Sparc at home

From: Lawrence LeMay <lemay_at_cs.umn.edu>
Date: Fri Jul 13 15:00:07 2001

> >
> > Anyone know if you can hook a IBM P200 up to a Sparc? IIRC, the 13W3
> > pinout is different. I recently got one and have it hooked up to my Linux
> > box. I love the P200's, I've also got one on my Linux box at work.
> >
>
> I've got a P17. If anyone has a cable adapter pinout please post them.
>

Well, if i recall correctly, SGI workstations generate sync on green, and
Sun workstations generate composite sync. PC's use separate sync.

Most if not all new monitors can probably handle all 3 types of sync, if
a proper cable or adapter is used. Now, i know some wise guy is gonna
jump all over me for making a generalization like that, but in my experience
at this university, its true.

If you think about monitors with BNC connectors, the ones that only have
3 BNC connectors (Red, Green, and Blue connectors) are sync on green, and
probably only support sync on green. If you have a 4th BNC connector, then
thats a Composite sync (the 4th BNC wil be labeled Sync most likely). and
often a Composite Sync monitor is usable as Sync on Green, but not always.

Now, a 5 BNC connector has the last 2 BNC connectors for sync, one for
the Vertical Sync, the other for Horizontal Sync. So, this is a separate
sync monitor (the type used on PCs). You probably have a VGA type connector
instead of 5 BNC connectors. And most modern Separate Sync monitors can
handle all 3 types of sync.

The other thing to worry about, is if the monitor can handle the resolution
and frequency that the computer is generating. Assuming you have a modern
monitor, that is multisync and can stretch the screen width and height to
fill the size of the picture tube, I would wager you have very good odds
of makin this work with a fairly modern Sun (ie, a Sparc model) or SGI.

Where to get the adapters? Well, search the web, thats where I got my
cables a few years ago. But, I see ebay has over 30 listings by searching
for "sun monitor adapter"... Check out www.monitorworld.com and maybe
read up on the various types of adapters, so you can determine what
will probably work for you.

-Lawrence LeMay
Received on Fri Jul 13 2001 - 15:00:07 BST