Author Topic: Making your own custom USB cables  (Read 415014 times)

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Offline nubbinator

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Making your own custom USB cables
« on: Tue, 18 June 2013, 22:47:47 »
Since I haven't seen a thorough guide yet for making your own USB cables, I decided to make one.  I realize that this doesn't make good business sense since I do sell some of my own cables, but I also like to make things easily accessible to people.  A lot of this community and the computer building community was built on DIYers and their public experiments, so I feel it's only right to help people have easier access to guides that can help them actualize some of their visions. 

I know this is a topic that's a little scary for some people and it does take time and practice to get right, but I figured making a guide might make it a little less scary.  I know that when I started making my own sleeved USB cables (and all the cables to date), it took some work to find some good documentation for the tiered connector on the USB Mini B and for the process of making your own cables.  While there are some guides that are great for sleeving, they don't have a ton of documentation on the connectors and housings.

And a disclaimer, to me this is a fun project to do and gives you a lot of latitude for sleeving, but, depending on how many connectors you get and where you source them from, you might end up spending more than what several of the artisans out there charge for a single cable.  I don't want to discourage anyone from it since it's a fun project and definitely teaches you some things, just expect it to be a little costlier than you'd expect.

Tools you'll need:

- Soldering iron

- Tweezers.  I use these since they're cheap and decent.  You can use any old tweezers.  Finer needle nose pliers might work in a pinch.

Recommended tools:

- Helping hand.  You don't need anything big or fancy, any cheap one will help.

- Painter's tape.  I use this because it doesn't leave a residue.

- Wire strippers.  I use these fairly cheap strippers and they're fantastic.  You can also use a pocket knife, Exacto knife, or razor blade.

- Razor blade for removing the plastic shell from the USB cable and cutting the shielding.

- Adjustable temp soldering iron. This can be something nice like a Hakko 888D or something cheap and dirty like my Weller and home made setup.

Parts you'll need

- USB Cables

- USB connectors and housings of your choice (USB A, USB B, USB Mini A, USB Mini B, Micro USB).  Keep in mind that there are different permutations of connectors, so the number of pads may be different on some and the placement of the pads may be different.  If that's the case, you'll need to try and disassemble the connector to find out what goes where.

- If for a Filco, Molex housing.  You'll need a crimper and the appropriate crimps to do this.

- 3:1 heatshrink

- Sleeving (paracord, MDPC-X, etc).  Be careful with paracord as the sizing is inconsistent and the stuff you buy might be too small to fit over the cable.

Making your cables:

USB A Connector




USB A Pinout

Since USB uses a universal color code, it's pretty easy to make your own cables with an assortment of different USB connectors.  This is a handy little pinout for your common USB A connector.

When it comes time to solder, just match the tinned wires to the right pad and reflow your solder.  If you didn't get enough solder from tinning, it's easy to add a little more. 

I recommend a using some helping hands and tweezers for this task.  I also find it useful to tape the connector down to a flat surface while soldering the wires in place.

Once your wires are soldered properly, I like to add a little hot glue as an insulator and to add a little more strength to the solder joint.



If you get a two part housing like I use, these two little pegs/legs serve as guides for the housing so you get your connector seated perfectly every time.




This the snap together two part housing I use.  Slip on housings are more common.  If you get some of those, ignore this part.





This is the little groove you slide the pegs/legs from the connector into.  There's a little room for wiggle, so don't be worried that the connector isn't gripped tight.


When you slide the connector in, it should end up looking like this:





USB Mini B Connector


USB Mini B Connector Pinout:


Since USB uses a universal color code, it's pretty easy to make your own cables with an assortment of different USB connectors.  This is a handy little pinout for your common USB A connector.

When it comes time to solder, just match the tinned wires to the right pad and reflow your solder.   Take your time and make sure your temps are right.  If you get it too hot, you can melt the pads out of the housing. 

I recommend having a helping hands, tweezers, and some sort of magnifying glass on hand for this. I also find it useful to tape the connector down to a flat surface while soldering the wires in place.

Once your wires are soldered properly, I like to add a little hot glue as an insulator and to add a little more strength to the solder joint.




If you get a two part housing like I use, this little lip serves as guides for the housing so you get your connector seated perfectly every time.


This the snap together two part housing I use:





This is the little groove you slide the lip from the connector into.  If it's not seated properly, the housing won't close.



When you slide the connector in, it should end up looking like this.


USB Wires


Not my picture, but this is your standard USB cable.  You will need to strip the wires and tin them.


