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Video Seven VGA

S

stangman517

Experienced Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Messages
243
Location
Georgia, USA
Hello all.

I received a Video Seven VGA card from eBay and cosmetically it looks great. However I get nothing on my VGA monitor when powering up the computer. Typically I'd see the monitor show signs of life when first powering up, but not with this Video Seven card.

I checked the FCC Id against the one on minuszerodegrees and it matches: http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/5150/vga/5150_vga.htm I know the MB (5150 series B with the newest BIOS) has its dip switches set correctly because I pulled a HERCULES GB500 VGA 8 BIT ISA ADAPTER from my 5150 to test this Video Seven card. I also verified the switches on the Video Seven card match what's in the above link.

What I did notice is the author wrote "ou must not assume that all Video Seven VEGA VGA cards work in a 5150. It could be, for example, that a design change in later revisions of the card results in 5150 incompatibility." I noticed on the card I received the white label on the chip has different numbers as if mine is newer because the number(s) is higher. Plus in the author's image of the card I do not know what XT slot 8 means.

I have attached a pic of my card. If anyone has any ideas I would be greatly appreciative, and what does XT slot 8 mean?

Thank you!VideoSeven1.jpg
 
stangman517 said:
what does XT slot 8 mean?
Click to expand...

The XT, as in the IBM PC/XT 5160, has 8 ISA slots, where the 8th slot (the one next to the keyboard connector, so the leftmost slot when looking from the back of the case) has slightly different timing and signaling from the others. So not all cards will work.
See here: http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/5160/misc/5160_slot_8.htm

I see a jumper on your card... It could be a 'slot 8' jumper? Apparently VEGA cards had that. Perhaps it's set to slot 8 mode, and therefore it won't work in your 5150. You could try the jumper in the other position to see if that helps.
 
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Ok.
I'll try putting the jumper in the other position. Hope it works; just wanted a backup VGA card to my Hercules.

Thanks!
 
stangman517 said:
Ok.
I'll try putting the jumper in the other position. Hope it works; just wanted a backup VGA card to my Hercules.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You should also check the dip switches, I thought there was a manual for a similar card online, but it turned out to be an EGA card from V7, so the dipswitches may have different meaning.
This is a picture of a similar one, configured for a 5150... You could try setting the dip switches the same: http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/rom/photo/video_seven_vega_vga_62L1989V5.jpg

I know I have a Paradise 8-bit VGA card, that has multisync and fixed frequency on one of its switches. My LCD monitor only gets an image from one of the settings, even though I'm quite sure it worked on a real multisync monitor in the past. Could be a limitation of modern LCD technology.
 
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Hello Scali and Stone!

I'll try it tonight when I get home. The link to the manual doesn't apply to my card, BUT it did provide a good tidbit, so I think you are on to something with the jumper block set to slot-8. This manual says to jumper pins 1 & 2 for slot-8 option and to jumper pins 2 & 3 to disable slot-8 option. And I did use the link on minuszerodegrees to set the dip switch settings.

So can y'all tell me if this is a VGA card as well as EGA? The eBay auction list it as "Video Seven D2A62L1989V5 8 BIT ISA Card EGA VGA 600-0102." If I can't get it to work then I can send it back on the premise the auction representation was wrong. I'd really like to have another one of the Hercules card I have that's great. Plus I tested it (HERCULES GB500 VGA 8 BIT ISA ADAPTER ) with an VGA LCD monitor and it displayed beautifully.

Thanks
 
stangman517 said:
So can y'all tell me if this is a VGA card as well as EGA?
Click to expand...

Yes, I think it is this: http://museum.ttrk.ee/th99/v/U-Z/52859.htm
All VGA cards are also EGA cards in the sense that they're backward-compatible. But this particular card also has a 9-pin output for an EGA monitor, which is a rather uncommon feature.
So as you can see, the dipswitches can select the monitor. If they are set to the wrong output, you won't see anything (best would be to connect a monitor to both and see what it does :)).
It seems to be a variation of the second card in this document: http://www.thecomputerarchive.com/a... Cards/Video Seven Vega Deluxe video card.PDF
 
Scali said:
All VGA cards are also EGA cards in the sense that they're backward-compatible. But this particular card also has a 9-pin output for an EGA monitor, which is a rather uncommon feature.
Click to expand...
That's *hardly* the case. Aside from this Video 7 card, Oak, Ati, Everex, Prism, Twinhead and Genoa made them. There were also quite a few others that were manufactured under various names with Trident chips. I wouldn't call that rare. :)
 
Stone said:
That's *hardly* the case. Aside from this Video 7 card, Oak, Ati, Everex, Prism, Twinhead and Genoa made them. There were also quite a few others that were manufactured under various names with Trident chips. I wouldn't call that rare. :)
Click to expand...

