Hi all.

As you can see, this is my first post here. :)

I have an Obsidian SB-100, but I have no pass-through cable to connect it to the primary vga card.
Anyone here has this card WITH the cable and/or could tell me the pin-to-pin schema of the cable (i could then build one of my own)?

Since I have seen that falconfly site is full of quantum3d drivers releases (the best on the net, I think  ;) ) I hope that this is the real place where somebody could help me...  :P

For further infos, check this thread:
http://www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=465

wrote on 10.04.04 at 22:40:51:

I own the Card with its original cable  ;)

I love you.  ;D

Could you make a pin-2-pin check as soon as you find some spare time?  :P

Thanks a lot. You have made this man happy!  :D

I know this is a strange connector (I own a cabled miro hiscore and a cabled canopus too ;)) and I really don't know how to thank you for your help.   :)

I think I'll dismember a monitor extension cable by one side (well... I have to buy one first...), soldering the wires at the ends, and finally plugging them directly into the SB-100 input connector (following your instructions, of course!). Maybe the glue pistol could do the rest, keeping them into their place...  :P

I have found a good pic of the vga connector here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/edwardbamford/V2/vga_pinouts.gif

You can use it for reference when giving me instructions.

p.s.: tomorrow is Easter. No problem if you "do the job" some other day... I am so terribly happy in having found somebody with the original cable that waiting a few days would definitely not be a problem... (even more, I have no extension cables in my hands, right now...) ;)

Hello again.

I am testing the card to verify that it works correctly (it would be non-sense asking you to scan the pass-through cable if the card is in some way damaged).

I installed the card under Win98 SE using the original Quantum3d drivers (DX5 driver, Release 3) I found on falconfly.de. No previous voodoo cards were installed on this system (fresh format). The hardware is a P3@450 (fsb100) on a soyo 6BA+, 256mb PC100, and no apparent conflicts involve any peripheral.
In a few words: the installation goes fine till the end, and two Quantum3d "secondary display adapters" are then correctly shown in the device manager.

The problem is that I get an error message ("glide2x.dll expected Voodoo Graphics, none detected") when trying to execute a 3D game (actually, I tried GLquake and Unreal - Return to Na Pali).

Since you own the same card, have you got any suggestion? what drivers may I use to have it work fine? Would it be wise to add a glide2x.dll from another set? Have you ever had this kind of problem with this card?  :-/

Great! I solved simply installing the release 2 driver (SB100 only) instead of release 3 (all-obsidians unified set).  :D

I switched the monitor cable from the primary vga to the SB100 after launching the game, and everything went fine.


wrote on 17.04.04 at 20:47:06:

ps : i would like to know how you're resolving the problem of the cable... because that can be useful for some users in the 3dfx world...

Uhm.... well... I have no monitor extension cable to sacrify yet, but I think I will get one on monday or tuesday. After that, I still need your help: as soon as you find some spare time, please scan the pin-to-pin connections of your pass-through cable. I will make one out of that, and after having successfully tried it, I will gladly make some kind of small guide (maybe with a clear pic of the connections and the necessary istructions) to explain how-I-done-it. ;)

Thanks in advance.

I'm trying to figure where you plan to get a connector to fit in that card, the monitor cable is easy (scrounge around the back of the local computer shops or dumps, there must be tons of dead monitors there, just cut the cable. not that I've ever done that  ::))

wrote on 18.04.04 at 07:06:45:

I'm trying to figure where you plan to get a connector to fit in that card

Uhm... well... I am just waiting for patience to find the time to scan her cable and tell me how the VGA connector pins are linked to the connector on the other side of the cable.

I have already found a monitor extension cable, and the next step would be cutting one of the ends off and manually insert the wires into the SB-100 connector (following patience instructions, of course).
Finding such a connector, in fact, seems difficult for Q3D too (they told me they still have in stock medusa - read obsidian2 - cables only)...  ::)

Note to Patience :-* -

If you have a digital multimeter with continuity checking (or know someone who you can borrow one from) this will help you to figure out how the lead is wired up. :D

This was how I made a 'spare' NORMAL Voodoo passthrough cable for a V1 / V2 setup. ;D

Dead easy when you know how! ;)

Up!  ;)

...patience... are you there?   ???

