-------Commodore Trivia Edition #31 Questions and Answers Preface-------- Not to leave you in the dark for too long, here are the trivia answers to the previous edition of Commodore Trivia. I am posting the answers at this time, and will post the scores and winners in a few days. This time frame is set up to allow time for any discussions on the correctness of these answers. By this time, the newest edition of trivia has been posted. I encourage you to enter it. This edition of trivia answers has been posted to the USENET newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm, alt.folklore.computers, and comp.sys.amiga.advocacy. It has also been posted to the FidoNET CBM Echo. Feel free to use these trivia answers in newsletters, magazines, and other publications (please see disclaimer). If you use the trivia, I would appreciate knowing where it has ended up. If you intend to use this information, please wait a few days after the posting date to allow for major errors to be corrected. Please mail any new questions for upcoming trivia (with answers) to my address. This edition and previous editions the trivia can be obtained from my mailserver. To: br...@mail.msen.com Subject: MAILSERV Body: send trivia1 quit This will retrieve the first edition of the trivia. Replace the number with the edition you want. **NEW** Interested persons can now subscribe to the Trivia Mailing List. To add your name to the list, please mail a message: To: br...@mail.msen.com Subject: MAILSERV Body: subscribe trivia Firstname Lastname help quit Each new edition of the trivia will be automatically mailed to you when it is made available on the Internet. I try to post the answers for the questions shortly after the monthly contest has ended. However, I usually wait a few days for any errors I may have made to be worked out before scoring the contest. -------Commodore Trivia Edition #31 Questions and Answers (BEGIN)-------- The "VIC Chip" Trivia Set Q $1E0) We all know that VIC stands for Video Interface Chip. However, in what computer was a VIC chip first used? A $1E0) The VIC-I was used in the VIC-20. Q $1E1) What is the difference between the 6566 and 6567 VIC chips? A $1E1) The 6566 has fully decoded address lines. The '67 has multiplexed address lines for connection to DRAM. Q $1E2) On what computer would one find a VIC-II chip? A $1E2) C64, C64C, 64SX. Q $1E3) On what computer would one find a VIC-IIe chip? A $1E3) C128, C128D Q $1E4) On what computer would one find a VIC-III chip? A $1E4) C65 (64DX) Q $1E5) Versions of each VIC chip exist for each computer model/video standard combinations suppoerted by Commodore. What model/video standard would the 6569 work with? A $1E5) C64 type machine using the PAL-B standard. Note that there are also PAL-N and PAL-M standards, which required different VIC-II models. Q $1E6) How much memory could be directly addressed by a VIC-II chip? A $1E6) 16 kilobytes. Q $1E7) How many control registers does the VIC-I contain? A $1E7) 16 control registers. Q $1E8) How many control registers does the VIC-II contain? A $1E8) 47 control registers. Q $1E9) The VIC-II series introduced Movable Object Blocks to the Commodore programmer. By what common name are MOBs known? A $1E9) "sprites" Q $1EA) What are the dimensions of a MOB? A $1EA) 24 dots wide by 21 tall. Q $1EB) What difference between the VIC-I and VIC-II causes VIC-II equipped systems to potentially operate slightly slower than VIC-I equipped systems, all other items held constant? A $1EB) The dot clock on the VIC-I is only 4 times the processor clock. That is, the VIC-I can fetch 2 bytes for each 1 byte data (8 pixels) it displays, without stopping the processor. But the VIC-II has narrower pixels, because the dot clock is 8 times processor clock, and as a result, it only can read 1 byte for each byte (8 pixels) it displays. This is sufficient for fetching the character images, but the processor must be stopped to fetch the character codes (and colours). (Thanks to Marko Makela for this explanation) Q $1EC) In addition to supporting graphical output to an external display, what other vitally important function do the VIC chips (starting with the VIC-II) perform? A $1EC) They refresh the Dynamic RAM of the computer periodically. If the DRAM is not refreshed, it would lose its contents. Q $1ED) Many people know that the VIC-II can deliver up to 320x200 resolution without much trouble. What is the maximum resolution of the VIC-III chip? A $1ED) According to the specifications, it is supposed to handle 1280H by 400V interlaced and non-interlaced. Q $1EE) Between the development of the VIC-II and the VIC-IIe, there was a related, though not very similar video IC developed for CBM machines. Name its TLA (three letter acronym). A $1EE) TED (Text Editting Device). It was developed for the 264 series (Plus/4, C16). Q $1EF) How many pins does a VIC-II chip contain? A $1EF) Every VIC-II has 40 pins. The information in this between the lines marked by (BEGIN) and (END) is copyright 1996 by Jim Brain. Provided that the information between the (BEGIN) and (END) lines is not changed except to correct typographical errors, the so marked copyrighted information may be reproduced in its entirety on other networks or in other mediums. For more information about using this file, please contact the address shown below. Jim Brain j.br...@ieee.org 10710 Bruhn Avenue Bennington, NE 68007 (402) 431-7754 --------Commodore Trivia Edition #31 Questions and Answers (END)---------