Computer cord endings

[Sunday21]

On 3/27/2019 at 9:22 PM, Sunday21 said:

Yeah! Thank you Genius Computer Queen! I shall try tomorrow as it is late here! Many thanks! 

Thank you so much! The pieces fit together. Many thanks!

[Sunday21]

On 3/27/2019 at 7:39 AM, Mores said:

Some laptops will have a VGA connection.  Just check to see if you have a port on the side or back that matches.  Then you need to go into your computer's display settings and have it activate/recognize the new monitor. POOF!  You have a two monitor system.

The other option is to hookup a usb keyboard, turn the laptop power settings to "stay on when lid is closed".  Then you can use the bigger monitor and the laptop as a keyboard pad.

The power cord, as you can tell, is not a standard one we see for, say a kitchen appliance or a lamp, etc.  It is quite common in computer parts. Assuming you already have a power cord for the laptop, this cable would be redundant for the laptop itself.  Monitors & towers will often use this type of cable. So, you could use it for a monitor.

Beautifully explained! Thank you!

[Sunday21]

14 hours ago, Mores said:

@zil,

Just how many titles is one person allowed anyway?

She is also the RS teaching wizard! She coached me through teaching in RS when my knowledge of church doctrine fit neatly inside a small thimble with room to spare.

[Guest Mores]

9 hours ago, Sunday21 said:

She is also the RS teaching wizard! She coached me through teaching in RS when my knowledge of church doctrine fit neatly inside a small thimble with room to spare.

@zil hasn't posted much since I have joined.  So, I'm afraid I haven't seen witness of the fact, but it sounds like she is an amazing woman.  No wonder you think so highly of her.

[zil]

4 hours ago, Mores said:

@zil hasn't posted much since I have joined.  So, I'm afraid I haven't seen witness of the fact, but it sounds like she is an amazing woman.  No wonder you think so highly of her.

  (Only remotely accurate of my online persona, though.  The real thing is a different matter.)

As for not posting much, I'm basically on my way out, can't drum up the interest or the time - I've got my creative groove back and what's happening inside my head is far more interesting.  I have to go now.  I left three characters standing in the hallway and they're getting impatient to move on.

[bytebear]

Technically it's a 15 pin connector (male or female).  The other common one is 9 pin.  The particular style is a DE-15 (D being the connector, A,B,C,D, E being the size, and the number being the pins in the connector.   More commonly called a D-Sub for D-Subminiture.  Cute how they thought that connector was small, eh?  Yes they have standard uses for computers like VGA connectivity, but they can be used for anything.  PCs use the 9 pin as a serial port.  Atari video games used them for joysticks (among other things).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-subminiature

Edited March 29, 2019 by bytebear

[Guest Mores]

Speaking of computer cord terminations, I have an unusual cable.  it is a standard USB 3.0 on one end, and the other end is what I can describe as a USB printer termination on steroids.  What is this thing?

And another question is: Why does this monitor have to have both USB AND display port cable plugged in?  Do I not need to plug in the USB?  It doesn't seem to do anything.   But the IT guy says both need to be plugged in.  I'm thinking he's smoking something.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Mores

[zil]

1 hour ago, Mores said:

Speaking of computer cord terminations, I have an unusual cable.  it is a standard USB 3.0 on one end, and the other end is what I can describe as a USB printer termination on steroids.  What is this thing?

Picture, or it didn't happen.

1 hour ago, Mores said:

And another question is: Why does this monitor have to have both USB AND display port cable plugged in?  Do I not need to plug in the USB?  It doesn't seem to do anything.   But the IT guy says both need to be plugged in.  I'm thinking he's smoking something.

Yank the USB and see if it still works.  In my experience, USB cables between computer and monitor are only to allow USB ports and (sometimes) speakers built into the monitor to work.  And DisplayPort doesn't require USB in order to work.

The thing that the monitor-makers missed by a mile is to have their USB ports powered (all the time) from the monitor's power cable rather than its USB cable (so you can use them for charging regardless of whether the monitor is on and regardless of whether it's connected by USB cable to the computer).  Dorks.  (One of the USB ports in my laptop does this - runs power regardless of whether the laptop is on.)

[mnn2501]

On 3/26/2019 at 11:06 PM, Jane_Doe said:

The top picture is an VGA cord, usually used to connect a desktop tower to a super old monitor.

I do IT Support and those types of Cables/monitors are still in use and will be for years to come, especially for computers with multiple monitors (one will be that type)

[Traveler]

On 3/26/2019 at 9:51 PM, Sunday21 said:

Do any of you smart people know what this type of computer cord ending is called? 

This is called a "D" connector.  The number of pins compleats the type.  So it looks like a 16 pin D male connecter.  Depending on your configuration - it is possible that your connector is not standard, in which case you will need a "pin out" definition.  If this is a monitor cable it is likely not all 16 pins are used.  This can be checked with a common voltmeter.  The other problem you are likely to have (if this is a monitor cable) is that you will most likely have more than the cable that is incompatible.   You may not be able to find a computer (current vintage) capable of driving your monitor.  Short of going to college and getting an electrical engineering degree - you may want to consider donating the cable and whatever it connects to Deseret Industries and attempting a tax deduction as your best possible economical alternative.  But if you make over $250,000 per year this could be flagged in an audit - in which case do not exceed the maximum of $500 of non-coin donations.  And now I am thinking I am getting into the too much information domaine. 

