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I have just purchased a ibm 5170

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redhawk579

Experienced Member
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May 9, 2011
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new jersey
hello all,

I have just purchased a IBM 5170 AT computer and would like to know about what i have just gotten myself into.
The AT I have is in good physical condition ,and the only problem I can find with it is the amount of dust in it.:D One technical issue that might be the computer, is the text appearing on the screen is pretty garbled.The monitor is a old brother monochrome monitor for a word processor.
 
Well, you have to match the monitor to the video card.

Just because the plug from the monitor fits into the card connector doesn't mean that it's the right monitor.

Since the monitor plug fits, and it's a monochrome, the card must have a 9 pin D-connector, but, both the CGA card and the EGA cards both had 9 pin connectors as well.

If it is actually a monochome video adapter, the brother monitor may sync at a different horizontal frequency.

Since you have/had the case off, pull the card and give us a picture of it.
 
that might not be the problem though because the monitor was in storage for the 10+ years before i got it

also ill take pictures tomorow
 
The Brother monitors are pretty much IBM compatible mono monitors. Even the intensity line works right. I use one from a 7700 WP all the time and it's compact and works just fine with mono cards.

Let's see those pictures.
 
For yucks, briefly try keeping the monitor and setting the card jumper to CGA. If you don't get a readable display, turn the system off quickly.

Do you have a part number on the Brother monitor? I wonder if some are different...

16.257MHz is definitely the right frequency for MDA. I wonder if it uses the bus clock for CGA.
 
It almost looks like VSYNC is out on the monitor...you could try twiddling the pot for it and see what happens.

On an unrelated note, I've had to fix VSYNC on all three vintage machines I pulled out last week. That seems a little odd to be coincidence!
 
Mine is a CT-1050 and it definitely does work with a monochrome display adapter. From what I can get off the web, the 1450 is the 14" version of the same monitor.

Do you have anything else that you can test the monitor on? I suspect that a simple tweak of a horizontal phase control may be all that's required. Or the monitor cable could be bad (less likely).
 
If you take a look around the web, you'll find that it was part of the Brother WP7000J wapro. After you know that, it's just a matter of following links.

Spechen Sie Google?
 
uh, chuck sorry if I sound like Im rushing you but could you get some pics
, or could you show me where to get the monitors service manual.
 
Well, take a look at your monitor. On the rear, are there two holes, one labeled "V-HOLD" and the other "V-SIZE"? If so, try tweaking the one called "V-HOLD".

If not, you'll have to open the monitor up. Do that and do a visual inspection. Do you see a small trimmer pot labeled "V-HOLD"? If so, that's what you need to tweak to see if it does any good.

Are any of the electrolytic capacitors bulging? If so, they need replacement.

Monochrome monitors are mind-numbingly simplistic. They don't even have a horizontal oscillator, just a flyback circuit that's activated by the horizontal sync pulse.

You can find a service manual for the word processor that came with this monitor; the WP7000J Here it is with a photo of the typewriter it comes with.

You can get a service manual for $5 on the web, but I hesitate to recommend that you spend your money because I don't know the level of detail. The instructions for repairing an electronics problem can be something like "replace circuit board", which doesn't do you a bit of good.
 
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