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longest vga cable?

1K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Bosef 
#1 ·
I don't have $ right now to build a dedicated HTPC, but would like to still reap the benefits by using my current PC. I would need about 50-75ft. Is this possible? I figure that if it would be, it might be so expensive as to just about cover the cost of an entry level HTPC.


Any help?
 
#2 ·
I have built a 50' VGA with CAT 5e that works well , maybe not as good as a BetterCables 50' solution but I know it was much cheaper ;) .

-- Jason Berg
 
#3 ·
To avoid noise, you need coaxial cable.


To prevent ghosting, you need cable with a 75 Ohm impedance.


Get yourself a VGA->5 female BNC break-out, and use a set of matching RG-6 cables. Some time in the future, find yourself an interface (like the Extron RGB202) built for driving long cable runs.
 
#4 ·
Drew is correct for the best possible image use coaxial 75 Ohm cables but if you don't have the available funds for those then CAT 5e does work well [ as many others here on the forum have found ] .

-- Best Wishes All ,

--- Jason Berg
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by DaGamePimp
Drew is correct for the best possible image use coaxial 75 Ohm cables but if you don't have the available funds for those then CAT 5e does work well [ as many others here on the forum have found ] .
RG-6 is under twenty cents a foot. .20 * 75 * 5 = $75. RG-58 is even less expensive. If your graphics card and projector support sync-on-green (RGsB) you could do it for $45 in cable with RG-6.
 
#8 ·
While I do agree that true 75 Ohm cable is the way to go , you guys probably are not aware that the 103XQ sony's do not use RGBHV BNC connections so using Rg-6 is not an option here unless you get the actual breakout box from Sony direct [ and it is spendy ] .

-- Best Wishes ,

--- Jason Berg

----------------------------

-- Wow , $24.00 for a 50' VGA - that is cheap and the cable sounds good too .

-------------------------------
 
#9 ·
hi, i can attest to the products that rogersystems sell as well.they are very nice for the price point.i use there vga to bnc cable now($8) with great success...


brickie
 
#10 ·
long runs of vga high bandwidt ask for topquality cables . They don't come cheap. There are two alternative solutions. Use a set of vga baluns which allows you to go as far as 350 feet with cat5 cable. Another solution is to use a line driver. Anyhow, using topnotch cable is the only way if you are talking about moderate lenghts. Look at the specs. You should at least use cable with att of at the most 5dB/100ft at 100MHz. eg Altinex or extron

If your supplier can't give you the specs, don't be tempted to buy it, even at a low price.
 
#11 ·
Thanks a lot for the info. I'm still on the fence. I figure that it won't cost a lot to try the cat5 thing because I have an old 100ft crossover cable that I don't use anymore, so I can rig it up tonight. If things don't work out, I will probably give the Rogers Systems stuff a try.


One more question, is cat5e the regular blue stuff used for networking, or is there cat5 AND cat5e?
 
#12 ·
-- Coppertop ,

--- There is Cat 5 , Cat 5e , Cat 6 . The E stands for "Enhanced" .

--- Cat 5 is 100mbs while Cat 5e is 150mbs capable .

*** Oh , and for best results I would use a 24 awg Solid Core Cat 5e cable .

--- Best of Luck ,

--- Jason Berg
 
#13 ·
I dunno about cat 5...I was just making some cables from my hub to a new machine and it is NOT sheilded. BUT if you get the picture Jason gets from his 1031Q then go ahead and use it! For my line doubler to my 1272Q Sony I use http://www.pccables.com 25ft SVGA extension cable. Has RF barrels at each end and they guarantee no ghosting. I use a HD15 to 5BNC breakout cable at the projector end. Great picture for about 2 years now. For $16 it is a steal! :) The 75ft is only $43. Not bad.


-Audiophil
 
#16 ·
Hey Jason. I'm needing to build a longer run from my doubler to the 1031q.


When you build a cable using cat5e shielded, does it matter which pinouts you put through a specific twisted pair? Is there an optimum way to minimize interference?


BTW, thanks again for the pinouts, my first cable works great. It's just too short since I canibalized it off of a dead monitor and added the 25pin.


Thanks!


Eric
 
#17 ·
Okay, here's my test results with regular CAT5. I work for a telco company and was able to pick up a box for free. I ran about 50ft and soldered the HD15 ends on. I'm getting noise. I'm getting a bunch of diagonal short lines all through the picture. You can see everything okay, but it's distracting; kinda like snow, but not so noticeable. Actually, without my glasses, I can barely see it, but once my glasses are on, I can't watch it. What could be the problem? Is it that I'm not using CAT5e? I'm gonna pick some CAT5e and try it again.


I'm pretty comfortable with my soldering skills, but know nothing about cables or anything. There are 4 sets of twisted pairs in the cable. How do I wire these to the SVGA ends?


I'm currently using...

CAT5 ---> PINOUTS ON HD15


orange ---> red

orange stripe ---> red ground

blue ---> blue

blue stripe ---> blue ground

green ---> green

green stripe ---> green ground

brown ---> vertical sync

brown stripe ---> horizontal sync


If I go with the CAT5e, how should this be different? What do I do with the shield? Is each pair shielded? Is there only one shield around the entire cable?


Any help? I'd like to get this thing up and running soon. I've already wired keyboard and mouse ports from my computer to my living room using CAT5, and they are working fine. I'm also gonna take some rg59 home tonight to run my spdif cable.


Thanks for the help.


BTW, I'm excited, this is the longest post I've written, PLUS it's the one with the most responses. (giggling like a school girl :))
 
#18 ·
We have run Canare V3-5cable up to 75 feet with no problems. Ends were Canare true 75 ohm BNC and db15 was high quality.


Terry
 
#19 ·
You also need need to look at the center conductor of the RG type cables.


Some do not have full copper center conductors. If they don't it will affect the picture on longer runs.


I'll have do dig up my reference stuff on the subject if there is interest.


Just thought I'd mention it as it came to mind reading this thread!



John
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by DaGamePimp
While I do agree that true 75 Ohm cable is the way to go , you guys probably are not aware that the 103XQ sony's do not use RGBHV BNC connections ...
You're right, but... take a look ;) :) :D

(i'm sorry for the low quality)
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by DaGamePimp
While I do agree that true 75 Ohm cable is the way to go , you guys probably are not aware that the 103XQ sony's do not use RGBHV BNC connections ...
You're right, but... take a look


(i'm sorry for the low quality)
 
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