Need VGA to ADB video connector...

ktickner,

Hi. We have friends near by with the name Tickner. Just surprised to see it.

You will not find a cable. It will be an adapter like this:

http://i12.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/7a/3d/05cf_1.JPG

This discussion gives more detail:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=980098&tstart=0

Check here for the Apple list of adapters:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=33001

This Apple site gives a little history of adapters:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301827

BTW, ADB actually stands for Apple Desktop Bus and provides the connector standard for keyboards, mice, tablets and other input devices.

Jim.

There is an Apple and a Dr. Bott adapter to connect an Apple Display Connector (ADC) device [such as an ADC flat panel display]. It works ONLY with a Mac that already has a DVI connector output. The adapter is not just a cable, it contains a large Power Supply to generate the 24 Volt power required by an Apple flat Panel display that does not have its own Power Supply. Both list for about US$100, and you cannot use it for what you are describing.

You cannot connect the Apple ADC CRT Studio Display to anything except a Computer with an ADC connector because it draws an enormous amount of power (about 4 Amps!). This is far beyond the capabilities of the Apple or Dr. Bott DVI to ADC adapter. Only the heftier Power Supplies in the Computers produce enough power to drive it.

You also cannot drive it with a VGA-only output because there is no cheap way to convert the Analog signal (VGA) from your Mac to the digital signals required by the display.

There is a cable that can take later version of the DVI -- provided they contain VGA signals also -- and extract the VGA onto a VGA connector. It will also not work for you, as it runs the wrong direction.

Take the US$100 you did not spend on the ADC to DVI adapter, and get one used, solid, if older, CRT display. Use the other US$95 for other upgrades. CRT displays are out-of-favor now, and very cheap, since flat panels are "all the rage".

Make sure a used display can Power On [and preferably displays a background raster or can show the "Out of Range" message or can be set up using its internal controls] The biggest risk is that the deflection circuits have died and it cannot display anything at all, or just one bright line. Avoid displays that have burn marks in the center or a Vertical or Horizontal burn stripe. No one wants to own a display that cannot display anything -- they are getting harder to dispose of!

It is completely an accident that I have been looking into exactly the questions you asked about. But that is exactly what the discussions do for all of us -- encourage meetings between folks who have a problem, and others who can contribute toward some possible solutions. The hard part [making some decisions and implementing them] is still up to you!

Grant,

Good call on the power supply issue. I took the question about CRT without verifying the model. I still am not sure we are talking about this monitor:

http://www.everymac.com/monitors/apple/studiocinema/specs/apple_studio_display_17cl.html

Or this one:

http://www.everymac.com/monitors/apple/studiocinema/specs/apple_studio_display_17fp.html

The names are similar but they are worlds apart in how they work.