I’m looking to stock up and curious what most folks buy? Is there a solid brand or source out there you prefer? Do you guys use the round version of these cables to improve cable management? Thanks for any tips!
I got my cables from everywhere, be it salvaged from dumped computers to bought in a large discounted batch.
Personally I don't really care much about what IDE and floppy cables, as long as it works.
same never bought them before, except one time when I bought you know those rounded ones in a sleeve. That was a long time ago though and I prefer ribbon cables now as I believe they reduce crosstalk.
Just keep in mind that newer cables have that middle pin that doesn't do anything anyways blocked off on the connector and older boards have those pins so to use them it requires you to bore out the spot where its blocked off. Not a issue but if you are buying cables it might be good to look for ones that don't have that closed off there.
I make my own.
Its better than relying on old connectors and cables, and I have control over the size of the cable itself, which is great for larger than usual or smaller than usual cases.
All you need is a crimp or vice, some ribbon cables, and the IDC connectors. 34 pins for floppy, 40 for IDE.
I’ve been folding my cables lately. I like to use the 80 conductor ones but fold them so I can route them like sata cables any old salvaged cable will do though some of those old school rainbow cables would be cool but you gotta make them and they only come in 40 conductor
Whatever I can dig up really is what I use. I tend to prefer dual connector cables because I never know when I want to slap a slave drive in somewhere. I try to be neat but there's only so much you can do with a 40 or 80 conductor ribbon cable in an XT/AT chassis.
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I use what ive got, i havn't bought anything since 2003 when i bought 2 UV Green IDE and a UV Green floppy cables for my Athlon XP rig with its BLUE LED fans and its purple cold cathode, wernt those the days
I just pull one out of my stash of scrapped systems. If it works, fine. If it doesn't work, in the recycle bin it goes. I have around 50 of each.
There's a glitch in the matrix.
A founding member of the 286 appreciation society.
Apparently 32-bit is dead and nobody likes P4s.
Of course, as always, I'm open to correction...😉
I like the ones with all the holes open and labeled
Master, Slave and Motherboard.
Especially if its only has two connectors.
And it definitely has to have the red stripe for proper orientation.
Any marking on the IDC cable to indicate pin 1 is fine unless you are blind.
There's a glitch in the matrix.
A founding member of the 286 appreciation society.
Apparently 32-bit is dead and nobody likes P4s.
Of course, as always, I'm open to correction...😉
DNSDies wrote on 2021-02-12, 21:20:All you need is a crimp or vice, some ribbon cables, and the IDC connectors. 34 pins for floppy, 40 for IDE.
That sounds interesting. What specific tools do you use?
Is this too much voodoo?
Cheapest round ones I can get on ebay for builds I'm keeping, I tell myself for better airflow but looks are probably the real reason.
When modding my xbox I dumped all my 40 pin cables as its true these have more crosstalk then 80 pin causing the HDD not to be recognised. It's probably not enough to matter on a standard PC but why anything less.
Then I got a PC that refuses to work UNLESS I use 40 pin.
Also crimping my own cables. Got my hands on a roll of round ribbon cable a few years ago, and connectors cost next to nothing. So nice to be able to do custom lengths.
Errius wrote on 2021-02-13, 04:06:DNSDies wrote on 2021-02-12, 21:20:All you need is a crimp or vice, some ribbon cables, and the IDC connectors. 34 pins for floppy, 40 for IDE.
That sounds interesting. What specific tools do you use?
There are special crimping tools for IDC connectors, but a regular vise works just as well, if not better. You basically just position the ribbon cable in the connector, and squeeze it all together. The only downside using a vise I can think of is the mobility aspect, but then again, how often do you work with your retro computers in the field? 😀
So this IDC Crimp tool right here maybe?
Pc Accessories- Idc Crimp Tool, For Flat Ribbon Cable And Idc Connectors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007R2JEM4/ref=cm_s … F0H9R3TX4J4JEFY
Chadti99 wrote on 2021-02-13, 11:51:So this IDC Crimp tool right here maybe?
Pc Accessories- Idc Crimp Tool, For Flat Ribbon Cable And Idc Connectors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007R2JEM4/ref=cm_s … F0H9R3TX4J4JEFY
that's actually the one I use. It's a little fiddly, but it works well enough.
