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Somebody make me an IDE->Centronics cable and sell it for ~$5... please?
quarterback:
--- Quote from: NickG on November 29, 2006, 12:55:35 am ---Here are some pictures of an adaptor I pulled from a $5 removable hard drive tray. It seems to be fully wired (all 40-pins)
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Dude, you are so much ---smurfing--- smarter than I am. I have two of those sitting unused on a shelf literally 3-feet away from me!
They're 50pin Centronics which is why they have all 40 pins wired (plus 12v and 5v on mine). Unbelievable. Thanks NickG!
RandyT:
Ok, these will be available at the store shortly.
As you can see, all of the important connections made it to the socket (32 inputs, ground, +5v and Shazaaam!)
I missed the price a little, but $6.49 each shouldn't break the bank.
BTW, good idea on the removable drive bay connectors. The 50 pin cables might be a little tougher to come by than a printer cable though. *edit* Also make sure that the 7 grounds that are present on the IDE bus aren't all tied together on that connector. If they are, it could be very bad depending on which pins are affected.
And on that note, if using a printer cable, make sure you get one with the full 36 wires. Some have only 25 in them.
RandyT
Grasshopper:
--- Quote from: RandyT on November 30, 2006, 12:46:47 pm ---And on that note, if using a printer cable, make sure you get one with the full 36 wires. Some have only 25 in them.
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I tried very hard to source a 36 wire Centronics cable for my project but failed. The best pre-made cable I could find (from Farnell) used only 25 wires.
A word of warning to anyone here. Do not buy cables from any company that does not provide pinouts. Don't assume they'll conform to the Centronics standard as some manufacturers take shortcuts. The first cable I bought did all sorts of weird things like join all the earths together making a total of only 18 usable connections. But it didn't come with any documentation explaining this. So if I hadn't been paranoid enough to check the continuity of all the pins with a multimeter before switching on the power I could have ended up frying my Ipac. It was made by Belkin which I assumed was a reputable brand.
quarterback:
--- Quote from: RandyT on November 30, 2006, 12:46:47 pm ---
As you can see, all of the important connections made it to the socket (32 inputs, ground, +5v and Shazaaam!)
I missed the price a little, but $6.49 each shouldn't break the bank.
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Looks great Randy :applaud:
--- Quote --- Also make sure that the 7 grounds that are present on the IDE bus aren't all tied together on that connector. If they are, it could be very bad depending on which pins are affected.
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--- Quote from: Grasshopper on November 30, 2006, 05:18:07 pm ---The first cable I bought did all sorts of weird things like join all the earths together making a total of only 18 usable connections
if I hadn't been paranoid enough to check the continuity of all the pins with a multimeter before switching on the power I could have ended up frying my Ipac.
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Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely check things out.
Fozzy The Bear:
--- Quote from: RandyT on November 30, 2006, 12:46:47 pm ---Ok, these will be available at the store shortly.
I missed the price a little, but $6.49 each shouldn't break the bank.
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That's great Randy! It'll be on my post Christmas order list..... :cheers:
Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)