Macintosh LC II: Connecting a VGA Monitor
What are the pinouts for connecting a VGA monitor to the Macintosh LC II
computer?
This article has been archived and is no longer updated by Apple.
To recognize a VGA monitor, you must wire pins 10 and 7 together. Since
Macintosh LC II always grounds ID bit 2, this wire will cause ID3 to be
grounded and will make the VGA ID appear.
Macintosh LC VGA Connector
DB-15
2 ------------------- Red Video ---------------- 1
1 ------------------- Red Ground ---------------- 6
9 ------------------- Blue Video ---------------- 3
13 ------------------- Blue Ground ---------------- 8
5 ------------------- Green Video ---------------- 2
6 ------------------- Green Ground ---------------- 7
15 ------------------- Hsync ------------------------ 13
12 ------------------- Vsync ------------------------ 14
14 ------------------- Sync Ground ------------------ 10
10 -------------------|
7 -------------------| Connect 7 and 10 so the sense pin ID will equal VGA
A few issues to keep in mind:
- VGA monitors may vary, depending on the vendor. Check with the vendor
about Macintosh LC II compatibility before buying.
- Vendors have different image quality specifications. There may be
significant differences between Apple monitors and VGA monitors. Do a
side-by-side comparison of a VGA monitor with an Apple monitor before
buying.
- When a VGA monitor is connected as described in the pinout above, the
resolution is 640 x 480. The bit-depth supported depends on the amount
of VRAM installed. For example, if a 256K VRAM SIMM is installed, 4-bit
color (16 colors) is supported. If the 512K VRAM SIMM is installed,
8-bit (256 colors) is supported.
Macintosh LC II always grounds ID bit 2, this wire will cause ID3 to be
grounded and will make the VGA ID appear.
Macintosh LC VGA Connector
DB-15
2 ------------------- Red Video ---------------- 1
1 ------------------- Red Ground ---------------- 6
9 ------------------- Blue Video ---------------- 3
13 ------------------- Blue Ground ---------------- 8
5 ------------------- Green Video ---------------- 2
6 ------------------- Green Ground ---------------- 7
15 ------------------- Hsync ------------------------ 13
12 ------------------- Vsync ------------------------ 14
14 ------------------- Sync Ground ------------------ 10
10 -------------------|
7 -------------------| Connect 7 and 10 so the sense pin ID will equal VGA
A few issues to keep in mind:
- VGA monitors may vary, depending on the vendor. Check with the vendor
about Macintosh LC II compatibility before buying.
- Vendors have different image quality specifications. There may be
significant differences between Apple monitors and VGA monitors. Do a
side-by-side comparison of a VGA monitor with an Apple monitor before
buying.
- When a VGA monitor is connected as described in the pinout above, the
resolution is 640 x 480. The bit-depth supported depends on the amount
of VRAM installed. For example, if a 256K VRAM SIMM is installed, 4-bit
color (16 colors) is supported. If the 512K VRAM SIMM is installed,
8-bit (256 colors) is supported.
Last Modified: Feb 18, 2012