
Need a USB Cable? Build One - Gedxx
https://josef-adamcik.cz/electronics/need-a-usb-cable-build-on.html
======
jolmg
> GX12 or GX16 4-pin aviation connector (Aliexpress) for decoration.

Aesthetics is subjective of course, but I've never really liked things that
are added for decoration but have no functional purpose. It's like fake
drawers on cabinets or fake pockets on shirts or blazers. In this case, I
imagine that connector even adds weight to the cable for no reason at all.
It's got to make it a bit uncomfortable when using the keyboard off the desk
which I imagine is the purpose of the coiling.

My kind of beauty is the adminbook[1]. Everything has a functional purpose in
that. Nothing is added simply because it looks pretty.

Is there a name for this kind of aesthetics?

[1] [https://habr.com/en/post/437912/](https://habr.com/en/post/437912/)

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roywiggins
Brutalism?

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dmurray
No, that's specifically a style of architecture featuring (inter alia) raw
concrete external finishes, and not a catchall for things you find ugly.

~~~
tomjakubowski
You're being harsh. There's more to brutalism than the material: for instance,
the style tends to visibly expose functional elements like elevator and
ventilation shafts to the building's exterior.

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Animats
I wonder if it works at the higher USB speeds. It would be interesting to use
a time domain reflectometer on that to see if the big 4-pin connector causes
an impedance mismatch.

Here's a TI document on USB signal PC board layout.[1] Look at all those
touchy requirements. Differential lines must be the same length, down to a
millimeter or so. Stubs off to the side are bad, even stubs the thickness of a
PC board. They cause reflections.

USB, despite how common it is, has tough electrical specs. USB-C (which is
only vaguely related to USB A and B) is even worse.

[1]
[http://www.ti.com/lit/an/spraar7h/spraar7h.pdf](http://www.ti.com/lit/an/spraar7h/spraar7h.pdf)

~~~
cushychicken
It's not the electrical performance that bones you - it's the emissions
performance. USB stands out like a Dutch brothel in the emissions chamber if
you mess up the routing or return path.

In signal integrity terms, I've found it quite robust.

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ocdtrekkie
This is cool, and for an art project, sensible, but USB is far to much of a
pain in the rear for regular cable-making if you, "need" a USB cable. I prefer
to cut my own CAT 5/6 over buying premade in a lot of situations, but that
doesn't require I heat up the soldering iron.

~~~
hathawsh
On that tangent... I've made some CAT 5 cables using a crimping tool, but
aligning all 8 wires in the correct order for simultaneous insertion into the
plug is quite a bit of work. Is there a trick or tool for doing it quickly?

~~~
ocdtrekkie
Probably the biggest "pro-tip" I've seen from ISP cable techs is that they
tend to strip way more cable than they need to go in the connector, like two
or three inches worth, align the wires, kinda bend them back and forth to get
everything smoothly bending the same way (straight, ideally), and then cutting
off the excess.

The easy though I've seen is some folks use RJ-45 jacks with holes in the end
of the connector, so you can run this excess length right through the
connector, and then the crimper cuts off the excess as well.

~~~
jws
_…seen is some folks use RJ-45 jacks with holes in the end of the connector…_

What‽ Well that's going to make my once-in-a-while cable terminating
experience better. I like the idea of knowing each wire made it to the
contact, and being able to audit them on the outgoing side before trimming.

A quick googling says the wording to search for is "RJ45 Passthrough
Connectors", then be careful because the #1 Amazon hits are not actually CAT6
connectors despite their titles, and some of the other top ones are of, let's
say _variable_ quality.

~~~
cr0sh
> What‽ Well that's going to make my once-in-a-while cable terminating
> experience better.

Believe me - you'll love it.

I bought my house in 2002 and ran Cat5e to a few places in the home (not
everywhere), running 100 Mbit. Last year I decided I wanted to upgrade things
to gigabit speeds, so I bought a new router, modem, and switches. I did some
online checking and everything seemed to indicate that for short runs (sub-100
meter IIRC), Cat5e would work for gigabit. I didn't want to crawl back into my
attic for new runs, so I tried it out.

Everything worked fine except for one run - the longest run - which spanned
the width of my house (about 50-60 feet). It would only detect and run 100
Mbit - not gig. Some further testing and checking revealed that I only had 4
of the 8 wires working properly (2 pair) - and those just happened to be the
ones needed for 100 Mbit! Somehow I got lucky and only lost connectivity on
the other pairs. My other shorter runs all worked fine. Had that cable not
failed, I would have been golden...but nope.

So I had to run a new line. I decided after some research that I would run
Cat6 (couldn't afford the tools or whatnot to do Cat7 or I would have) - and I
found those pass-thru connectors and crimpers. Cheap enough - bought a box of
Cat6, the connectors and the crimper (plus rubber boots for the ends) and then
crawled into the attic early one morning (about 4am - I live in Phoenix, and
this was right at the end of "spring" going into our hot season - so it was
coolest in the attic at that time) and got to work.

I spent all morning and into the afternoon up there (surprisingly, even as the
day wore on and got into the 80s, it stayed relatively decent in my attic - I
made sure to bring plenty of ice water along, though) - most of the time in
the attic, stringing the lines, sometimes having to come down and go back up
to pull lines and whatnot (using the old cable as pulling line).

The pass-thru connectors and everything made it all go much, much smoother
than it would have otherwise, especially when I was terminating things after
pulling the lines.

I used this cable:

[https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cat6-Ethernet-Bulk-
Cable/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cat6-Ethernet-Bulk-
Cable/dp/B015QJ40AU/)

Though I ended up getting the orange cable (I attached it to my roof trusses
using cable clips and I wanted it to "stand out" so that anybody working up
there could see it clearly - my original cable had been laying on the trusses,
and it had been covered by a layer of insulation we had blown it - it's quite
possible that the cable was broke at that point).

