demiurge wrote on 2024-08-26, 23:11:

So I have this rare, weird, graphics card, The Metheus 1104 Ultra Graphics Accelerator. […]
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So I have this rare, weird, graphics card, The Metheus 1104 Ultra Graphics Accelerator.

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It has a DB9 connector but I don't think that matters. On a newer 586 the screen is just all green, but on a 486 it looks like this:

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This is the jumper information

JUMPER(1)=2
NAME="J8I - Sync Select 1"
JTYPE=INLINE
REVERSE=YES
This jumper is located near the RGB output connector on
the right side of the board. Horizontal sync is selected
by connecting the two left pins. Composite sync is selected
by connecting the two right pins.

JUMPER(2)=1
NAME="J8J - Sync Select 2"
JTYPE=INLINE
REVERSE=NO
This jumper is located near the RGB output connector on
the right side of the board. Vertical sync is selected
by connecting the two pins. Disable by removing this
jumper

JUMPER(3)=2
NAME="J8L - Monitor Sel 1"
JTYPE=INLINE
REVERSE=YES
This jumper is located on the right side of the board.
Non-interlaced is selected by connecting the two left pins.
Interlaced is selcted by connecting the two right pins.
This jumper must also be moved with jumper J8M.

JUMPER(4)=2
NAME="J8M - Monitor Sel 2"
JTYPE=INLINE
REVERSE=YES
This jumper is located on the right side of the board.
Non-interlaced is selected by connecting the two left pins.
Interlaced is selcted by connecting the two right pins.
This jumper must also be moved with jumper J8L.

JUMPER(5)=5
NAME="J8K - CGA Emulation"
JTYPE=PAIRED
VERTICAL=YES
REVERSE=YES
Connecting these two pins will enable CGA emulation. Remove
this jumper to disable CGA emulation.

The only other information on the web about this is here: https://x.com/TubeTimeUS/status/1052350013840314369

What could be making this green?

Something about its particular cabling / RGB input requirements perhaps...

Abstract (PC Week(Vol. 5, Issue 15):

The Ultra Graphics Accelerator (UGA) Model 1104 graphics accelerator board from Metheus Corp combines strong performance with high-resolution CGA emulation. The $1,395 UGA delivers impressive 1,024-by-768-pixel 4-bit-plane resolution with 16 colors, requires only one 8-bit slot, and performs very-high-speed fills. The card comes with a special monitor cable, diagnostics, a demo, and drivers for AutoCAD, Windows, and GEM. CGA 320-by-200 pixel resolution is tripled to 960-by-600. The 12-by-24-pixel font, twice that of CGA, provides an impressive look to CGA emulation. The best performance comes when running AutoCAD. Limits are a lack of support for EGA and VGA and a need for monitors with individual RGB inputs, so that most EGA-only monitors are not supported. The real market problem for UGA is that new low-cost VGA boards match UGA's resolution and support most or all top-selling programs, which UGA does not.

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2024-08-27, 01:07:

Something about its particular cabling / RGB input requirements perhaps...

a need for monitors with individual RGB inputs, so that most EGA-only monitors are not supported. The real market problem for UGA is that new low-cost VGA boards match UGA's resolution and support most or all top-selling programs, which UGA does not.

It appears to be referring to using a DB9 VGA connector that needs separate color pins and grounds. The guy on twitter got his working just fine as a DB9 VGA.

Does he give the source to a DB9 to DB15 VGA adapter? There are adapters out there but not all may be wired proper...

Horun wrote on 2024-08-27, 02:43:

Does he give the source to a DB9 to DB15 VGA adapter? There are adapters out there but not all may be wired proper...

Yes. I can't find the picture on twitter anymore. But I have seen the connector wired up.

Chips on TubeTimeUS card are from 1987 so it was designed before VGA became a thing 😳 Now I wonder how much was a 1024x768 RGB monitor in 1987.
If you have a scope check signal directly on DAC pins 3 4 5 https://www.ardent-tool.com/datasheets/Brookt … e_Bt454_455.pdf

rasz_pl wrote on 2024-08-28, 00:03:

Chips on TubeTimeUS card are from 1987 so it was designed before VGA became a thing 😳 Now I wonder how much was a 1024x768 RGB monitor in 1987.
If you have a scope check signal directly on DAC pins 3 4 5 https://www.ardent-tool.com/datasheets/Brookt … e_Bt454_455.pdf

Anything I can do without a scope?

check connections between those pins 3 4 5 and video connector with ordinary multimeter, and resistance to ground on them

demiurge wrote on 2024-08-27, 01:21:

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2024-08-27, 01:07:

Something about its particular cabling / RGB input requirements perhaps...

a need for monitors with individual RGB inputs, so that most EGA-only monitors are not supported. The real market problem for UGA is that new low-cost VGA boards match UGA's resolution and support most or all top-selling programs, which UGA does not.

It appears to be referring to using a DB9 VGA connector that needs separate color pins and grounds. The guy on twitter got his working just fine as a DB9 VGA.

There had been professional monitors with BNC connectors on the backside, one each for Red/Green/Blue/H-Sync/V-Sync and Ground (if the BNC's shield's ground wasn't used).
To use it on an ordinary PC, a VGA adapter cable with BNC connectors had to be used. Monitor detection and EDID, DDC and so on were not supported. It was just RGB video.

my guess is it's actually outputting sync on green signal. many professional framebuffers used SoG as signal standard. I do have hp visualize framebuffer that behaves exactly like this. check it with cheap oscilloscope if it is actually sog, and convert it with ossc.

I once had an Ali 2228 vlb card that output a green screen, but with weird characters as well. Turned out there were a few legs broken from the video chip. I resoldered them, attached a few required leads and now it's functioning perfectly. You may inspect your card and see if you have a sort like problem.