Don't worry superbox! :D

Falcon and Patience are busy "cleanin' out tha' trash!" in the V5 6K thread... ::)

...I'm sure they'll get back to ya! ;)

PEACE! 8)

Yep that Amp-Man and Beta reallu semed to thrash tha place  >:(.

wrote on 08.05.04 at 22:19:54:

Don't worry superbox! :D Falcon and Patience are busy "cleanin' out tha' trash!" in the V5 6K thread... ::)

Pretty damn busy, I think... since 1 month and a half has now gone away...

I would understand if she told me "Sorry, but I do not have a minute of spare time for doing this" (even a "get the f*ck out of my forum!" would be welcome, at this point), but all this silence and indifference really begin to seem kinda ridiculous...  :-/

Hmm...you might want to ask 'gtxe' if he has a lead for his SB100 before he sells it... :P

Trust me mate, if I was the one with a SB100 and a lead, I'd EASILY be able to help (I make leads for lots of stuff like Voodoo passthrough cables and SCART cables for games consoles...) ::)

Yo Patience! you reading this thread still? ???

wrote on 22.05.04 at 00:48:49:

Hmm...you might want to ask 'gtxe' if he has a lead for his SB100 before he sells it... :P

I tried and asked, but unfurtunately he misses the 100SB-4400 pass-through cable too, and the other obsidian he owns (100SB-4440) has a 2D chip, so it does not even require it.

If someone is going to buy his 4400, I guess he would be interested in building this cable too...

Nothing but waiting for Nightbird, then...

Note: I have asked Q3D too, but they told me they no longer have these cables in stock, and they are not going to give me any "electric" information about it...

Hm, I've contacted the German Datapath representant (Quantum3D Resales) again about this matter, but I reckon others already did.

Bad News :
- although having several SB100's myself, I don't have that special Cable either (only Obsidian2 Medusa Cables)

Good News :
Should a Pin-out turn up, I would be able to have any type of Cable done in a professional manner.
(the raw materials for any form of Connectors/Cables are no Problem).

wrote on 22.05.04 at 23:12:03:

Good News : Should a Pin-out turn up

::)

Okay, I'm in Contact with Datapath again, but I must say those Cards start to confuse me myself :

The Connector you deem responsible for taking the "Loop-Through" Cable seems rather a standard Connector for Stereo/3D Glasses (?)
It has "Stereo" written next to it, and is a female 8-pin connector, correct ?

Since none of my 100SB's has the MGV-2000 daugther card (which, according to the Driver's ReadMe, would make the 100SB a full 2D Card itself, a bit like a VoodooRush) I don't know exactly how/where the pass-through cable is to be installed myself as of now.

I'll have to wait on the reply from Datapath there, but I'm on it...

Yes, I know that the bracket says "stereo" near the connector. And I know there is another Obsidian SB-100 model that has a 2d integrated chip too, thus making it a standalone card.

But the card I own is a SB-100 4400, and is found by win98 (Windows voodoo1 generic drivers are automatically installed). No signal out of its VGA connector (PCI slot is obviously set to first init in the BIOS), even if no other video card is installed on the system.

I have also compared the "big chip" on the SB100 with the one on the obsidian x-24, and they look like being the same.

I think at Quantum 3d they used the same bracket for any card (thus reducing the cost of making different brakets for different layouts...  ), and that STEREO is just the default printing on it.  ;)

The other connectors are the composite and the s-video one. There is no choice: the "stereo" connector is definitely dedicated to the pass-through cable.
It is a Canopus-like cable. Something like this:

http://i12.ebayimg.com/02/i/01/48/dc/69_1_b.JPG

Btw... what's Datapath?  ???

Datapath was an official Reseller/Distribution company for Quantum3D Hardware in Europe and Germany.

