Connecting SGI Octane2 to VGA monitor?

[Martin Steen]

Hello,

can I connect a SGI-Octane2 workstation to a normal VGA-monitor
(e.g. Sony 17" monitor, 1024x768 pixels) or do I need a SGI monitor?

Or can I connect it to a TFT-display with DVI?

best regards, Martin

[N8]

Post by Martin Steen
Hello,
can I connect a SGI-Octane2 workstation to a normal VGA-monitor
(e.g. Sony 17" monitor, 1024x768 pixels) or do I need a SGI monitor?
Or can I connect it to a TFT-display with DVI?
best regards, Martin

I Believe you can, as they make adapters to go from that proprietary
connector to VGA its called 13W3 to VGA...you can get them on eBay and
most any used SGI dealer ( $10-$20)...its the same port used on Sun's
as well...I have a sun monitor on my Octane2 and it works great... I
think the minimum requirements for the monitor are that it supports
"Sync On Green", there are sync on green adapters i've heard, but never
seen one myself. Check the specs on the video card to see what
resolutions it supports as well, that will give you an idea what
displays can be used as long as the display can display the resolution
and can sync on green...you should be all set! Im sure someone else
here will give you better specifics :)

-Nate

[Emmanuel Florac]

Post by N8
I Believe you can, as they make adapters to go from that proprietary
connector to VGA its called 13W3 to VGA.

By the way, 13W3 isn't at all proprietary. SGI, Sun, Next, HP, IBM
workstations used it for ages. It's connector for serious stuff, not your
dirty low quality VGA for your toyish PC :)

[Paul]

Have to throw my two cents in. :)

Be sure the adapter you get is for SGI, and you won't even have to worry
about sync on green capability.
!!!--- Sun 13W3 pinout is different than SGI 13W3 pinout ---!!!
Ebay sellers tend to assume it's all the same pinout, it isn't. :)

Below is the pinout from the octane2 manual.

Monitor Port
The following diagram shows the monitor port.





Table B-14 shows the port pinout assignments for the 20-inch monitor.

Table B-14. 20-Inch Monitor Pinout

Pin
Assignment

A1
Red signal, analog

A2
Green signal, analog

A3
Blue signal, analog

1
Monitor ID bit 3, TTL

2
Monitor ID bit 0, TTL

3
Composite sync (active low), TTL

4
Horizontal sync (active high), TTL

5
Vertical sync (active high), TTL

6
Monitor ID bit 1, TTL

7
Monitor ID bit 2, TTL

8
Ground

9
Ground

10
Ground


Table B-15 shows the port pinout assignments for an Octane2 DDC-enabled
monitor.

Table B-15. DDC-Enabled Monitor Pinout

Pin
Assignment

A1
Red

A2
Green

A3
Blue

1
Data clock (SCL)

2
Bi-directional data (SDA)

3
Composite sync

4
Horizontal sync

5
Vertical sync

6
DDC (+5VInput)

7
DDC ground

8
Chassis ground

9
Chassis ground

10
Chassis ground


Table B-16 lists the VPro graphics board supported scan rates.

Table B-16. VPro Graphics Board Scan Rates

Format Name
Vertical Refresh Rate (Hz)

640 x 480_60
59.940

800 x 600_60
60.317

1024 x 768_60
60.004

1024 x 768_75
60.317

1280 x 720_60
60.000

1280 x 720_72
72.002

1280 x 1024_60_safe
60.020

1280 x 1024_96
96.037

1600 x 1024_83
82.982

1600 x 1200_72
72.013

1600 x 1200_75
75.000

1920 x 1080_72
72.005

1920 x 1200_60
60.017

1280 x 1024_100s
50.000 per eye





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: For VPro graphics, a 1280 x 1024 display resolution is only
possible using the Sony G1 21" or 24" monitors at a vertical refresh rate of
96Hz. If you have another monitor, you cannot run 1280 x 1024 resolution at
any vertical refresh rate.

Post by Emmanuel Florac

Post by N8
I Believe you can, as they make adapters to go from that proprietary
connector to VGA its called 13W3 to VGA.

