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Apple ADC Monitor to Macintosh II?

Concorde1993

Well-known member
Just wondering if anyone has successfully connected an ADC-type monitor to a Mac II with the high-res Apple NuBus video card. 

 

beachycove

Well-known member
Nope.

If the COVID incarceration is getting too much for you, however, it might be diverting to try a (male) DB15 to (female) VGA, (male) VGA to (female) DVI, and (the white box thingie that used to cost ~$200) DVI to ADC connection in series. Whether it would "just work," blow up spectacularly, or give you a very dirty signal is the question. The first and the last possibilities assume that a Nubus card could be coaxed into giving you a compatible resolution. Maybe, but an ADC display at, say, 800x600 is not a pretty sight. You can see this effect in some early OSX games, capable of running at that resolution on what is normally, e.g., a 1920x1200 screen. It's not something you'd want to live with.

I'll not be trying it personally; for one thing, I only have one of the three requisite adapters for that particular way to go about the wheeze.

Mind you, there might be other ways and means -- I gather, for instance, that video from an old Mac can be displayed on an ADC display (connected to something like a G5) by means of Timbuktu!

 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
I've got an ADC to VGA adapter, and another adapter for VGA to DB-15. The NuBus card works fine with my Lacie Electron Blue IV. 

If the COVID incarceration is getting too much for you,
That's why I still have this old junk. How's your Portrait Display holding up? 

 

beachycove

Well-known member
The Portrait Display is still happy in the basement. It's been dormant for a while, as I have mainly been tinkering with an SE/30 when 68k-ing.

In the lockdown, though, I  have recently been working on an iMac and  a G5 tower. Last week I managed to give a couple of these machines to a needy family, nicely configured with software, so that put a spring in my step. They got a 24" iMac running X.11, so that was not bad, but I was especially pleased with the tower, as I managed to put one good machine together out of two (based case, good logic board, that sort of thing). This week I am reduced to drywall work around the house.

The IIfx is still going strong, I hope?

 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
No. The monitor you gave me was the Macintosh Color Display. I received the RGB monitor during my Quadra 950 conquest, which is well-documented in this thread. Unfortunately, the front bezel was damaged while cleaning my workstation, and I'm still on the lookout for a replacement. Of course, I would love to have your Portrait Display. I think I mentioned that about a dozen times or so. 

 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
I almost acquired a 20" ADC monitor (near-mint with the original box) but the seller ultimately wouldn't budge on price even though it had been on Kijiji forever. Haven't seen it posted there in sometime so I guess someone bought it (or it went to eBay for a billion $$$). 

The user Beachycove provides the answer in post #2 of what *could* happen if this was attempted. 

 

ArmorAlley

Well-known member
I almost acquired a 20" ADC monitor (near-mint with the original box) but the seller ultimately wouldn't budge on price even though it had been on Kijiji forever. Haven't seen it posted there in sometime so I guess someone bought it (or it went to eBay for a billion $$$). 

The user Beachycove provides the answer in post #2 of what *could* happen if this was attempted. 
They go for next to nothing here (in Switzerland). There are two on sale at the moment - for CHF1 and CHF15 - one with the original box and one with the ADC-DVI adaptor.

@Concorde1993 Just wondering if anyone has successfully connected an ADC-type monitor to a Mac II with the high-res Apple NuBus video card. 

I don't think that this will work. The ADC adaptor is digital only, as is the output from the DVI. And you would need a smaller screen. There are too many pixels. And unless you can find a digital to analogue converter.

Getting 1600x1200 on a IIfx is hard enough and it doesn't look good. I have tried it with a Thunder/24 GT card and an IBM 1600x1200 LCD monitor. It is just too much for the poor IIfx.

 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
They go for next to nothing here (in Switzerland).
Good to hear people are still level-headed in Switzerland. Ever since Steve Jobs died, mostly everyone in my neck of the woods increased their prices tenfold convinced that they now owned a rare and unique item. Another factor is all of those YouTube personalities who do reviews or service old Macs. At least Thinkpads can still be had on the cheap. I recently bought a loaded T7600 T60p for $40. Came with a 14" parts computer that I later sold. Just wish people would come to terms that a W520 is over 10 years old now and not worth $300. 

Getting 1600x1200 on a IIfx is hard enough and it doesn't look good. I have tried it with a Thunder/24 GT card and an IBM 1600x1200 LCD monitor. It is just too much for the poor IIfx.
Thanks for the info. 

 

jeremywork

Well-known member
This would work passively using the CRT version of the ADC Studio Display and something like a Dr Bott VGAtor which powers the display and adapts VGA to the ADC plug.

