The DIY cable installer finds many a reason to hit the bottle. But none more so than the VGA cable. Unlike its cousins, the speaker cable, the CAT5e cable and the HDMI cable, the VGA cable is out there on its own when it comes to being a sod to install. And if you want a neat and tidy media centre installation, unobtrusively siting the PC and amplifiers, perhaps in a cupboard, and running the cables in the walls and ceilings to the TV is the way go.
VGA cables are useful; every computer has a VGA port and almost all LCD TVs support VGA since LCD TVs started life as computer monitors. The VGA cable is invariably the easiest and cheapest means of getting a picture signal from a PC to a LCD TV. And when it comes to picture quality, VGA is good enough for most folks (although media centre zealots will sniff that DVI/HDMI is the only way to go).
VGA cables present two problems – the lack of pliability of the cable and the moulded plugs on the ends. A VGA cable contains 14 copper wires, a grounding, and lots of tin-foil like shielding. The cable is usually surrounded in inflexible black plastic stuff. The cable doesn’t like to bend, and tends to have a mind of its own too. You’re stuffed as far as curing the pliability problem. But there’s better news concerning the moulded plug, the focus of this article.
Moulded plugs on cables are handy, except when you want to install the cable through a tight space. Many a DIY cable installer will have spat blood on discovering that a VGA moulded plug will not fit through the service hole in a metal stud forming part of a stud wall.
Whereas a big long drill bit is all that is normally required to run a cable through a concrete wall, the VGA moulded plug will require all manner of drills, chisels and bolsters to make the hole big enough to accommodate it. And how many cable installers have moaned in despair after having snagged the moulded plug whilst trying to pull the cable through a tight space: Reason enough to down tools and pour yourself a large one.
The cure to pulling a VGA cable with a moulded plug is easy – cut the plug off. But before you take the snippers to the plug, nip out to Jaycar or Dick Smiths and pick up a VGA socket wall plate ($19.95) and a low voltage circuit tester ($3.50). The idea is to locate the socket wall plate either next to the PC or next to the TV, and then run the VGA cable – minus the moulded plug of course – to the wall plate. Prior to pulling the cable, there’s a bit of work to do though.
There is no standard for the colour of the 14 wires within the VGA cable. (Incidentally, VGA plugs have 15 pins but pin 9 is not used). This is where your circuit tester comes in handy because you are going to need to determine the colour of the wires (the “pin-outs” in the jargon) for the 14 pins in the wall plate.
Determining the pin-outs is easy enough to do, if a bit tedious. First of all, get yourself a print-out of a VGA plug because you are going to have to jot down the colour of the wire for each pin. Jaycar’s website (
www.jaycar.com.au) has a nice diagram – just search for “VGA socket wall”. Cut off the moulded plug and bin it. Strip back the black plastic stuff by about 10 cm and expose the copper for all 14 wires. Get a battery and rig-up a circuit with the first of your wires and your circuit tester. Touch each of the 14 pins until the bulb in the circuit tester lights. Jot down the colour of the wire for the “live” pin making sure that you’ve got the correct pin number. Repeat the process for the other wires. Once you’ve determined all the pin-outs, install the cable, connect-up to the wall socket, and say a little prayer before testing, just in case.
Some might be tempted to dispense with the circuit tester and simply hack away at the discarded plastic moulded plug with a hack-saw and screw driver to reveal the pin-outs. Good luck! I tried this and failed miserably, with a bleeding finger to show for my troubles. VGA moulded plugs are not designed to be dissected – be warned.
So don’t let an awkward VGA cable get the better of a neat cable installation: Tame the beast with a bit of ingenuity and a three dollar circuit tester. And save the bottle for another time.
Don't Hit The Bottle Over VGA
