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Is this a floppy drive cable?

 
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mm

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Since: Aug 29, 2006
Posts: 17



(Msg. 1) Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:47 pm
Post subject: Is this a floppy drive cable?
Archived from groups: comp>sys>ibm>pc>hardware>storage (more info?)

OT floppy drive cable?
IN my box of miscellaneous parts, I have two flat cables, probably
that a friend gave me, that look like floppy drive cables. They have
the right connector on each end.

But they only have connectors on each end, none in the middle. And
yet 7 of the wires in the middle flip over, like they flip over some
wires for the second floppy drive on one cable.

What are these cables for? Why the flipped wires?


I don't know what brand these cables were made for.

Thanks)

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Paul Rubin

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Since: Aug 05, 2004
Posts: 32



(Msg. 2) Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:47 pm
Post subject: Re: Is this a floppy drive cable? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)

mm <NOPSAMmm2005.RemoveThis@bigfoot.com> writes:
> But they only have connectors on each end, none in the middle. And
> yet 7 of the wires in the middle flip over, like they flip over some
> wires for the second floppy drive on one cable.
>
> What are these cables for? Why the flipped wires?

Sounds like a floppy cable for some machine set up to have a single
floppy drive. If it was a mass market computer they saved a few cents
on each unit by not bothering to install the second connector. It's
been a long time but I sort of remember that drive A was the one at
the end of the cable, i.e. with the flipped wires. So you'd use a
cable like that for a machine with just an A drive and no B drive.

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CJT

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Since: Nov 10, 2003
Posts: 485



(Msg. 3) Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:54 pm
Post subject: Re: Is this a floppy drive cable? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
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mm wrote:
> OT floppy drive cable?
> IN my box of miscellaneous parts, I have two flat cables, probably
> that a friend gave me, that look like floppy drive cables. They have
> the right connector on each end.
>
> But they only have connectors on each end, none in the middle. And
> yet 7 of the wires in the middle flip over, like they flip over some
> wires for the second floppy drive on one cable.
>
> What are these cables for? Why the flipped wires?
>
>
> I don't know what brand these cables were made for.
>
> Thanks)
>
> If you are inclined to email me
> for some reason, remove NOPSAM Smile

If you only have one floppy drive, you don't need a middle connector.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che....RemoveThis@prodigy.net.
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mm

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Since: Aug 29, 2006
Posts: 17



(Msg. 4) Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:54 pm
Post subject: Re: Is this a floppy drive cable? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:54:49 GMT, CJT <abujlehc DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote:

>mm wrote:
>> OT floppy drive cable?
>> IN my box of miscellaneous parts, I have two flat cables, probably
>> that a friend gave me, that look like floppy drive cables. They have
>> the right connector on each end.
>>
>> But they only have connectors on each end, none in the middle. And
>> yet 7 of the wires in the middle flip over, like they flip over some
>> wires for the second floppy drive on one cable.
>>
>> What are these cables for? Why the flipped wires?
>>
>>
>> I don't know what brand these cables were made for.
>>
>> Thanks)
>>
>
>If you only have one floppy drive, you don't need a middle connector.

Sure but why do there need to be the flipped wires?

If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM Smile
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David Flory

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Since: Dec 12, 2006
Posts: 4



(Msg. 5) Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 4:31 am
Post subject: Re: Is this a floppy drive cable? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)

mm wrote:
>
> Sure but why do there need to be the flipped wires?

Interesting question!...

The Shugart floppy standard (that IBM adapted for the original PC)
allowed four drives to be controlled with a single 34 pin cable with no
twists.

There was a separate "device select" line for each of the four drives,
and each drive had to be set (with jumpers) to respond to only one of
the device select lines. You could have Drive 0,1,2, and 3.

Although some early PC's could actually run three or four floppies, by
the time the AT was released (1984) most controllers only supported
lines 0 and 1.

The "twist" appeared as a lazy way to simplify drive installation. Each
drive is set as 1, and then the twist moves the drive 0 control lines
into the drive 1 pins for the drive at the end of the cable.

Dave
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Rod Speed

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Since: Feb 01, 2006
Posts: 1853



(Msg. 6) Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:20 am
Post subject: Re: Is this a floppy drive cable? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
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mm <NOPSAMmm2005 DeleteThis @bigfoot.com> wrote
> CJT <abujlehc DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote
>> mm wrote

>>> OT floppy drive cable?

Its not off topic.

>>> IN my box of miscellaneous parts, I have two flat cables,
>>> probably that a friend gave me, that look like floppy drive
>>> cables. They have the right connector on each end.

>>> But they only have connectors on each end, none in the middle.

Thats pretty common with new systems now, because hardly
anyone has more than one floppy drive anymore and some
chipsets dont even support more than one anymore now.

>>> And yet 7 of the wires in the middle flip over, like they flip
>>> over some wires for the second floppy drive on one cable.

No choice on that if you only have one drive connector.

>>> What are these cables for?

Systems which will only have one floppy drive.

>>> Why the flipped wires?

No choice on that if you only have one drive connector.

>>> I don't know what brand these cables were made for.

It isnt brand specific, its the most common type of floppy cable now.

>> If you only have one floppy drive, you don't need a middle connector.

> Sure but why do there need to be the flipped wires?

Because that is the way that the drive letters evolved over time,
the single drive goes on the end of the cable, and so needs to
be after the flip, even if there isnt a middle connector because
there's only one floppy drive.
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mm

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Since: Aug 29, 2006
Posts: 17



(Msg. 7) Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:20 am
Post subject: Re: Is this a floppy drive cable? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 10:20:08 +1100, "Rod Speed"
<rod.speed.aaa.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote:

>mm <NOPSAMmm2005.RemoveThis@bigfoot.com> wrote
>
>> Sure but why do there need to be the flipped wires?
>
>Because that is the way that the drive letters evolved over time,
>the single drive goes on the end of the cable, and so needs to
>be after the flip, even if there isnt a middle connector because
>there's only one floppy drive.

It took a while, but I get it now. Thanks Rod and Paul and CJ.

If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM Smile
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Folkert Rienstra

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Since: Nov 10, 2003
Posts: 1906



(Msg. 8) Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:06 pm
Post subject: Re: Is this a floppy drive cable? [Login to view extended thread Info.]
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"David Flory" <dafloryspamxx RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message news:kQohh.18284$wc5.17070@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net
> mm wrote:
> >
> > Sure but why do there need to be the flipped wires?
>
> Interesting question!...
>
> The Shugart floppy standard (that IBM adapted for the original PC)
> allowed four drives to be controlled with a single 34 pin cable with no
> twists.
>
> There was a separate "device select" line for each of the four drives,
> and each drive had to be set (with jumpers) to respond to only one of
> the device select lines. You could have Drive 0,1,2, and 3.
>
> Although some early PC's could actually run three or four floppies, by
> the time the AT was released (1984) most controllers only supported
> lines 0 and 1.

Actually the controllers supported a Drive Select for each of 2 drives
AND a Motor On for each of 2 drives.
The PC floppy drives will have only 1 drive select line and 1 Motor On
signal line on the original Drive Select 1 and Drive Select 0 respectively.
The other original drive selects are not connected on a PC drive.

>
> The "twist" appeared as a lazy way to simplify drive installation.

Similar to cable select with IDE drives.

> Each drive is set as 1, and then the twist moves the drive 0 control
> lines into the drive 1 pins for the drive at the end of the cable.

If you used a standard switchable (ie non PC drive) floppy drive. There is
no '0' and '1' Drive Select on PC drives, just Drive Select and Motor On.

>
> Dave
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