The Green Screen Monitor - AMSTRAD CPC464 User Manual

Type in:
1 0 M O D E 2
2 0 I N K 1 , 0
3 0 I N K 0 , 1 3
4 0 B O R D E R 1 3
. ..or you could enter the above lines as single statements in the ' direct mode' .
If the above program means nothing to you, or you cannot seem to type it correctly, you will need to
go back to the BEGINNERS FOUNDATION COURSE which you will find at the start of this
guide.You' ll find that the 80 column text display is easily the most useful display mode for
developing programs - you might like to save the above short program (when you' ve read through
chapter 2) on the start of a blank cassette, to save typing it in every time you switch on.
BEWARE! The high brightness of the colour monitor means that you must be careful to avoid
eyestrain through sitting nearby, or using brightness levels that are greater than required by
ambient lighting conditions. The moment you feel the onset of eyestrain, switch off and do something
else, but to avoid it in the first place:
1. Always work with enough other light to enable you to read the print of this manual with ease. If
you are reading this manual by the glare from the screen; this is definitely not to be
recommended!
2. Use the minimum brightness required to see what you are doing with ease.
3. Sit as far away from the screen as you can.
A desk lamp positioned alongside the monitor will help to reduce eyestrain - as long as it is
positioned behind the front of the screen to avoid reflections.

1.1.2 The Green Screen Monitor

The GT64 monitor has three controls beneath the display front. These are to provide the user with
adjustment of the BRIGHTNESS, the CONTRAST (the difference between the brightest and dullest
parts of the display), and the Vertical HOLD adjustment, that enables the user the lock the display,
and prevent unwanted vertical ' rolling' of the display.
The Vertical HOLD will not require frequent adjustment - and once initially set, may be forgotton. The
BRIGHTNESS and CONTRAST may be adjusted from time to time to suit the lighting conditions in the
room where the CPC464 is in use. Using a monochrome monitor (a single colour display that varies
the intensity of the characters to provide contrast between the different elements of the display), the
switch on message will be the same as with the colour monitor (see the previous page) - except that
the text will be displayed in bright green on a duller green background.
Although too much use of your computer and GT64 monitor can lead to eyestrain, the generally
' softer' display from the mono monitor will be much easier to work with over an extended period. In
particular, you will be able to make the most of the full width ' 80 column' text display mode (80
letters or numbers on a single line across the screen) since the resolution definition (the ability to
display a number of small elements of the screen display close by one another without ' blurring' ) of a
monochrome screen is inherently superior to any but the most expensive colour displays.
Adjust the BRIGHTNESS control to provide an adequately lit display without the ' dots' that make up
the lines in the characters of the display becoming excessively blurred.
To setup in the 80 column mode, type the following brief program listing into the CPC464. You get a
choice of display:
1 0 R E M s e t d i s p l a y f o r m a t
2 0 F O R n = 0 T O 2 6
3 0 M O D E 2
4 0 I N K 1 , n
5 0 I N K 0 , ( 2 6-n)
5 5 B O R D E R n
6 0 L O C A T E 1 5 , 1 2 : P R I N T " H i t a n y p r i n t i n g k e y
t o c h a n g e t h e d i s p l a y f o r m a t "