Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!nosc!crash!pnet01!jca
From: jca@pnet01.cts.com (John C. Archambeau)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Mac IIci and third party hard drives...
Message-ID: <684@crash.cts.com>
Date: 11 Nov 89 07:16:39 GMT
Sender: root@crash.cts.com
Organization: People-Net [pnet01], El Cajon CA
Lines: 50

isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu ( ISR group account) writes:
>>Who the hell makes this off the wall connector and what is the part number?  I
>>looked through the AMP and Molex catalogs, there is no such beast unless it's
>>a very new connector.
>
>I had a similar problem with the SE analog-to-motherboard connectors. I wanted
>to run with the motherboard outside so i could debug an expansion card i'm
>working on.. I coudn't find it anywhere, but it wasn't that hard to get one
>after all, I just went down to the local dealer and ordered a replacement
>cable and cut it in half. I'm sure you could do the same for the drive cable.
>    :-)  cheer up, you could be using DOS, don't forget :-)

The problem is that Apple wants $10 for the cable, and I called various Molex
distributors (a kind soul sent me the part numbers in e-mail), and the cost of
making the cable ourselves in-house is about a buck.  Sorry Apple, but my
supervisor and I don't like being reamed for a 900% mark up on a cable.  If 
the power cable was $3 to $4, we'd buy them pre-made in bulk like we do with
our SCSI internal hard drive cables.  

As for finding the parts, it was an adventure in gastrointestinal juices
itself.  Only one Molex distributor in southern California had the plug in
stock, but every one of them had the contacts.  Nice job Apple.  I just know
this was planned by some ingenious soul in marketing.  My peeve there is with
Apple marketing, not system engineering in that respect.
 
As for DOS, I'd prefer it inspite of my peeves against its design. 
Incidentally, I was given my position because of my knowledge of Unix, not
Macs, but yet I ended up being a support technician for both the Sun
Workstation division and Macintosh division of the company.  Wasn't my idea to
begin with, but such is life.
 
Pass the Pepto Bismal...I get the feeling the worst Apple can do is yet to
come.

Bill Gates, help me!  All is forgiven!


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