In case you don't know what tinning is, tinning is the process of adding solder to your stranded wire that you'll be soldering.  You can either hold the iron at the tip or on the backside of the wire and when it gets hot enough, the solder will flow into it.


More pics to be added later.
« Last Edit: Wed, 19 June 2013, 13:27:03 by nubbinator »

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own USB cables
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 18 June 2013, 22:49:45 »
Reserved

Offline Badwrench

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 00:40:23 »
Great start up.  Excellent guide on the pinouts and housings.  Looking forward to making a couple rather than just cutting the housing off of a pre-made cable and sleeving it. 
wut. i'd buy a ****ty IBM board for that green V2

Offline Photekq

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 00:47:39 »
Thanks for this. Very helpful :)
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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:31:56 »
Great start up.  Excellent guide on the pinouts and housings.  Looking forward to making a couple rather than just cutting the housing off of a pre-made cable and sleeving it. 

Glad it's useful.  I'll be adding some more pictures later for how I recommend doing the process.

Thanks for this. Very helpful :)

Glad to hear.

Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:35:32 »
Nubs what are we going to do if you ever get a real job......then you won't have time to post up so much awesome stuff on GH!!!

Offline TheFlyingRaccoon

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:45:27 »
The cable guide is awesome but the one thing that really helped me is the last picture. I never learned tinning when I was learning to solder. I have one question though, how to you strip the very small usb wires? I just used a crappy tip on my soldering iron and melted the plastic sleeve off. Thanks so much for posting this  :)
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Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:46:21 »
I have one question though, how to you strip the very small usb wires? I just used a crappy tip on my soldering iron and melted the plastic sleeve off. Thanks so much for posting this  :)

I have a cheapo pair of wire strippers but a pocket knife will work too

Offline Photekq

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:46:52 »
The cable guide is awesome but the one thing that really helped me is the last picture. I never learned tinning when I was learning to solder. I have one question though, how to you strip the very small usb wires? I just used a crappy tip on my soldering iron and melted the plastic sleeve off. Thanks so much for posting this  :)
Get some wire strippers. They will make everything so, so much easier.

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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:47:18 »
Nubs what are we going to do if you ever get a real job......then you won't have time to post up so much awesome stuff on GH!!!

Thanks, but unless I get a benefactor or sugar mama I need a real job.  Without a real job,  I won't have the money to keep doing experiments and guides.  And don't worry, once I do get a job, I'll still set aside time to do this stuff. It's a fun little hobby and way of unwinding and, like I said, I like to grow the knowledge base with good keyboard science.  Even when I was in grad school and working 20-30 hours a week, I still found time to make guides, put together a database, and organize contests for /r/buildapc on Reddit.

The cable guide is awesome but the one thing that really helped me is the last picture. I never learned tinning when I was learning to solder. I have one question though, how to you strip the very small usb wires? I just used a crappy tip on my soldering iron and melted the plastic sleeve off. Thanks so much for posting this  :)

I use these cheap wire strippers.  It's not too expensive of a tool and works great.  Most USB wires are in the 24-28AWG range, but some are as big as 20AWG.
« Last Edit: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:53:32 by nubbinator »

Offline Dubsgalore

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 12:55:15 »
awesome guide nubs
like i said before haha  :cool:

should save some people money on these cables  ;D

Offline tjcaustin

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 13:04:02 »
As a note, if you clip the fifth mini usb tab that you don't use, it helps in terms of accessing the two tabs below it you do need.

what I use

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 13:22:41 »
awesome guide nubs
like i said before haha  :cool:

should save some people money on these cables  ;D

You may or may not save money on the cables making it yourself once you factor in shipping and component prices. It really comes down to how many you decide to make and the prices you can find.

For example, here's a price run down with current prices:

- $1.59 for the USB A connector and housing I use

- $5 for the USB Mini B connectors I use.  You might find a single cheaper elsewhere, but it's not common.

- $5-6 for a USB cable if you don't have a donor cable you can use (that includes the cheap ones from Monoprice since they charge $5-6 for shipping)

- ~$1.40-1.75 + Shipping for 3:1 heatshrink

- $4.80 + shipping for 6' of sleeving of the sleeving I use.  In all reality, this will be closer to $5.60+ shipping since you'll need a little over 6' for a 6' cable.  Even cheap paracord will cost you around this much since you can't find it in under 25' lengths.

- Total - $17.79, not including shipping, probably closer to $25 with shipping.

Like I said, I don't want to discourage people from doing it since it's a good learning experience and it does give you a ton of room to experiment and do what you want, but don't expect it to be cheaper, especially if you have to buy tools to do it in addition to supplies.  It only really becomes cheaper if you plan on making several of them.

