Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!cs.hw.ac.UK!andy
From: andy@cs.hw.ac.UK
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Looking for comments on the 15-pin ethernet connector
Message-ID: <16136.8806161312@brahma.cs.hw.ac.uk>
Date: 16 Jun 88 13:12:22 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 30

Robert Michaels at HP Labs wrote...

>To me the problem is that the little clips are "standard". I would be very
>surprised if a vendor will have enough courage to promote something more
>effective.

About 3 years back we at Spider Systems decided that slidelocks were
useless, and ever since have been fitting screwlocks instead to all our
terminal servers, bridges and stuff.  To let people attach to "standard"
drop cables we provide a free 1 metre drop cable with a screwlock plug on
one end, and a slidelock socket at the other.  We call this a "tail".

The point is that the slidelock part is then not at a strain position - it
is a cable joint well away from the "immovable object" which the back of
the box represents.  It is twisting and bending which breaks slidelocks,
not just pulling - slidelocks are fairly usable for in-line connections.

Of course for people who are near to their network - for example in a rack
with a DELNI, the length of the tail means you don't need another
drop cable at all.  Just to wrap it all up nicely, the screws have a knurled
plastic knob on top for finger tightening.

Of the thousands of products we have shipped, NOT ONE PERSON has reported
a connector problem, and as far as I know NO-ONE has not bought something
because we are "non-standard".  We do get a lot of compliments though...

Take heart, non-courageous HP - let good engineering win through!

	Andy Davis		(andy@spider.uucp)
	Technical Director	(andy@uk.co.spider)
	Spider Systems