Jo22 wrote:Hi, would it be possible to use a second 40pin IDE cable (1:1, only one connector on each side) and connect that to the second connector on your 40pin IDE cable ?
- I've seen some two row pin stripes in a local electronics store that could be used to connect both cables with each other.
Anyway, it's just an idea. Never tried this myself.. 🙁
In a pinch, that should work. It would be best to have that on the end of the three-conductor cable so as not to introduce a stub off the middle connector, and thus cause reflections. Although at 8MHz IDE, you can get away with a lot of sins... 😉
IMO, every retro computer geek should have a roll of 40-conductor ribbon cable and some IDC plugs on-hand. There's just nothing like having right-sized cables.
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This one is especially customized. Being a mini-tower with lots of cables, it's pretty easy to turn into an unmanageable rats nest anyway. But, I also wanted to support either HDD + CD-ROM on one IDE channel, or (if I swap the controller card), 2x CD-ROMs on one channel and the HDD on another. So my IDE cable has three device connectors on it.
Then, I wanted to have my (lower) 3.5" floppy as A: and the (higher) 5.25" floppy as B:. So, I made a cable with a twist, 34-pin connector, another twist, and the card-edge connector. And then there's the SCSI ZIP drive.
The PSU harnesses have been customized as well, to provide enough connectors and at approximately the right places (plus just a little extra for servicing.)