[cctalk] Re: Video/keyboard mono cable for Sun 386i

Am at a conference just do a search on 386i and I should pop up On May 30, 2024 9:06:48 AM EDT, Stefano Sanna via cctalk<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote: > Hi. > > I thought about using the serial connection (which should be enabled only if the video card is removed). > > Thank you for the advice about the battery: usual issue with SGI, Sony News.... :-) > > Unfortunately, the hard disk was been removed before I collected the workstation. > > Could you please share the link to your post on the VCF Forum? > > Thank you. > -s > > On 30/05/24 11:53, cz via cctalk wrote: >> I have one around here somewhere. Sun built two cables, one was for the color boards (CGThree and CGFive) and the other was for monochrome systems (the D15). >> >> In the meantime you can hook a computer to the RS232 port and start running the thing headless to see what's there. Note, you're going to have to replace the timekeeper chip (or hack a new battery into it, there's docs on how I did that 30 years ago). I recommend wiring in a dual AAA adapter, that way you can replace the batteries every 15 or so years. >> >> Last time I fired up my three 386i's, two of the power supplies had blown up and one of the boards would not pass diagnostics. Of the supplies, one was hopeless so I hacked in a standard PC-AT supply board and got everything running (you don't NEED the -15 volts, but heck some ISA board you plug in will want it :-) and I figured out how to fix the other one by wiring in a new 12 volt kick starter supply to get the main supply up and running. >> >> I wrote up all of this on the vcf forum. Worth a read. >> >> If it's got a hard disk and it spins I'd recommend hooking it up to a SCSI adapter and doing a dd image of it first. Then you can figure out the partitions by whacking away at the image (I did this), then mount the volumes on another system, grab /etc/passwd, and crack the passwords in about 4 hours with john or a related tool. >> >> Once up, put it on the public internet and confuse the hell out of hackers. >> >> Have fun! >> CZ >> >> >> On 5/30/2024 4:59 AM, Stefano Sanna via cctalk wrote: >>> Hi. >>> >>> I recently bought a Sun Microsystems 386i and I discovered (too late...) that monitor and keyboard are connected to the same D15 connector on the back using a "Y" cable (I had experience with other Sun workstations, this was first contact with Intel-based hardware). >>> >>> Unfortunately, I have not such a cable neither I was able to find any info on the web about the pinout/wiring; probably it would be possible to create the cable from scratch (assuming that no other circuitry was inside the original Y cable). Moreover, I discovered that there is more than one option for video boards (mono and color): therefore, there is more than a single Y cable to connect monitor and keyboard. >>> >>> Looking at the official Sun's hardware list, I found this item: >>> >>> 630-1621     386i video/keyboard cable >>> >>> but it does not specify whether it is the mono or the color cable. In any case, it seems impossible to buy it on eBay or similar. >>> >>> Does anybody have some information on how to rebuild it? >>> >>> Thank you. >>> -s