When I vary the sig. gen. I used to simulate the crystal in this circuit, the
output video signal doesn't vary at all (sync pulse timing stays the same).
Therefore I presume that video timing is determined by the other crystal (6
MHz) that is running the 8085 uP on this antique board.
So I also presume that this 8.867 MHz crystal drives the dot clock (shifting
bus data into the 8275 CRT controller IC).
Is the 8.867 frequency critical at all? Since it doesn't control the video
sync pulses, etc., what effect will it have on the (ASCII text only) video
display?
It is hard to say just how critical that value is. How did you arrive
at this value anyway? A 1 ppm value would be hard to measure.
Anyway, much of it depends on the device that will be displaying the
data. Is this a TV or a computer monitor? A monitor will likely
tolerate a good range of values relative to the number you have
specified. The electronics in the display generator may or may not be
pushed to its timing limits. It would be hard to imagine that upping
the frequency 1000 ppm would cause a problem, but certainly lowering it
is not likely to disturb a good design. Even a 10,000 ppm deviation
shouldn't cause any real problems.
Here are links for parts available from Mouser and Digikey in stock.
Low cost and you can get them within the week.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/ECS/ECS-85-S-4X/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsBj6bBr9Q9aQVbz5FLOGxjmYeJ9iHcTC8=
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/9C-8.912MBBK-T/887-1830-1-ND/3585929
The Mouser unit is 8.5 MHz and should work unless there is something
"particular" about the monitor. The Digikey device is 8.912, closer to
the requested frequency, but is high, so there is a small chance it will
over clock some part of the design. It is also a surface mount unit
that might be harder to solder in.
No promises, but this is certainly an easy thing to try.
BTW, the one reason to get a part that is within 100 ppm is because in
the "old" days monitors would have some noticeable affects from power
line noise. If the display is closely synchronized to the power line
frequency this is not such a problem. Today's monitors don't have this
problem.