Here comes a Canopus Pure3d card scheme.

I made it tonight, scanning my pass through cable.
No utility for those who don't have a Canopus card, no utility for those who have it with its cable... but if somebody - one of these days - should find himself in the situation I am with my obsidian card... you know... ;)

http://www.forumzone.it/public/uploaded/Superbox/20045280597_Pure3d_Pinouts.gif

I could try to connect my SB-100 too, following this scheme (SB-100 connector is slightly different, in the position of the "B" pin*), but there is a strong chance it won't work, since cables could not be similar to each other...

...but most important thing: I fear to damage my obsdian card in some way while doing it...  :-/

*EDIT: I just noticed that the differences are more than one. SB-100 connector has 8 pins instead of 9, and the pins layout is different too...

Okidok, I already reveiced the numbers :

-------------------------
Quantum 100SB Pass-Through Cable PIN-Out Description

Lower Row : 2 Pins

Left = HS >> Pin 13 on 15 pol. D-Sub
Right = DDC >> Pin 12 on 15 pol. D-Sub

Center Row : 3 Pins (2 Left, one free, 1 Right)

Left = VS >> Pin 14 on 15 pol. D-Sub
Center = Blue >> Pin 3 on 15 pol. D-Sub
Right = ? >> Pin 5 on 15 pol. D-Sub

Upper Row : 3 Pins

Left = DDC >> Pin 15 on 15 pol. D-Sub
Center = Green >> Pin 2 on 15 pol. D-Sub
Right = Red >> Pin 1 on 15 pol. D-Sub

Not quite a Picasso, but it should do ;) :
http://www.falconfly.de/img/100SB-PassThrough_PinOut.JPG


PS.
@Superbox
I saw some Images of your Card that you Linked in other Forums.
Can it be that you have only one daughterboard (Shade) Card ?

I'm not sure if the Card can work correctly in full SLI with only one installed (mine has two, although I never tested it lacking the Cable myself of course)

Wonderful! :D

I'd sincerely almost lost my hopes, and here comes the scheme...  :D

Don't know how to thank you.  :-*

True: I've got only one Shade expansion card. I found this SB-100 on ebay, bought from a californian guy for about 30 dollars, and the conditions were not excellent (one Shade card missing and no pass-through cable). Btw, the card is in perfectly working condition, both with and without the daughterboard. The problem is that mounting one Shade card alone gives some artifacts during rendering (kinda interlacing effects on moving objects).
You can test your card even without the pass-through cable. The problem is that you have to switch the monitor cable connector from the primary vga to the SB100, when you enter 3D mode, and then again from the Obsidian to your primary card, when you return to 2D mode. Very annoying, but at least possible...

Just another question: do you know if people at Datapath got any medusa (Obsidian X-24 pass-through) cables for reselling? Q3D headquarter has still lot of them, and could ship one of these to me, in Italy... but I am guessing if somebody "nearer" sell them as well... ;)

P.S.: pin 5 is ground. It was the only pin I could determine for sure using my multimeter (the only one that sends the needle to 0 ohm, when grounded to the bracket) ;)

No Problem :)

I'm afraid Datapath don't have any spare Cables anymore, since they've sold many of their remaining Quantum Cards without any accessories already...

Here I am... once again... but with no particular requests, this time...  ;)

I just like to know what do you think of this kind of medusa cable:

http://www.forumzone.it/public/uploaded/Superbox/2004727105953_Medusa++.jpg

The big terminal fits perfectly into the X-24 female connector, while the other two are (obviously) the VGA IN (from the primary board) and VGA OUT (to the monitor, which however remains blank).
The strange thing are the 4 RCA-like connectors, respectively named:
- audio right (red)
- audio left (white)
- video 1 (yellow: a B/W signal is carried out from here, but it is nothing "watchable")
- video 2 (yellow)

Kinda strange to connect audio to an obsidian X-24, isn't it?  ???
I can only think it is not a medusa cable designed for this board, but... who knows?  :-/

My question is: have you ever seen one of these before?