As a note, if you clip the fifth mini usb tab that you don't use, it helps in terms of accessing the two tabs below it you do need.

Show Image
what I use

Hadn't thought of that, but it that's a great recommendation.  I just keep that tab in case, for some odd reason, someone wants to turn it into a host.

And that certainly does help and makes it easier to double check that you didn't accidentally bridge your data and ground wire.

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #13 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 00:53:55 »
I am trying to fix my Whiskerbox cable. The pictures in the OP showed only 4 wires. My cable has 5 wires.



Left to right: Blue (What is called Black in the OP), no color, red, no color, green. I didn't have any sleeving. Which wires do I hook up to the to the Mini USB end shown below?



Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #14 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 01:12:02 »
I am trying to fix my Whiskerbox cable. The pictures in the OP showed only 4 wires. My cable has 5 wires.

More
Show Image

Left to right: Blue (What is called Black in the OP), no color, red, no color, green. I didn't have any sleeving. Which wires do I hook up to the to the Mini USB end shown below?

More
Show Image

That 5th cable could be a shield cable in which case it would connect to the housing if you're placing the connector in a metal housing.  If it's for a Filco cable, it's likely the shield/ground cable. If it's for a host USB cable, it could be a second ground that you would solder onto the one unlabeled pin on the 5 pin USB Mini B.

Honestly, without seeing what's on the other end of the cable and what's soldered where, I couldn't tell you for certain and wouldn't want to chance telling you wrong.

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #15 on: Sat, 22 June 2013, 09:31:29 »
I'll try and take apart the other end but I think the cable was originally a mini USB to USB cable so there's no snap fit housing. I have to rip apart a bunch of rubber. Let me see what I can do and post some pictures later.

Edit: The cable was mangled and I couldnt find the wires. The end was inpregnated with rubber and I destroyed it trying to open it up. So I don't have pictures to show...Guess I'll just risk it and see how it goes.
« Last Edit: Sat, 22 June 2013, 10:36:17 by CPTBadAss »

Offline Badwrench

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #16 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 00:21:42 »
I just finished my first soldered cable (mini side).  Those pins are tiny!  Tough to do with the standard flat tip on my old Hakko Red 503. 

I used a white usb to 30 pin ipod cable as I wanted the Toxic yellow sleeve to be as bright as possible.  Over a black cable, the sleeving is significantly darker.

Before:
26718-0

After:
(See below)

Thanks again nubbinator for the excellent tutorial and the parts. 
« Last Edit: Fri, 28 June 2013, 00:23:34 by Badwrench »
wut. i'd buy a ****ty IBM board for that green V2

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #17 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 00:31:51 »
Looks good.  I really like that color yellow.  And I'm glad my tutorial was nice and easy for you to follow.

Those pads definitely are tiny.  You do need a finer tip on your iron than a flat tip to do it easier.  I recently started flowing just a hair of solder onto the pads in addition to the tinned wires and it makes it a little easier.

Offline Badwrench

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #18 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 00:34:37 »
That is exactly how I had to do it.  I would flow a tiny dot of solder on the corner of the flat tip, and touch that to the pad until it flowed on the pad.  That plus the tinned wires and I was good to go. 
wut. i'd buy a ****ty IBM board for that green V2

Offline randompony

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #19 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 16:14:29 »
Got a quick question:

I have a cable with paracord sleeving but it is too small to get held by the mini usb housing. Is it ok to put some hot glue/super glue around the paracord and glue it to the housing after I soldered all the wires?
Also then the hole in the back is still to big and the cable (with sleeving) can wiggle around, is that bad for the cable?

thanks.

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #20 on: Fri, 28 June 2013, 17:48:27 »
Yeah, hot glue is fine.  You can also do heatshrink around it.  Either is fine.

It should only pose an issue if it's getting wiggled a lot.  If you're worried about that and want to be sure it'll be ok, just squirt some hot glue onto the wires and where the wires connect to the USB connector, pop the connector into the housing, and squirt a little more hot glue in there.  The hot glue is a great insulator and will give it a little extra strength.

Offline randompony

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #21 on: Tue, 09 July 2013, 21:36:05 »
does anybody know where I can find those USB A housings?

I bought some from ebay but those came with a strain relief. (pictures mean nothing to chinese ebay sellers)

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #22 on: Tue, 09 July 2013, 23:12:13 »
does anybody know where I can find those USB A housings?

I bought some from ebay but those came with a strain relief. (pictures mean nothing to chinese ebay sellers)

I get mine off of Taobao, but I can't give away all my secrets.

