Modding IDE Cables

[captaincurran]

i was at this one site http://www.directron.com/modguide.html#rounding looking at ideas to further mod my Klingon Kase computer and my Network hub when i got to the cable rounding section, they had this warning on it.

Don't try to round a UDMA66 or UDMA100 cable; it's difficult and easy to damage the cable. You can square it without much problem though.

thing is i don't know what a UDMA66 or UDMA100 cable is. i'm not evensure how to tell if my cable is one of those types. please help before i go offline for the night, for surely by time i wake up in the morn, i'll have been modding.

[Exile69]

Well, those are the older IDE cables. Instead of the now common UltraATA 133, which can transer at speeds up to 133Mbps, the older ones transer at 66Mbps and 100Mbps. I don't know how you'd find out which ones are which though. Good luck, if you mess up, rounded ones are only like a few dollars and look better than self modded ones. Hope this helps.

[captaincurran]

not really, but i'm gonna mod it anyways

[robbie]

Rounded cables can be had now for fairly cheap. I think I saw some last time I was at Best Buy. If you don't mind losing the info on your hd then go ahead and mod away.

[Merroc]

I happen to have bought a pair two weeks ago, when i stumbled across them, only 5€ per cable of roughly 50cm long. Not a bad deal if you ask me, though, i have to say, they lack the ability to bend like you can on a normal (flat) cable. But of course... modding yourself is always more fun then buying .

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by captaincurran

not really, but i'm gonna mod it anyways

It turns out that it is fairly easy to stress the cable at the connectors in such a fashion that it causes the wire to pull away from the connections. I ruined an $80 SCSI cable learning that.

The high-speed (ATA66, 100, 133) cables are the ones that have 80 conductors and use fine wire. The older ATA-33 cables (which can also be ruined, by the way) look like a wider version of a floppy cable, using the same type of ribbon cable.

[captaincurran]

well then in that case *looks at cables* they do look alot like my floppy cables... how much would a rounded cable be in canada aprox?

[SteveI]

In US dollars, between $2-4.

I just bought some at svc.com. I like matching the length to my needs, hence 12" single connecters for some, and 36" duals, for others. In the end, definitely worth it. Significantly reduces air flow issues. Always pays to have a few spare at hand in a pinch.

[madcatmk3]

whats the difference beetween rounded and normal (wow I sound like an idiot)

[Merroc]

Rounded have a smaller surface than flat (normal), thus letting more airflow pass. (basically)

[SteveI]

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