Oh please. Not this again. I didn't say nobody else made them or anything. I *know* all this.
I'm just saying it's a rather uncommon feature on VGA in general. Do you know how many VGA-compatible cards have been made over the years? And how few of them actually have a 9-pin connector?
Only very early VGA cards have them at all (by the early 90s, VGA monitors were common, so there no longer was any point).
 
Scali said:
Oh please. Not this again. I didn't say nobody else made them or anything. I *know* all this.
Click to expand...
Then why do you make such sweeping generalizations that indicate something to the contrary? That can easily mislead those members who don't have all that much knowledge and are looking for a little guidance into a not so familiar area (for them)?

The fact is they're not rare here even if they are or might be somewhat uncommon in your neck-of-the-woods.
 
Stone said:
Then why do you make such sweeping generalizations that indicate something to the contrary?
Click to expand...

I'm not. Besides, that wasn't the point, so I did not feel like going into detail about that. I just wanted to say that because this card has multiple outputs, it is extra important that you get the dipswitches right, to make something appear on your screen. Which is something the OP might not have been familiar with, since it is more common for VGA cards to have just a VGA output.

Stone said:
The fact is they're not rare here even if they are or might be somewhat uncommon in your neck-of-the-woods.
Click to expand...

I suggest you stop acting like a <whatever>, because I never claimed that they were rare. I don't know what it is with some of you, who feel such a need to prove others wrong, and show how knowledgeable you are, even to the point that you completely pull other people's statements out of context and put words in their mouth.

I only said 'rather uncommon', which technically means anything under 50%, so, not the majority of VGA cards. Which is easily true.
 
At lunch today I had a duh moment with my stupid question is it also a VGA card. So I answered my own stupid ?: 9 pin EGA 15 pin VGA. Eh this work thing makes a fella tired and the brain slows a bit: for me anyway ;-)

Btw, excellent link: http://museum.ttrk.ee/th99/v/U-Z/52859.htm I'll tinker with it this weekend. Eh not enough time during the work week.

Thank you very much Stone and Scali for your feedback!!!!

Spencer
 
stangman517 said:
What I did notice is the author wrote "ou must not assume that all Video Seven VEGA VGA cards work in a 5150. It could be, for example, that a design change in later revisions of the card results in 5150 incompatibility." I noticed on the card I received the white label on the chip has different numbers as if mine is newer because the number(s) is higher.
Click to expand...
I am the author, and I am being pedantic there. I am trying to communicate that there are no 100% guarantees. From time to time, manufacturers make subtle changes to their products.

That photo on minuszerodgrees is of my card. I just now tested the card with four different-model LCD VGA monitors attached in turn to my IBM 5150, and it all worked fine. The jumper and switch settings were per my photo on minuszerodegrees.

On the photo of my card, I should rename the "XT slot 8" to "XT slot 8 jumper (not in slot 8 position)".

There are at least two versions of this card. I note that the card's entry on Total Hardware 99 has "VER. 2" in its title. For the two versions that I have, I modified some information that I found about the card, and put the modified information at [here].

Did the seller indicate that the card was in working condition?

Have you re-seated the ROM within its socket?

I guess that you do not have the means to re-seat the two large LSI chips. After having nasty accidents with 'proper' PLCC chip extractors, I switched to an el-cheapo version ([photo]).
 
This link is VERY close; however jumper block P4 & P5 are not quite in the same place with my card; they're under J4 (EGA feature connector). I'm still working on it.

I do have a question that's simple to you gurus, but not quite to me. When it says pins 2 & 3 closed, well I understand I jumper is on pins 2 & 3, but how do I know which is pin 1? Is pin 1 always toward the left along with the words slot8?

Thank you.
 
There should be a small numeral '1' printed next to pin 1. There is no absolute convention as to where pin 1 is, so it's best to look at the board in question.
 
I don't want to read through the entire thread, so let me get to the point. I have one of those as the original owner; the big difference is that the DAC chip (large DIP in the upper right corner) is a gold-capped CERDIP.

Do you need some information from the manual?
 
3pcedev said:
There should be a small numeral '1' printed next to pin 1. There is no absolute convention as to where pin 1 is, so it's best to look at the board in question.
Click to expand...
I have three of these cards, but I can only find two of them presently. On both, the pin 1 designation on the connectors, jumpers, and sockets, is done by a square shaped solder pad.
 
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