Offline damorgue

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #23 on: Wed, 01 January 2014, 14:57:04 »
Show Image


Show Image


Show Image


There appear to be some inconsistencies between these images. I believe White should be D- and Green should be D+ as in the first image. I am not sure how much it matters to switch the negative and positive data around though. Surely they don't switch depending on what USB type connector it is since they use the same colour. Fyi, your images are some of the first hits on Google for 'USB pinout' nubbinator.
« Last Edit: Wed, 01 January 2014, 14:58:49 by damorgue »

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #24 on: Tue, 07 January 2014, 12:55:40 »
Show Image


Show Image


Show Image


There appear to be some inconsistencies between these images. I believe White should be D- and Green should be D+ as in the first image. I am not sure how much it matters to switch the negative and positive data around though. Surely they don't switch depending on what USB type connector it is since they use the same colour. Fyi, your images are some of the first hits on Google for 'USB pinout' nubbinator.

Bumping this question again. Does the polarity of D+ and D- matter? The colours don't correspond to the same on the larger and smaller USB ports according to the images here, and neither does the pinout. Which is correct:
White = D- and Green = D+ as in the first image, or
White = D+ and Green = D- as in the other two images

Second question, in the second image, is the lower middle one green or D-?

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #25 on: Tue, 07 January 2014, 23:06:22 »
Colors are correct, just a typo on the D+/D-.

Offline doub

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #26 on: Thu, 09 January 2014, 11:04:15 »
Does the polarity of D+ and D- matter? The colours don't correspond to the same on the larger and smaller USB ports according to the images here, and neither does the pinout.

Polarity matters (you must connect D+ to D+, and D- to D-), but wire color doesn't. White and green is one twisted pair in the cable, you must use them for D+/D-, but which is which doesn't matter.

Second question, in the second image, is the lower middle one green or D-?

On five pins connectors the middle pin is D+, which is usually green:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_connector#Pinouts

Offline YongJK

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #27 on: Tue, 04 March 2014, 20:24:18 »
I have made two cables yesterday.
I made sure the wires are in correct position.
When I plug to computer and my keyboard, there is power but no data, meaning the pc does not recognize any devices plugged in.

What would be the problem?
I confirmed the connectors are intact  :(
Keyboard: PLU ML87 Mx Blue

Offline doub

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #28 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 04:18:36 »
Can you post pictures of wire soldering on each end of the cable?

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #29 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 08:43:43 »
I have made two cables yesterday.
I made sure the wires are in correct position.
When I plug to computer and my keyboard, there is power but no data, meaning the pc does not recognize any devices plugged in.

What would be the problem?
I confirmed the connectors are intact  :(

You could have flipped the data lines on one end, it could be soldered to the wrong point, you may not have a good solder connection, you could have overheated the pad on one end and slipped the connector out of position in the housing, there are a bunch of possibilities.

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #30 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 09:34:37 »
This guide is very cool, and I really appreciate nubbinator's willingness to share his / her hard earned experience doing this. I will try to build a cable soon.

Offline damorgue

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #31 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 14:34:29 »
I have made two cables yesterday.
I made sure the wires are in correct position.
When I plug to computer and my keyboard, there is power but no data, meaning the pc does not recognize any devices plugged in.

What would be the problem?
I confirmed the connectors are intact  :(

The images in OP are wrong when it comes to D+ and D-, did you reverse them?

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #32 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 14:41:47 »
Yeah, follow colors, not the name since the name was accident flipped.

Offline samwisekoi

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #33 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 15:03:24 »
Great guide, thanks!

Does this apply to USB 3.0 cables as well?

Also, are there after-market USB 3.0 internal connectors?  THOSE are the cables that are always the wrong length.

IMHO.   ;D

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Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #34 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 15:11:54 »
USB 3.0 has additional solder points inside from what I remember.  I've only really seen 3.0 A connectors, nothing else.  And some of those connectors/housings aren't that great.  Also, keep in mind that anything from China may not be completely as advertised.

Offline doub

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #35 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 16:03:33 »
Great guide, thanks!

Does this apply to USB 3.0 cables as well?

USB 3.0 has 4 additional pins that are two very high speed differential pairs, like SATA (or PCI-express). Hand soldering these is at best challenging, if at all possible. You need to get the shielding and the impedance right, the wires length must match very precisely. But you don't need USB 3 for a keyboard (or any input device for that matter).

Offline YongJK

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #36 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 18:24:15 »
I have made two cables yesterday.
I made sure the wires are in correct position.
When I plug to computer and my keyboard, there is power but no data, meaning the pc does not recognize any devices plugged in.

