quadras. I got an original LC running recently and the capture system came up working right away, no issues.
 
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