What kind of connector is this?

[Rockin' Kat]

Hi,

I recently picked up an old Hitachi 20" tabletop TV that was made in 1984... it's got a pretty nice picture and sound... should be good for gaming.. looks good through composit video.

But the real reason I picked it up was because it has a port labled as RGB.... but I don't actually know if it's digital or analog or maybe something else that I won't be able to use...... that and I have never really seen this connector before.... so I don't know what it's called... and thus... am not having much luck looking it up online.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Attatched is a photo of the set's back I/O panel. If needed I can hunt down my wide-angle lense and take a close up of just the RGB connector.

[NFG]

That's a digital RGB connector.  It's pretty much useless for everything.

[blackevilweredragon]

if that's what a digital RGB connector looks like, then why does my RGB monitor have a digital RGB input, but is a regular big round DIN connector?

[NFG]

There is no standard for RGB connectors outside Europe and Japan, so every manufacturer is free to design whatever mad connector they want when building a monitor or TV.

The RGB connector in the first post is very common in Japan.  I have the pinout (but not handy), and in fact I think it's been discussed on this very forum before.

[ido8bit]

I've seen that connector refered to as an EIAJ connector.  It's also used on some VCRs and monitors to carry composite video and audio in/out.  When used for AV in/out there is a standard pinout.  

It's also used as an RGB connector on Taxan, Roland, Hitachi, NEC, Amdek, and probably other old computer monitors.  The pinout for these monitors is sort of a standard.  

Some of these are analog RGB.  some are digital RGBI (CGA), some do both.  Those that do both usually have an Apple/IBM switch.  On these monitors the Apple position is analog RGB.  Back in the 90s I made a lot of money (well it was a lot of money for a teenager, and much better than working at McDonalds) buying these "useless" CGA monitors from PC dealers, making cables and selling them as Amiga monitors.  

I don't have the pinout anymore (my handwritten notes from back then
are long lost).  

Follow the circuit from that connector and you should be able to work out the pinout fairly easily.  You can usually tell if it a digital or analog input by looking at the input circuitry.  

[GZeus]

How hard is it to get analog into a CGA monitor?
(sorry to go off topic, but you seem to know SOMETHING about those things).

[ido8bit]

A CGA only monitor will not accept analog RGB unless it is modified.  It's not worth the effort as analog RGB monitors are not that hard to find.

There were many monitors often sold as CGA monitors by PC dealers that would also accept analog RGB

Taxan and Roland CGA monitors using the above 8 pin connector will accept analog RGB with the switch in the apple position.  Some later Taxan monitors use an 8 pin DIN connector instead of the EIAJ connector, but they will still accept analog RGB when the switch is in the apple position.

All of these and pretty much all "CGA" monitors are 12" and 14".  If you want a bigger screen you are better off looking for a TV with an RGB input or a pro video monitor such as a Sony PVM.

There are lists of analog RGB monitors on various Amiga sites.

[blackevilweredragon]

I can't find any analog RGB monitor here (Florida)...

All I have is a digital RGB monitor..  BUT, it has a switch on it that I am not familiar with, "RGB Mode I, III"...  Any ideas?

http://blackevilweredragon.spymac.com/cmonitor.jpg

[kendrick]

This is just a shot in the dark, but the "Mode I" and "Mode III" terms as they apply to RGB are generally used when discussing digital photography. It's something to do with the color saturation, but I can't claim any more expertise than that. Maybe your monitor is intended for use with some kind of still photography equipment?

-KKC, who also forgot to eat the first time Phantasy Star went online...

[blackevilweredragon]

This is just a shot in the dark, but the "Mode I" and "Mode III" terms as they apply to RGB are generally used when discussing digital photography. It's something to do with the color saturation, but I can't claim any more expertise than that. Maybe your monitor is intended for use with some kind of still photography equipment?

-KKC, who also forgot to eat the first time Phantasy Star went online...

if it was, that musta been expensive then...

it's a Commodore 64/128 monitor..

Seperate Video for Commodore 64
Digital RGB for Commodore 128

[Rockin' Kat]

I've seen that connector refered to as an EIAJ connector.  It's also used on some VCRs and monitors to carry composite video and audio in/out.  When used for AV in/out there is a standard pinout.  

It's also used as an RGB connector on Taxan, Roland, Hitachi, NEC, Amdek, and probably other old computer monitors.  The pinout for these monitors is sort of a standard.  

Some of these are analog RGB.  some are digital RGBI (CGA), some do both.  Those that do both usually have an Apple/IBM switch.  On these monitors the Apple position is analog RGB.  Back in the 90s I made a lot of money (well it was a lot of money for a teenager, and much better than working at McDonalds) buying these "useless" CGA monitors from PC dealers, making cables and selling them as Amiga monitors.  

I don't have the pinout anymore (my handwritten notes from back then
are long lost).  

Follow the circuit from that connector and you should be able to work out the pinout fairly easily.  You can usually tell if it a digital or analog input by looking at the input circuitry.

Well, I found a downloadable service manual and have the page for the RGB Circuit Diagram up.  I see what I think is supposed to represient RGB input... sginals are Intensity, Gnd, Gnd, B, G, R, V-sinc... and I think the last one says +5DC (its hard to tell, not a very good scan)  

[ido8bit]

blackevilweredragon:

Is that a Taxan monitor?  The mode I/III switch and the 8 pin DIN connector look familar, but none of the Taxans I saw with that layout had a Y/C input.  If it is a Taxan (or similar) it may accept analog RGB over the DIN connector.  I no longer have the pinout though.

SuperPsycho:

The intensity pin means it's a digital RGB input.  As there is no switch I doubt it will accept analog RGB as is.  You ma be able to modify it accept analog RGB over that input, but without seeing the set I can't say where to start.  

[blackevilweredragon]

blackevilweredragon:

Is that a Taxan monitor?  The mode I/III switch and the 8 pin DIN connector look familar, but none of the Taxans I saw with that layout had a Y/C input.  If it is a Taxan (or similar) it may accept analog RGB over the DIN connector.  I no longer have the pinout though.

the monitor is a Teknika MJ-22