DB13W3

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DB13W3


Male 13W3 plug.

Type Computer video connector
Superseded by VGA connector / DVI
Hot pluggable yes
External yes
Video signal Analogue RGB or monochrome
Pin out

Sun SGI / DCC
Pin 1 Ground Monitor ID bit 3 /
Data clock (SCL)
Pin 2 Vertical sync Monitor ID bit 0 /
Bi-directional data (SDA)
Pin 3 Sense #2 Composite sync /
Composite sync
Pin 4 Sense ground Horizontal drive /
Horizontal sync
Pin 5 Composite sync Vertical drive /
Vertical sync
Pin 6 Horizontal sync Monitor ID bit 1 /
DDC (+5V input)
Pin 7 Ground Monitor ID bit 2 /
DDC ground
Pin 8 Sense #1 Digital ground /
Ground
Pin 9 Sense #0 Digital ground /
Ground
Pin 10 Composite ground Sync ground /
Ground
A1 Red Red
A2 Green
(Gray for monochrome)
Green
(Gray for monochrome)
A3 Blue Blue


DB13W3 (also known simply as 13W3) is an analog video interface connector used primarily on Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics workstations, as well as some displays from Apple Computer. The 13W3 connector is no longer used with modern displays, which have generally moved on to VGA or DVI connectors.

The connector contains 10 standard signal pins and 3 coaxial pins. On the computer side, the pins are female but the coaxial connectors are male. The coaxial connectors carry the video signal split into red, green/gray, and blue; the standard signal pins carry four grounds, three "sense" pins used to communicate with the monitor, vertical sync, horizontal sync, and a composite sync signal.

The 13W3 connector can be converted into a standard VGA connector using cables and adapters that are commonly available. This allows modern multisync monitors, which are common on today's computers, to be used with these workstations as long as they are sync-on-green compatible. Likewise, as many newer Sun monitors support multisync, similar cables can be used to connect them to modern computers.


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