Re: Re (2): OT: SPARC 13W3 video (cable) adapters

[Andrew Smallshaw <andrews%sdf.lonestar.org@localhost>]

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 03:57:29PM -0700, Scrap Happy wrote:
> Hi Peter,
>
> On 6/3/2012 1:25 PM, peter%easthope.ca@localhost wrote:
>
> >This cable works just as you describe on my Sparcstation 2 with
> >an old moitor.  I can report the monitor spec. if you need it.
> >I have no complaint with the price or function of the cable.
>
> Thanks!  I will make a note of it (busy chasing some other issues
> at the present time).
 
I'm a week late responding to this but be careful: they may well
not work on any given monitor.  The older Suns present a composite
sync-on-green signal as opposed to separate H/V sync on dedicated
pins as expected by PC monitors: this difference isn't something
that can be bridged by a passive cable but needs active electronics.
 
Some PC monitors can accept the signal as-is but it tends to be
higher-end, professionally orientated models: commodity budget
monitors generally don't.
 
You may need to build a sync separator to get the signals into the
correct format.  I do recall that there are at least a couple of
designs based on the LM1881 you could build yourself published
online.  A quick Google should find them easily enough - I'm not
doing so myself since I'm working on a text console at the minute.
 
--
Andrew Smallshaw
andrews%sdf.lonestar.org@localhost