Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uupsi!sunic!news.funet.fi!funic!fuug!hemuli.tik.vtt.fi!santra!hila.hut.fi!jmunkki
From: jmunkki@hila.hut.fi (Juri Munkki)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: I need a serial port connector
Message-ID: <1990Sep1.203648.22242@santra.uucp>
Date: 1 Sep 90 20:36:48 GMT
References: <8648@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU>
Sender: news@santra.uucp (Cnews - USENET news system)
Reply-To: jmunkki@hila.hut.fi (Juri Munkki)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, FINLAND
Lines: 39

In article <8648@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU> robert@longs.LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Robert Thompson) writes:
>	I recall reading that one of you is selling the connector for the
>	serial port on the 48.  Are you still out there ?
>
>	Any news would be greatly appreciated.

Someone is selling those connectors, but if I understood correctly, it's
not really a connector, but a kit that allows you to build a connector.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm extremely happy by a solution that one of
my friends came up with.

You need a plastic DIP socket with square holes. You can't use those with
round holes, because there isn't enough marging to make it fit. Cut out
three sockets and use those for your serial cable. You only need three
pins, because the HP connector has two grounds and for most uses one is
sufficient.

	---------------
	|# # # # # # #|
	|	      |	====>	______
	|# # # # # # #|		|# # #
	---------------		------

This connector fits extremely well (although the pin spacing is wrong) and
goes in only one way. My connector won't even go in the wrong pins.

I have seen the HP cable and it fits slightly better than my home made cable.
If you are not good at making cables and don't want to spend hours hunting
or making a connector, get the HP cable. The price isn't all that bad.

Would someone from HP like to comment on why they came up with a nonstandard
pin spacing on the serial connector? If you tried to prevent people from
plugging "funny" cables to their calculators, you failed miserably. I can't
believe that selling cables would be the reason. It doesn't make sense.

   ___________________________________________________________________________
  / Juri Munkki	    /  Helsinki University of Technology   /  Wind  /   HP S /
 / jmunkki@hut.fi  /  Computing Center Macintosh Support  /  Surf  /   48 X /
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~