I was looking for a small portable LCD monitor for my Acorn computers.
On AliExpress, I found this “Podofo” 10.1 inch LCD monitor for under EUR 40. It seems to tick all the boxes:
- A/V, BNC, HDMI and VGA inputs (all cables included!)
- Power Supply: 12V 7W DC (barrel connector)
The BBC power supply should be able to power this monitor using a simple adapter cable.
First impression
The monitor was packaged well. It arrived in a cardboard box that contains all the cables, a power supply brick, a remote control as well as an adjustable monitor stand. The remote control battery (CR2025 button cell) is not included due to shipping constraints.
The monitor stand is attached to the display using a bolt and a square nut. You slide a square nut into the slot on the back of the monitor, and attach the stand to that nut. It worked, but I felt I had to over-tighten the bolt to get the monitor firmly attached.
Connecting to a BBC Micro via BNC
The BBC Micro was configured for B/W output on the BNC socket; the monitor apparently had some issues staying in sync. Every 10 seconds or so, the monitor would briefly re-sync.
I fixed this by installing the S39 jumper in the BBC Micro (between the BNC connector and the RF modulator). This way, the BNC socket provides colour video output.
With colour video, the monitor has no trouble at all staying in sync. Image quality is more than sufficient; I can use RGB (with RGBtoHDMI in case I need the absolute best output quality.
