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Somebody make me an IDE->Centronics cable and sell it for ~$5... please?
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RandyT:

Thanks.

But here's the deal on cables;

They aren't easy to find anymore as the cable standard is obsolete, just like the centronics connectors.  Due to this, I cancelled my backorder on the connectors, so this will be a limited run of about 30 of these.

The cables are out there, but not in great numbers.  The best prices I have seen are in the $6 dollar plus shipping range, but you can get 2 usable parts so that's not too bad.  What is a little bothersome is that unless you get an old monster from a junk bin (like I have  ;D) the lines are going to be 28ga.  These will work fine for controls, but are pretty small to work with.

CN36 Male / Male cables come with 18, 25 and 36 conductors.  The 18 is the thing Grasshopper was talking about.  If you look closely at the listings, they usually say 18C or 36C.  That is the number of conductors.  IEEE 1284 DB-25 to CN36 will always have only 25 wires in them.  This isn't enough, so forget using the dime-a-dozen printer cables, unless you are happy with 22 inputs, +5v and ground (no Shazaaam! function as the wires don't go that high on the CN36 connector).

What you need is a 6 or 10', CN36 to CN36, M/M 36C (or conductor) cable.  M/F will also work, but you can only use one side.

Hope this info helps.  In the mean time, I will look to see if other options exist for this kind of thing that are more current.

RandyT

quarterback:

--- Quote from: RandyT on November 30, 2006, 09:23:49 pm ---What you need is a 6 or 10', CN36 to CN36, M/M 36C (or conductor) cable.
--- End quote ---

This is good to know.  I didn't want to say anything ealier until I got my cable delivered and sliced it open to confirm, but I ordered a M/M CN50 50C to go with my swappable HD 'adapter".     

They had other CN50 cables marked 25PR and 19PR so, before I ordered anything yesterday, I googled around and came to the conclusion that the "50C" referred to 50 conductor, so I ordered that one.  (Does the PR refer to "twisted pair" or is it something else?)

This was all Google-detective-work on my part without confirmation, so when I read Grasshopper's post, I started getting nervous but, as long as the 50C nomeclature is accurate, I should be good to go, yes?
richms:
Bumping a little bit, but has anyone actually mounted the connectors on a "box" which houses the removable controls so that they can simply slot the control panel into the cabinet and have them mate?

That works in the old style parallel ata swappable trays, but I am guessing the tollerances of those are a lot better then one would make with mdf - how well does the connector pair self centre when pushed together?

I was thinking of using drawer rails for my swappable panels, with some latches which held it in.
Fozzy The Bear:

--- Quote from: richms on December 30, 2006, 05:54:12 am ---That works in the old style parallel ata swappable trays, but I am guessing the tollerances of those are a lot better then one would make with mdf - how well does the connector pair self centre when pushed together?
--- End quote ---

Not at all!! It'll work fine with just roughly correct alignment. A lot of fruit machine hoppers are fitted this way so that you can slide them forwards to re-fill them. They just run on a flat plate of MDF and two side pieces and work OK. With a centronics connector at the back and a socket on the rear board.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
padstack:

--- Quote from: Grasshopper on November 26, 2006, 03:07:25 pm ---
--- Quote from: quarterback on November 26, 2006, 03:01:25 pm ---This is awesome, Grasshopper.  Now I just need to find a source in the US.  I wonder if there's a local electronics place where I can pick one up instead of paying $5 shipping for a $1 item. 
Thanks!

--- End quote ---

FWIW Farnell also have a US subsidiary. In my experience they're an excellent company to deal with. I always order components from them because they're generally cheaper than high street stores, have good service, and they don't charge extra for shipping. Unfortunately they do have a minimum order amount (£20 in the UK).


--- End quote ---

Their US subsidiary is Newark InOne @ newarkinone.com.  I work for them.  (and no, I won't mke anything from this post - just a lurker trying to help out)  Just a word of warning though, they have a $25 min (but will be waived if you order on-line) and you can get anything that farnell has in stock from england (but will obviously take longer - i.e. ~3 weeks).  Shipping can be killer though.  Cheapest shipping I've ever gotten was ~$8.  If you have a part number and mfg on one of these things, I can run it and post back on here.  I just want to be up front about the fact that we're known more for our selection than we are for low prices.  :)
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