ejkst@cisunx.UUCP (Eric J. Kennedy) (12/12/88)
I'm thinking of moving my A1000 to a set of shelves next to my desk, to free up some desk space and give me that nice "workstation" feel. :-) This means that I have to extend the monitor, mouse, and keyboard cables. The monitor and mouse should just take DB-9 extention cables, and the keyboard should take a telephone cable. Are there any problems with either of these, or anything to watch for? Similarly, I want df1: (3.5") and df2: (5.25") on my desk too, which means a DB-23 extention. I seem to recall hearing about a power or noise or reliability problem of some sort when using a long external drive cable. Can anybody confirm or refute this? Also, where can I find a DB-23 cable, or the parts to make one, or should I just hack DB-25 parts and be done with it? Thanks for any help, -- Eric Kennedy ejkst@cisunx.UUCP
lphillips@lpami.van-bc.UUCP (Larry Phillips) (12/13/88)
[Line eaters really do exist, son. I built one myself.] In <14340@cisunx.UUCP>, ejkst@cisunx.UUCP (Eric J. Kennedy) writes: > I'm thinking of moving my A1000 to a set of shelves next to my desk, to > free up some desk space and give me that nice "workstation" feel. :-) > This means that I have to extend the monitor, mouse, and keyboard > cables. The monitor and mouse should just take DB-9 extention cables, > and the keyboard should take a telephone cable. Are there any problems > with either of these, or anything to watch for? Similarly, I want df1: > (3.5") and df2: (5.25") on my desk too, which means a DB-23 extention. > I seem to recall hearing about a power or noise or reliability problem > of some sort when using a long external drive cable. Can anybody > confirm or refute this? Also, where can I find a DB-23 cable, or the > parts to make one, or should I just hack DB-25 parts and be done with > it? The monitor cable might be a problem, depending on the quality and of the DB-9 extension cable. I have seen poorly grounded monitor cables give the screen the jumpies whenever the internal disk was accessed, so watch for that symptom and if it appears, try another extension. I built a 25 ft. extension once, out of a DB-9 and 4 lengths of standard cable-TV coax, but that's probably overkill for anything much shorter. The telephone cable has to be of the 'handset' variety, or it will be the wrong size. For the keyboard, the thing to watch out for is resistance in the cable. Just a little too much, and it won't work. You can buy one off the shelf, and it will work, while the one next to it won't. See if you can convince the store to let you bring it back and swap it for others as many times as it takes. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to finding one that's good. There used to be an ad in Amazing Computing for DB-23 connectors, or if you really get stuck and really would rather have the right thing, a local dealer usually stocks them (Vancouver BC. (604) 873-2174, ask for Ken or Duane). -larry -- "Intelligent CPU? I thought you said Intel CPU!" -Anonymous IBM designer- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca or uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (12/14/88)
Re: Eric J. Kennedy's questions about extending Amiga ancillaries ... The mouse can be extended with no problem using a DB-9 extension cord. The keyboard can be extended IF you use proper wire cables (not any of the carbonized crapola that's often sold for use with TELEPHONES) AND you verify the wires don't do a cross-over between the plug and jack ends (in other words, you need to assure the +5 and GND signals don't become switched between the Amiga and the keyboard when using your extension cables). The "specs" for the floppy drives are, I believe, 1 meter (3 feet) from the back of the system to the last drive in any chain. You "may" be able to go to greater distances, but I would caution you that it's at your own risk. DB-23 connectors (both M and F with nice hoods/shells) are available from several advertisers in Amazing Computing; modified DB-25 connectors work fine, too. Important thing is to use braid-shielded cabling, which can often be found at surplus outlets. Thad Floryan [thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad]
cjp@antique.UUCP (Charles Poirier) (12/15/88)
In <14340@cisunx.UUCP>, ejkst@cisunx.UUCP (Eric J. Kennedy) writes: > and the keyboard should take a telephone cable. Are there any problems As I recall from some earlier discussion, (someone will correct me if I'm wrong), you have to be careful with phone extender cables. Phones apparently don't mind having certain pairs of wires in a four-wire cable cross over from one end to the other. Your keyboard, however, can be permanently fried by such a cable. You should test the cable with a continuity check meter connected across the two ends of each wire -- use the connectors of your original cable for reference. Use the extender cable only if it has only straight-through connections. -- Charles Poirier (decvax,ucbvax,mcnc,attmail)!vax135!cjp "Docking complete... Docking complete... Docking complete..."
hbo@sbphy.ucsb.edu (Howard B. Owen) (12/16/88)
In article <2467@antique.UUCP>, cjp@antique.UUCP (Charles Poirier) writes... >As I recall from some earlier discussion, (someone will correct me if >I'm wrong), you have to be careful with phone extender cables. Phones >apparently don't mind having certain pairs of wires in a four-wire >cable cross over from one end to the other. Your keyboard, however, >can be permanently fried by such a cable. You should test the cable >with a continuity check meter connected across the two ends of each >wire -- use the connectors of your original cable for reference. Use >the extender cable only if it has only straight-through connections. The four wire phone cable I use has color coded conductors, and the RJ-11 connectors I use are made of transparent plastic. Rather than using a VOM to check if the cable is wired straight-through or crossed, I just check the order of the colors as viewed through the connector on each end of the cable. If the order is the same with respect to the tab on the top of each connector, then the cable is wired straight-through. Of course, testing a cable with a continuity checker will tell you if each conductor is working properly, but so in many cases will plugging in the cable! -- Howard Owen, Computer Systems Manager internet: hbo@sbphy.ucsb.edu Physics Computer Services BITNET: HBO@SBITP.BITNET University of California, Santa Barbara HEPNET/SPAN: SBPHY::HBO "I am not a pay TV service!" uucp:{The World}!ucbvax!hub!hbo
fgd3@jc3b21.UUCP (Fabbian G. Dufoe) (12/16/88)
From article <2027@van-bc.UUCP>, by lphillips@lpami.van-bc.UUCP (Larry Phillips): > The telephone cable has to be of the 'handset' variety, or it will be the > wrong size. For the keyboard, the thing to watch out for is resistance in > the cable. Just a little too much, and it won't work. You can buy one off > the shelf, and it will work, while the one next to it won't. See if you > can convince the store to let you bring it back and swap it for others > as many times as it takes. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to finding > one that's good. There's a more important question when using telephone cables for your keyboard. Be sure none of the wires are crossed or the reversed polarity can cause serious problems. I don't remember if the damage gets done to the keyboard or the A1000. It would be a good idea to put an ohmmeter on the cable BEFORE you connect it to your computer. Be sure pins 1, 2, 3, and 4 on one end are connected to 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the other. If the pin numbers don't map properly DON'T USE THE CABLE! --Fabbian Dufoe 350 Ling-A-Mor Terrace South St. Petersburg, Florida 33705 813-823-2350 UUCP: ...codas!usfvax2!jc3b21!fgd3 ...uunet!pdn!jc3b21!fgd3