Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!boulder!frechett
From: frechett@boulder.Colorado.EDU (-=Runaway Daemon=-)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: HP serial cables
Message-ID: <28655@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Date: 25 Oct 90 06:57:27 GMT
References: <1990Oct25.041352.8140@cs.columbia.edu>
Sender: news@boulder.Colorado.EDU
Reply-To: frechett@snoopy.Colorado.EDU (-=Runaway Daemon=-)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Lines: 31

In article <1990Oct25.041352.8140@cs.columbia.edu> ji@cs.columbia.edu (John Ioannidis) writes:
>I understand people's reluctance to pay $30 for a cable, but your time
>(let alone the network bandwidth we've wasted with this discussion) is
>just not worth it. 
>
>/ji

I am sorry..I had to comment.  And I have to say that I disagree.  The 20
minutes that I spent on building my cable was worth it.  I have tranferred over
a meg of files over that cable and spent somewhere on the order of 2 hours 
logged into my UNIX account via hp -> cable -> modem...   The whole thing cost
me $3 to build and has served me faithfully ever since.  I have gotten no 
transmit errors at all.  There was no way in hell that I was going to buy 
a cable for what hp is charging, and I couldn't use the software anyway, as I
don't have a PC.  I am, as you put it, "good with my hands" too, but I don't
beleive that what I did is beyond most people's ability.  The only thing that I
had going for me was that I stumbled upon some gold pins that had holes small
enough to fit the pins on the hp.  There is nothing special about them in any
other sense and the cable is very straight forward.  I did use a hot melt glue
gun to build the outside of the plug (everyone should have a glue gun) up a
bit, but it required no extra ordanary skill and the some thing can be done
with epoxy and a bit of fine sawdust.  
	It all seems to be a matter of getting lucky.  My advice, find some
pins that really do fit on the hp pins and I will tell you what you can with 
them to make a reasonable cable.  

	ian

--

	-=Runaway Daemon=-