Using the flat panels would only be possible with analogue to digital conversion (which most period flat panels were equipped with, but the ADC panels are digital only.) Gefen built a box specifically for this, similar to Dr Bott's product but with digital conversion built-in.

https://www.kvm-switches-online.com/ext-vga-2-adc.html

 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
This would work passively using the CRT version of the ADC Studio Display
Apart from aesthetics, I never really cared for Apple's final CRT models. Too many flyback transformer failures and the plastics were brittle. My LaCie Electron Blue IV (which is essentially the same monitor) has been flawless in the 5+ years I've owned it and as noted earlier, works perfectly with my IIfx's factory video card. I do have the correct Apple monitor for my IIfx but it was in an accident and I was looking at other alternatives.

Gefen built a box specifically for this
Looks neat. Too bad its discontinued. 

 

jeremywork

Well-known member
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register

Well-known member
As an alternative to Gefen's DVI converter plus Apple's DVI to ADC adapter there are similar components from other suppliers available. For a digital ADC display, after the obligatory (male) DB15 to (female) VGA adaptor one could digitize the analog diplay output signal with a device like Lehmann's https://www.lehmann-it.de/de/translator-vga-to-dvi.html. In combination with Dr. Bott's DVIator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1dW6K3pviU or probably the according Apple DVI to ADC adaptor, and an appropriate power supply to power the ADC display this could drive a digital ADC display from an analog video signal source like a Nubus graphics card. However, even if successfully implemented, only a Nubus card with appropriate resolution (preferably the ADC display's native resolution) would be worth such a mess of wires.
 
Resolutions that are possible but ergonomically not recommended for a CRT are by default not shown in the display control panel. All possible resolutions for a given graphics card can be enabled by use of a control panel called Activate all Resolutions.
 
Mac OS 9.2.1 has an issue with the DVIator setup that might result in a black screen. In case you need to use 9.2.1 be prepared for a workaround.
 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
So I picked up a 22" (even though it was advertised as a 23" HD) M8149 Apple Cinema display monitor yesterday for $100 (pics to come later). Works (seller had it hooked up to his G4), just needs some cleaning up. Heavy bugger. 

Stupid question: I learned that there was an earlier model, the M5662, which came equipped with a DVI connector. The M8149 was the first to use ADC and its port has some cracks in the plastic housing (pins etc. are fine). Would it be possible to swap the entire ADC cable with a DVI cable? Sure beats lurking for a Gefen or Apple's own concoction. 

 

beachycove

Well-known member
When the lockdown ends, come here and get that 14” CRT we discussed, and you will be able to find also an Apple ADC-DVI converter box from my little trove of Macintosh goodness. Otherwise that CRT will be going to scrap. I have move in the Spring.

 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
When the lockdown ends
Here's hoping but I highly doubt Papa Ford is going to reopen everything in February, especially now with all of these variants popping up. Besides, we already went through with this nonsense last June with modified stages and this is the outcome thus far. 

I have move in the Spring.
Damn I wish you lived closer. I drove to Cambridge to pickup the ADC monitor. London is just too far a drive right now especially with no rest stops open to the public. 

 

Concorde1993

Well-known member
Prior to the site crash, I noted that I had purchased an Apple ADC-to-DVI adapter for my 22" Cinema Display. Unfortunately nothing happened when I connected the Cinema Display to my IIfx. Didn't matter if I used my High-Res card or the 8.24 GC card.

Fast-forward a few months: my 19" LaCie Electron IV CRT monitor started to fail (I would see a large horizontal line sweep across the monitor and the picture would sometimes bulge - likely an issue with failing caps on the analog board). I didn't want to spend the time finding someone to repair the monitor, nor the money to repair it, so I ended up selling it for nearly twice the amount I bought it for over five years ago (thanks Kijiji).

With that said, I inherited my mother's old 20" HP 2010i LCD monitor, and strangely enough (although probably not that strange), it works perfectly with my IIfx's High-Res video card (haven't tried it with the 8.24 GC card yet). Here's a pic below:
Screenshot 2021-07-07 010349.jpg
Oddly, the HP monitor doesn't work with my G4's ATI video cards (I get a "Signal Out of Range" error shortly after booting into OS 9.2.2). I only have three CRTs in my possession at the moment: my M1212 Color Display, my 13" Panasonic TV/VCR combo, and my Commodore 1701. I might end up purchasing another Electron Blue soon, but I'm really curious as to why the HP works with a 256 color NuBus video card and not a more modern ATI video card.

As for the 22" Cinema Display, very disappointed with the outcome and it too doesn't work with my G4's ATI video cards (but it's fine with my Mac Pro 1,1's Nvidia card).
 
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metta

Well-known member
As mentioned previously in this thread, Apple's ADC to DVI adapter doesn't route the necessary VGA signals to work with VGA ouputs. You'd need to create a breakout board like this one: https://www.jasondoesitall.com/adc/

I'm personally trying to use my 17" Apple CRT ADC monitor with non-ADC VGA sources, and I'm planning to make an adapter using this project as a baseline.
 
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