Using an HDMI to VGA cable

In a mad moment - Giorgio mumbled :

Hello Giorgio,

I have two of these converters.

I can tell you that they will not always work with the Pi.

The reason is that they are powered at 5volts through the HDMI socket of the Pi.

The Pi cannot always supply enough current ( > 50ma )or the HDMI cable of the converter is too thin to pass the current. (at least 100ma)

The only cure is to buy a converter that takes a 5volt input directly from a good power unit - Or if you are able, open up the unit and cut the 5volt input from the HDMI cable,(pin 18) then run 5volt supply wires on to the internal pcb.

It is a fiddley job that needs good eyesight and a steady hand.

Hope this helps you.

be very intermittent sometimes it works but mostly it don't it always seems to work with other HDMI sources.

my research indicates that this is probably due to the output of the Pi not being enough to drive the converter. a powered converter should work better. the B+ is supposed to have a more powerful output so may be more successful

I've been using one that looks like this (it may not be identical!) and it seems to work fine on 3 different model B devices (not B+).

On 14/10/2014 20:24, mick wrote: []

Thanks for the pointer, Mick. Are you saying that "it doesn't work on a B+" or "I haven't tried it on a B+"?

Chinese Ebay vendors). It was tiresome to set up. I had to ssh in to tweak the configuration until I was able to put something on the screen. And it only worked at broadcast TV standards such as 720p, 1080p etc, so the image on the monitor was blurred. It defeats the purpose of having a display to check that all is OK when you first switch it on. And I was worried about the current draw that jumped by 200mA.

Very useful:

I've now thrown it away and thrown away the old VGA monitor that I'd bought for a fiver a couple of years back at a second hand shop that was clearing unsold stock.

I find that the Pi isn't really up to the task of providing an interactive desktop environment that's responsive enough for easy code development. So I develop code on another machine and connect to the Pi via ssh, sshfs, and nfs (I've got a script to configure the servers on the Pi, and menu-linked scripts on my main machine to connect).

So I'm running it almost headless, except that I find it useful sometimes to connect the RCA output to a small 8 inch LCD TV that I bought at the same sale, also for a fiver because it was analogue-only after the TV digital-switchover. That's good enough to operate the menus for shutdown etc, and even putting some commands in a terminal if I squint a bit.

(I'll note that I've got another Pi with Rasbmc for the HDTV, and in that particular case it excels as a driver for a display.)

I bought this one from Amazon for USD 15.99 and it works fine. I used it with a 1000 mA power supply without any errors.

Cable Matters Gold-Plated Active HDMI to VGA Adapter (Male to Female) with 3 Ft Micro USB Cable - White ASIN: B007SM7O2U Item model number: 113046-WHITE

JimR

Hopefully it does what it should do (unlike the Chinese thing that I bought for a couple of quid) and reads the VGA monitor for its highest (or native) resolution and reports that resolution to the HDMI source. I notice that this one doesn't support the old "XGA" standard of 1024x768 although it does support the PC monitor standards either side of 600x800 and 1280x1024.

The latter - I haven't got one! It works on both the original B and the version 2 B though, so I doubt if the B+ would be any different. IIRC it has a higher output current capability.

On 15/10/2014 20:56, mick wrote: []

Thanks, Mick. I've ordered the one you quoted as the price was right, and will report back.

Hmm. But do look at my reply about my own experience with what looks like

issue. I was aware that people were reporting that they burned out the Pi, but I assumed that I could hack in a power supply if necessary. When I found out that it was also awkward to set up and didn't give a sharp display, I didn't bother.

On 16/10/2014 16:52, Dave Farrance wrote: []

Yes, I saw that, Dave (for which, thanks) but I thought that it was worth a punt at the price, just to have a play with. I have no immediate /need/ for such a device. If it doesn't work, being Amazon I could send it back for a refund or, more likely, it will go in the bin with, perhaps, a strongly worded negative review.

Il 14.10.14, piu' o meno alle 14:30, Giorgio scrisse:

Thank you all,

On 14/10/2014 20:24, mick wrote: []

It took a couple of weeks to come from China, but that adapter works correctly on a model B (with a 2A power supply) to a 1024 x 768 VGA display.

Thanks for letting us know, David. :) Next time I'm going to get a monitor with an HDMI input, it's a lot less hassle. lol