 

The Traveler

[Sunday21]

@Traveler. Thanks! May be time to invest! 

[JohnsonJones]

16 hours ago, Traveler said:

This is called a "D" connector.  The number of pins compleats the type.  So it looks like a 16 pin D male connecter.  Depending on your configuration - it is possible that your connector is not standard, in which case you will need a "pin out" definition.  If this is a monitor cable it is likely not all 16 pins are used.  This can be checked with a common voltmeter.  The other problem you are likely to have (if this is a monitor cable) is that you will most likely have more than the cable that is incompatible.   You may not be able to find a computer (current vintage) capable of driving your monitor.  Short of going to college and getting an electrical engineering degree - you may want to consider donating the cable and whatever it connects to Deseret Industries and attempting a tax deduction as your best possible economical alternative.  But if you make over $250,000 per year this could be flagged in an audit - in which case do not exceed the maximum of $500 of non-coin donations.  And now I am thinking I am getting into the too much information domaine. 

 

The Traveler

16?

I count 15...

Am I seeing things?

I could swear there are 15 little pins there, not 16.

[Traveler]

12 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

16?

I count 15...

Am I seeing things?

I could swear there are 15 little pins there, not 16.

That is because the shaded area on the right is hiding a pin - assuming the middle row of pins are symmetric then the reason for the offset is for the additional pin.  @Sunday21 is the best possibility to verify.  As a side note, most such old school cables are 21 pin D connectors - but there were some 16 pin D connecter.  I have never encountered a 15 pin D connector.  If pins 2 and 3 are crossed inside the cable then this is not a terminal cable but a rather odd bidirectional communication cable (likely some strange configuration of RS 222 or 422) that is like 30 years out of date. 

 

The Traveler 

[Sunday21]

7 minutes ago, Traveler said:

That is because the shaded area on the right is hiding a pin - assuming the middle row of pins are symmetric then the reason for the offset is for the additional pin.  @Sunday21 is the best possibility to verify.  As a side note, most such old school cables are 21 pin D connectors - but there were some 16 pin D connecter.  I have never encountered a 15 pin D connector.  If pins 2 and 3 are crossed inside the cable then this is not a terminal cable but a rather odd bidirectional communication cable (likely some strange configuration of RS 222 or 422) that is like 30 years out of date. 

 

The Traveler 

15. Counted twice! @JohnsonJones

[Traveler]

54 minutes ago, Sunday21 said:

15. Counted twice! @JohnsonJones

 

Do you have the connecter or are you looking at the picture?

 

The Traveler

[Sunday21]

2 minutes ago, Traveler said:

 

Do you have the connecter or are you looking at the picture?

 

The Traveler

I went to the computer and looked st the connector. 

[JohnsonJones]

I'm not an expert on Computers at ALL.  I am old enough to have used some of these previously. (and it sure looks like the connector that my computer screen STILL uses to connect to my computer).

But just like others already stated previously, it sure looks like a 15 pin to me.  It and 9 pin are the most common.

wikipedia VGA connnector

The one pictured sure looks specifically like an HD15 connector to my eyes (though, they are old, so who knows, I could be mistaken).

DB Style and HD15 (VGA) Cables

Quote

 HD15 connector has 15 pins arranged in three rows. Each row has 5 pins with the middle row slightly offset from the top and bottom. The HD15 is a High Density DB-style connector, so it can also be called an HD DB15. Another popular name is "VGA connector", although it is used in video applications that support much higher resolutions (SVGA, XGA, UXGA, etc.). On most HD15 male connectors, there is one pin (pin 9) missing from the middle row. The HD15 connector is a very common connector used mostly as a video interface for computers and monitors. It can also be found on HD displays, and on older HD source devices such as satellite receivers and cable boxes.

It sure sounded like it was resolved already from the stuff @zil and @Mores said.  However, when it was mentioned it was a D-16 or DB-16? (I haven't dealt with those at all...as I said, I'm no computer expert) I looked at the picture to see if I was imagining things or not.  It sure seemed like a 15 pin (like the connectors that attach my monitor to the desktop computer I am using) so I counted.  I counted 15.

Maybe both are correct I wonder?  It says that on the HD15 that there one pin missing form the middle row (even if there is no pin hole?) which makes it a 15 rather than a 16 (as pin 9 is missing?).  Really, I have no idea except it sure seems like there are 15 pins to my old eyes (maybe I'm more blind than I think?) and it really looks like the same connectors as are on my monitors.

I'm no computer tech person though, so anything I say take with a grain of salt.

Edited April 1, 2019 by JohnsonJones

[jerome1232]

VGA cables are always d-sub 15, but not all d-sub 15 cables are VGA connectors (I think I've seen them on really old computers for serial ports, but like 99 percent of the time if you are looking at a blue colored d-sub 15 connector, it's used to send VGA signals)

VGA connectors are often colored blue. Although they are largely obsolete, they are still common enough that many monitors will still slap one of these bad boys in the back.