I ended up getting stranded because I wanted something more flexible while I
ran it - though technically you're not supposed to use stranded cable for this
kind of "run" \- but for short runs (in a home, all runs are typically short)
it's ok - different thing I guess if it were an office or datacenter. I also
like the monoprice cable because of that plastic "cross" that separates the
pairs, and works as a nice core for pulling the cable without distorting the
pairs. It really was nice cable.

Then I got these pass-thru connectors:

[https://www.amazon.com/ITBEBE-Plated-Through-premium-
Connect...](https://www.amazon.com/ITBEBE-Plated-Through-premium-
Connectors/dp/B07451LPHR/)

Plus some generic boots and a generic pass-thru crimper. It made everything so
much simpler. It was still a "pain" to organize the wires (color code order)
and get them "just right" to go into the connector, but once in, and they
passed thru - I could easily see and know they were in the right order, and
that the crimp would work, unlike regular connectors. If it wasn't right, I
could pull it out and try again. It was really a night and day difference from
what I remember in the past. I only bought a small box of cable (250 feet - I
think that's what I linked), but I still had a ton left over if I need patch
cables or whatnot for later.

You won't regret it.

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oneplane
I suppose this is more of an aesthetic thing than a tech thing considering
that a cable like this probably doesn't match the USB spec very well ;-)

~~~
penagwin
Actually I'm not sure, I don't know much about the spec, but I know that USB 3
has certain pairings similar to ethernet, but USB 2 doesn't have those.

If the cable he's using is shielded by ground then I think it might be up to
USB 2 spec?

Edit: Interesting mini-comparison of USB 1 and USB 2
[http://ww3.microtek.com.tw/tw/uploads/faq/pdf/comparison-
usb...](http://ww3.microtek.com.tw/tw/uploads/faq/pdf/comparison-
usb2.0-cable3.pdf)

~~~
metaphor
> _Actually I 'm not sure, I don't know much about the spec..._

See the USB 2.0 Cables and Connectors Class Document[1], in particular, 4.10.7
Test Group '6'.

Why speculate when the USB-IF has made their standards both free and readily
accessible?

[1]
[https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/CabConn20.pdf](https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/CabConn20.pdf)

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agumonkey
I've been trying to turn old broken micro/mini usb cables into new ones using
these [https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10PCS-LOT-YT2153B-Micro-
USB-...](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10PCS-LOT-YT2153B-Micro-USB-4Pin-
Male-connector-plug-Black-White-welding-Data-OTG-line-
interface/32832871275.html)

But they're a tad too tiny/frail. Anyone knows some larger micro usb connector
kits ?

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mncharity
I'd like a USB cable with a flat right-angle low-profile soft connector. Like
a USB mouse/keyboard wireless dongle, but instead of the hard plastic
hardware, that's just the start of the cable. Starting with a slight angle, so
it works with a row of inline USB ports. For always-in on-the-go USB cables,
without the socket-destroying mechanical advantage lever of traditional
connectors.

I use laptop USB ports for hand tracking cameras, an HMD, and related cruft.
Frequent mobile use, and unfortunate ThinkPad port placement, has those port
sockets mechanically distressed. I now have sticks which slide onto the laptop
to brace the cables, but... a cleaner solution would be nice. A new laptop
might have better placement, but would still need protective sticks.

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xyzal
Reminded me of this project: Flash drive disguised as a sawed-off usb cable.

[https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2008/how-to-make-a-sawed-
of...](https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2008/how-to-make-a-sawed-off-usb-key/)

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x62Bh7948f
Nice cable! I’m yet to meet someone who actually uses the hiragana layout for
writing japanese.

~~~
gwilkes
Indeed, I don't even know any Japanese people that use the kana keys. I don't
know the recent data but in 2009 there was a study that found only 12% of
Japanese people used kana input.

Something that is disappointing about these keycaps is that they mostly only
make these for US keyboard layouts not actual Japanese keyboard layouts. I
have a Japanese keyboard that the keys were getting worn on and something like
this seems like it would be a good replacement but it isn't because several of
the keys that aren't letters such as shift characters on numbers and other
special characters are labeled wrong for a real Japanese keyboard.

There are some Japanese layout replacement keycaps but the selection is very
limited compared to how many of these stylistic kana keycaps they make for US
layouts. I cringe a little bit every time I see these keycaps. I mean I get
it, but still.

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jaclaz
Worth of note:

>USB connectors. In my case USB-Mini and USB-A but you can buy USB-Micro and
USB-C too.

Sure I can buy the connectors, but soldering a USB-Micro is not exactly the
same of a USB-A or a USB-Mini, let alone a USB-C.

And no, those pre-soldered to a breadboard don't count for a DIY cable.

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mb_72
Better build two; a backup of a special cable is always nice to have and it's
much more convenient to order the parts and build both at the same time.

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jascii
Sigh, whipping up a cable when needed has become something to post about? Does
having stacks of pin-out diagrams and a hot soldering iron near my desk make
me look old?

~~~
kevin_thibedeau
Using paracord for sleeving is a good idea. Could be useful in practical
applications.

~~~
lbotos
Is it tho?

I have paracord on my HyperX headset and it's HORRIBLE, tangles constantly.
I'm considering cutting it off just to avoid the tangle.

On something that never moves, maybe, but I abhor it.

~~~
HeWhoLurksLate
Maybe replace it? There's a huge difference in quality between what
manufacturers use and the 550 paracord that was used in this project.

~~~
moftz
Paracord is usually a bit more rough than the smooth nylon that you find on
lots of fancy cables.

