time to upgrade the video card in my Sun SPARCstation 1+.
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looks like the people who designed it left their names on the circuit board. i guess some of them are crossed out because they left the team?
@tubetime harsh!!
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could be an old PROM version. the previous screen shows ROM Rev 1.1, but here it looks like I need PROM 2.0 or higher.
@tubetime I remember adding a GX framebuffer to my SS20, and it did need a PROM upgrade. The eBay seller who sold me the FB included a new PROM chip.
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quick sanity check with the old video card, and that still works OK.
@tubetime I'm not sure it helps, but can you actually put both cards in and get through the prom on the one that works, but only get the other in the OS?
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looks like The Retro Web has a PROM image i can use.
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/sun-sparcstation-1new PROM programmed and ready to go.
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new PROM programmed and ready to go.
with the monochrome video card, the new PROM boots up. NVRAM is invalid since it probably remaps everything, but at least it is smart enough to recover the MAC address. i was expecting to have to reconfigure the whole thing manually, because Sun.
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with the monochrome video card, the new PROM boots up. NVRAM is invalid since it probably remaps everything, but at least it is smart enough to recover the MAC address. i was expecting to have to reconfigure the whole thing manually, because Sun.
yeah looks like the color card works (this is the green video channel) but i will need a way to convert the sync signals to this monitor.
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yeah looks like the color card works (this is the green video channel) but i will need a way to convert the sync signals to this monitor.
@tubetime indeed looks green
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yeah looks like the color card works (this is the green video channel) but i will need a way to convert the sync signals to this monitor.
my 13W3 Video Snake Oil (https://github.com/schlae/13W3) lets you wire up the adapter in a number of ways. on a hunch, let's try and wire pin 5 (CSYNC) up to the HSYNC on the VGA video connector.
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my 13W3 Video Snake Oil (https://github.com/schlae/13W3) lets you wire up the adapter in a number of ways. on a hunch, let's try and wire pin 5 (CSYNC) up to the HSYNC on the VGA video connector.
oh yeah! it boots in color now. just check out that cool 3D-rendered SUN logo with colorful shapes.
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oh yeah! it boots in color now. just check out that cool 3D-rendered SUN logo with colorful shapes.
i should boot an operating system, but i stole the SCSI2SD in this box for use with another system and i'm too lazy to find it. maybe the Amiga 1000?
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i should boot an operating system, but i stole the SCSI2SD in this box for use with another system and i'm too lazy to find it. maybe the Amiga 1000?
anyway, setting up a new video card on a Sun machine is super easy and total jumperless! all you have to do is burn a new EPROM and solder some wires, then update your NVRAM config, and presumably some OS shenanigans, maybe recompiling a kernel or something lol.
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@tubetime probably bruce's fault
@furan always bruce's fault
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@tubetime no, everyone gets added to the pcb silk screen at the start, and then gets crossed out if your work causes a new revision
@xssfox oh shit
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@tubetime we don't talk about curtis anymore
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@tubetime I'm not sure it helps, but can you actually put both cards in and get through the prom on the one that works, but only get the other in the OS?
@penguin42 only with PROM 2.0 or greater, it wouldn't have worked on the old card. but yeah i could do a dual monitor setup now lol.
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@tubetime indeed looks green
@felipe not easy being green
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looks like the people who designed it left their names on the circuit board. i guess some of them are crossed out because they left the team?
"Its been [0] days since an office electrocution"
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anyway, setting up a new video card on a Sun machine is super easy and total jumperless! all you have to do is burn a new EPROM and solder some wires, then update your NVRAM config, and presumably some OS shenanigans, maybe recompiling a kernel or something lol.
so someone pointed out that the two crossed out names on the TurboGX card, CURTIS and CHRIS M, left Sun to found Nvidia!
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so someone pointed out that the two crossed out names on the TurboGX card, CURTIS and CHRIS M, left Sun to found Nvidia!
@tubetime Oh, shit, that Curtis! fun fact, Curis Priem was one of the designers of the IBM Professional Graphics Controller. The PGC was designed for IBM by Vermont Microsystems.
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so someone pointed out that the two crossed out names on the TurboGX card, CURTIS and CHRIS M, left Sun to found Nvidia!
@tubetime@mastodon.social i've been always wondering about that toilet paper thing.
"NVision" only returns factoids about nvidia. "envision" is an actual toilet paper brand
... did someone lose the game of telephone? I should figure out some citations and fix this...
