kwe@bu-cs.BU.EDU (kwe@bu-it.bu.edu (Kent W. England)) (06/15/88)
In article <23340@bu-cs.BU.EDU> bzs@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) writes: > >I'll also add a vote to the Mac-like knurled screws, that would be the >ticket. That would just about do it, but there are some little touches that the hardware guys could do if they just thought about how the equipment gets used. Hardware engineers- you listening?? Redesign the host side of the connection for better strain relief. We can handle the xcvr side with ty wraps alright. First, use a 90 degree angle on the cable into the connector. Then provide a ty wrap mount an inch or so away from the connector mounting point so we can tie the cable down and provide strain relief. Barry will also be able to shove his deskside closer to the wall and that will help. If you can't angle the cable put a standoff bar somewhere on the back of the box so that when the unit IS shoved into the wall it won't crush the cable/connector and pop it off. Ideally, put a strain relief point on the standoff bar so we can tie the cable down. (Smart guys will do both.) This would help a great deal even without a major session of 802.3 devoted to rehashing this. Kent England, also BU
cetron@utah-cs.UUCP (Edward J Cetron) (06/15/88)
I'll add my two cents: I've lost count how many times I've lost my network when just one cable (usually the damn teflon plenum ones which are stiff as a board) just decided to move that extra 1/8 of an inch - slide latches and all. Give me screws or give me glue!!!. (by the way, *I* have NO trouble with my sun - I finally got so pissed that I built a 3 foot extender cable - made of ribbon cable! It's flexible enough that the sun doesn't unplug anymore.) KUDOS to the MicroVAX folks, with a DEC right angle cable, you can tie the cable down the the back door brace, works like a charm - must have been an accident though ;-) -ed cetron Computer Services Manager Center for Engineering Design (will my disgust carry more weight it I tell them I'm a Ph.D.?)
brian@ucsd.EDU (Brian Kantor) (06/16/88)
There is a right-angle shell available for the DB15 connector; it comes from TRW with part number DA-19977-1 stamped on it. We first saw these on cables on the 3B2 ethernet adaptor; the regular cable won't fit into the housing on the 3B2. Ungermann-Bass uses DB-15s with regular DB-25 style screws. You can buy standard shells for the DB-15 cable connector quite cheaply, and the hermaphrodite screws for the chassis-mounted connector are available at large hardware distributors and electronics parts houses. I use the slide latch until someone rips it or bends it into flakeyness, then replace both the shell and connector pins with screw types. If it's in a place where it's going to break, I sometimes replace the slide latch BEFORE installing the system. The slide latch was a good idea but the implementation is poor. Brian Kantor UCSD Office of Academic Computing Academic Network Operations Group UCSD B-028, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA brian@ucsd.edu ucsd!brian BRIAN@UCSD