Sun ECL Adapter

Sun ECL to VGA Adapter (SunECL)

SunECL is an adapter that lets you use a standard LCD flat panel or a CRT monitor with early SUN Mono Frame Buffers with 9-pin ECL video outputs.

The SunECL adapter requires a 5V external power supply to operate. Just connect the included power cable to an available 5v USB port. A USB power brick is not included, but almost any USB power supply or power port will work, as the board draws very little power.

The adapter produces a reasonably sharp and clear picture on most CRTs. On LCD monitors, the image quality can vary depending on the adjustments provided on your monitor and the quality of the internal scaler. LCDs with a native horizontal resolution matching your display card will be best as you can achieve a 1:1 horizontal pixel mapping. The vertical quality will depend on how your monitor maps the vertical pixel field to the panel res.

A 3D printed case is available as a free extra with your order on request. Sadly, the case will not fit on the 3/60 internal frame buffer connector when also using the external SCSI port, as there's *just* enough room for the adapter.

LIMITATIONS:
The adapter produces a good image on most CRTs and LCD panels, however, the image quality on LCD panels is heavily dependant on the LCD monitor internal scaler. All of the magic happens without an MCU or screen buffer, so there are limits to what can be accomplished inexpensively. CRTs generally look best.

- You may notice some slightly darker vertical bands on some LCD monitors, especially in very high resolution modes.The appearance can vary from barely noticeable to quite apparent. Adjusting your monitor pixel clock or phase settings may reduce them.

- Horizontal position of the image can vary, you may need to adjust your monitor to center the image, and to display the entire image

- Graphical applications with patterned fills may produce odd patterns on LCD screens if not in a 1:1 pixel mode

- The adapter is a very tight fit on Sun3 machines with the internal frame buffer when also using the external SCSI connector.

- Some testing has been done with an Extron 300 processor inline after the adapter, but theres a bit of a "luck of the draw" thing happening. Mine looks great, Brian's not so much, and it is easy to get the Extron into a very unhappy state. For now, it is better without, but feel free to experiment.
Tested Frame Buffers:

- Sun 3/60 Internal Frame Buffer

- Sun MG1 Mono Frame Buffer

- Sun MG4 Mono Frame Buffer

Technical Specifications

Input Port: Sun Mon Frame BufferDB-9 D-Sub Video port
Output Port: Standard VGA HD-15 D-Sub port
Resolution: Frame Buffer dependant
Colors: 2 (BW), 1 BPP
Power Source: external 5V DC via USB micro connector

Screenshots

Photographing a screen is always a fun challenge, these are fairly good representations of the "in-person" look. Bright lines on the CRT are the camera catching the retrace and aren't visible in real life. Clicking on the images opens a larger view, which you can then click again to zoom way in.

Sun 3/60 Onboard ECL Mono Frame Buffer 1600x1200 SunOS 4.1.1U1 OpenWindows 2 Dell U2410
Sun 3/80 Sun MG4 1bpp Mono Frame Buffer (ECL Output) 1152x900 SunOS 4.1.1U1 OpenWindows 2 Dell U2410
Sun SPARCstation IPX Sun MG1 Mono Frame Buffer 1152x900 Sun boot screen Dell U2410 1:1 Mode
Sun SPARCstation IPX Sun MG1 Mono Frame Buffer 1152x900 Sun boot screen Dell U2410 Aspect Mode
Sun SPARCstation IPX Sun MG1 Mono Frame Buffer 1600x1200 Sun boot screen Dell U2410
Sun SPARCstation IPX Sun MG1 Mono Frame Buffer 1152x900 Sun boot screen Sony Trinitron E400

Acknowledgements:

Design adapted in part from TenoxVGA by Antoni Sawicki

Special thanks to Brian Minear for massive help beta testing, and providing screenshots and system pictures