By the way, 13W3 isn't at all proprietary. SGI, Sun, Next, HP, IBM
workstations used it for ages. It's connector for serious stuff, not your
dirty low quality VGA for your toyish PC :)
--
Ne pas savoir de quoi on parle est un avantage dont il ne faut pas
abuser.
R.Debray

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[Ivan Jager]

Post by Paul
Have to throw my two cents in. :)
Be sure the adapter you get is for SGI, and you won't even have to worry
about sync on green capability.
!!!--- Sun 13W3 pinout is different than SGI 13W3 pinout ---!!!
Ebay sellers tend to assume it's all the same pinout, it isn't. :)

If your monitor supports SoG and you don't care about DDC, you can easily
"fix" a SUN or IBM cable with a pair of plyers. Just remove all the little
pins. :)

Post by Paul
Below is the pinout from the octane2 manual.

Hmm, you had the pinout for the monitor. That convinces me that you
could use the monitor with a cheap VGA card. Does an Octane
output SoG as well as composite and separate sync signals? I'm pretty sure
my Indigo2s and Indys don't.

Ivan

[Walther Mathieu]

Just remove all the little pins. :)

You´d better not. This kind of mod only destroys your cable
for further use, e. g. as a base for a custom 13W3-VGA one
(see below).

I'm pretty sure my Indigo2s and Indys don't

[generate Hsync/Vsync].

The Indigo 2 definitely does - RTFM, e. g. SGI Infosearch.

It puts out SoG as well, but if a monitor does not accept it
one could connect Hsync/Vsync and voila: works like a charm!

I have several Indigo2 R10k MI displaying 1600x1200 on
Eizo FlexScan L985EX monitors here - through custom cable.

Read the schematics & get yourself a soldering iron.

Walther

[Toni Grass]

Post by Walther Mathieu
[generate Hsync/Vsync].
The Indigo 2 definitely does - RTFM, e. g. SGI Infosearch.

I think also the Indy (24 bit gfx) does because I am sure my cheep V7 TFT
never even heard about SOG

Toni

[Walther Mathieu]

Post by Toni Grass

Post by Walther Mathieu
[generate Hsync/Vsync].

I think also the Indy (24 bit gfx) does because I am sure my cheep V7 TFT
never even heard about SOG

Not sure about that... there is a fine list of SOG capable monitors
at the FAQ section of http://playstation2-linux.com

Nowadays even cheap TFTs may accept SOG - my Samtron 94 easily does,
working on Indigo machines with only R, G, B and ground connected.

Walther

[N8]

Post by Paul
Have to throw my two cents in. :)
Be sure the adapter you get is for SGI, and you won't even have to worry
about sync on green capability.
!!!--- Sun 13W3 pinout is different than SGI 13W3 pinout ---!!!
Ebay sellers tend to assume it's all the same pinout, it isn't. :)

not to start a debate or anything....how can the pin outs not
match....on my octane2 I have a sun monitor connected that works
perfect (with the 13w3 connector built on to the cable factory direct)
and before I had the sun monitor I used a sun branded vga adapter on a
sony monitor ????? If they didn't match, should it not work.

[Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler]

In article <***@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
"N8" <***@comcast.net> wrote:

: not to start a debate or anything....how can the pin outs not
: match....on my octane2 I have a sun monitor connected that works
: perfect (with the 13w3 connector built on to the cable factory direct)
: and before I had the sun monitor I used a sun branded vga adapter on a
: sony monitor ????? If they didn't match, should it not work.

It can work, depending on what variety of mismatched inputs your monitor accepts.

For example, some monitors will run just fine if R, G and B are connected, and G
has a valid sync signal.

Some other SOG monitors will refuse to run because the H, V or Composite sync
pins are held at an invalid level rather than left floating, so it'll assume it
should be in power-saving mode.

Some monitors don't understand SOG, so they won't run unless the H, V or
Composite sync pins are hooked up properly.

And lastly, some monitors won't even work properly then, because they'll be
confused by the SOG signal and set the wrong "black" level for the green
channel, resulting in a very very green picture.

So whether it works or not is highly dependant on the combination of your
adapter *and* your monitor.


Cheers - Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler :)

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Paul
!!!--- Sun 13W3 pinout is different than SGI 13W3 pinout ---!!!
Ebay sellers tend to assume it's all the same pinout, it isn't. :)

This is true, but if you find a SUN adapter, it will usually work ok
if you knock out all the small pins which are NOT the main large-
looking RGB and corresponding ground lines (since these are the only
ones the SGI connection needs). I was even given a SUN adapter
by a dude who works for SUN, he made said change and it
worked fine.

Ian.

SGI Depot: http://www.futuretech.blinkenlights.nl/sgidepot/
Email: ***@yahoo.com (eBay ID: mapesdhs)
Backup email (send copy to this too): ***@blueyonder.co.uk
Home: [phone]

[Eero Ahonen]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
This is true, but if you find a SUN adapter, it will usually work ok
if you knock out all the small pins which are NOT the main large-
looking RGB and corresponding ground lines (since these are the only
ones the SGI connection needs). I was even given a SUN adapter
by a dude who works for SUN, he made said change and it
worked fine.

Is the SUN adapter only a connector-changer or does it have shorts oslt?
Mostly I'm wondering that if I'll put SUN adapter to SGI and HD15-BNC
-cable to SUN adapter, will I burn something from the SGI?

[Sergey Zak]

Oh shit, I just bought one off ebay that does not work!
I tried it on a Dell 19" TFT - sleep mode, tried on NOKIA CRT - some unsynced pictuer floats.
I will try a non-destructive fix of the connector - ever heard of women's nail polish applied to unneded contacts? :)

Post by Paul
Have to throw my two cents in. :)
Be sure the adapter you get is for SGI, and you won't even have to worry
about sync on green capability.
!!!--- Sun 13W3 pinout is different than SGI 13W3 pinout ---!!!
Ebay sellers tend to assume it's all the same pinout, it isn't. :)

[Zak.]

Now I tried nail polish and for some time it did work but then the monitor went to sleep.
I tried more nail polish and it does not work at all.
Is there some pins I still need to let thru?

"Sergey Zak" <sergey-***@nokia.com> wrote in message news:S1G%g.40965$***@news1.nokia.com...
Oh shit, I just bought one off ebay that does not work!
I tried it on a Dell 19" TFT - sleep mode, tried on NOKIA CRT - some unsynced pictuer floats.
I will try a non-destructive fix of the connector - ever heard of women's nail polish applied to unneded contacts? :)

Post by Paul
Have to throw my two cents in. :)
Be sure the adapter you get is for SGI, and you won't even have to worry
about sync on green capability.
!!!--- Sun 13W3 pinout is different than SGI 13W3 pinout ---!!!
Ebay sellers tend to assume it's all the same pinout, it isn't. :)

[Martin Steen]

Post by N8
I Believe you can, as they make adapters to go from that proprietary
connector to VGA its called 13W3 to VGA...you can get them on eBay and
most any used SGI dealer ( $10-$20)...its the same port used on Sun's
as well...I have a sun monitor on my Octane2 and it works great... I
think the minimum requirements for the monitor are that it supports
"Sync On Green", there are sync on green adapters i've heard, but never
seen one myself. Check the specs on the video card to see what
resolutions it supports as well, that will give you an idea what
displays can be used as long as the display can display the resolution
and can sync on green...you should be all set! Im sure someone else
here will give you better specifics :)

Thank you, that helps me a lot. I am planning to buy an Octane2 at
eBay, but most offers don't come with a monitor.

Best regards, Martin

[Atro Tossavainen]

Post by Martin Steen
Thank you, that helps me a lot. I am planning to buy an Octane2 at
eBay, but most offers don't come with a monitor.

A few more points.

If you plan to use a monitor that doesn't support at least 1280x1024
at 60 Hz, you'll need to tweak the graphics settings a little before
you'll get a picture at all. You may have to use a serial console
to begin with.

You can't use DVI to connect the TFT as there is no digital video
output. A TFT with analogue input works fine as long as it supports
at least 1280x1024 @ 60 Hz and the aforementioned sync on green.