What would be the problem?
I confirmed the connectors are intact  :(

The images in OP are wrong when it comes to D+ and D-, did you reverse them?

Yeah, follow colors, not the name since the name was accident flipped.
LOL.
I just realised this after reading this.  :blank:
Alright, guess I will make another this night. it is morning here  :thumb:
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Offline samwisekoi

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #37 on: Wed, 05 March 2014, 18:38:20 »
Great guide, thanks!

Does this apply to USB 3.0 cables as well?

USB 3.0 has 4 additional pins that are two very high speed differential pairs, like SATA (or PCI-express). Hand soldering these is at best challenging, if at all possible. You need to get the shielding and the impedance right, the wires length must match very precisely. But you don't need USB 3 for a keyboard (or any input device for that matter).

Thanks for the info.

I was asking because I would very much like to be able to shorten the long front-panel USB 3.0 cables that come with cases and bay devices.  You know, those horrible thick things with the molded ends that cannot be bent or made to lie neatly?  I would love to be able to mod those.

 - Ron | samwisekoi
I like keyboards and case modding.  Everything about a computer should be silent -- except the KEYBOARD!

'85 IBM F-122/Soarer Keyboard |  Leopold FC200 TKL (Browns) + GH36 Keypad (Browns/Greens) | GH-122 (Whites/Greens) with Nuclear Data Green keycaps in a Unicomp case

Offline feizor

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #38 on: Fri, 18 April 2014, 07:24:07 »
What size sleeving should I use if I want to use an iphone/ipod type donor cable?

Offline jorgenslee

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #39 on: Tue, 12 August 2014, 09:11:33 »
Finding a mini usb is  hard in our area and the market is flooded with micro usb. Thanks for this guide nubbinator, I was able to convert micro usb to mini usb. For a $2 micro usb, can't complain.  :))

Offline jonskeez

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #40 on: Thu, 14 August 2014, 18:45:58 »
Am i able to just salvage any USB cable? like an old mouse.

Offline tjcaustin

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #41 on: Thu, 14 August 2014, 22:55:46 »
Am i able to just salvage any USB cable? like an old mouse.

So long as you know what wires do what

Offline Mitch

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #42 on: Mon, 23 February 2015, 00:53:12 »
Hey,

I don't mean to derail this thread, if the mods think this post should be placed elsewhere, please let me know.

I've made a few USB to Lightning cables thanks to this thread!  Would anyone happen to know why they randomly stopped charging my iPhone?  I don't believe it's a physical cable issue, but potentially related to "Unauthorized Cables" as often prompted by the iPhone.

Any advice or recommendations you might have would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Mitch

Offline tjcaustin

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #43 on: Mon, 23 February 2015, 02:45:14 »
Hey,

I don't mean to derail this thread, if the mods think this post should be placed elsewhere, please let me know.

I've made a few USB to Lightning cables thanks to this thread!  Would anyone happen to know why they randomly stopped charging my iPhone?  I don't believe it's a physical cable issue, but potentially related to "Unauthorized Cables" as often prompted by the iPhone.

Any advice or recommendations you might have would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Mitch

Did you update to 7.1 or higher on iOS?  Apple started cracking down big time on non-MFi lightning cables on that first big update to iOS 7.  Secondly, I'm assuming they do say "this device not made for iphone"?

Offline ideus

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #44 on: Mon, 23 February 2015, 07:33:58 »
Dear Sir Nubbi, the post shows your generous heart inclined to serve your brothers. How a coiled cable is made?

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #45 on: Mon, 23 February 2015, 08:43:37 »
Dear Sir Nubbi, the post shows your generous heart inclined to serve your brothers. How a coiled cable is made?

Heat, a metal tube, and a lot of patience.

Offline tjcaustin

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #46 on: Mon, 23 February 2015, 13:31:40 »
Dear Sir Nubbi, the post shows your generous heart inclined to serve your brothers. How a coiled cable is made?

Heat, a metal tube, and a lot of patience.

I use a wood dowel, but basically anything round that can handle heat works.

Offline nubbinator

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #47 on: Mon, 23 February 2015, 13:58:41 »
The metal tube is nice because you can heat the tube and get mite even heat across the cable.  Just my preference.

Offline Mitch

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #48 on: Tue, 24 February 2015, 21:05:45 »
Did you update to 7.1 or higher on iOS?  Apple started cracking down big time on non-MFi lightning cables on that first big update to iOS 7.  Secondly, I'm assuming they do say "this device not made for iphone"?

I am running iOS 8.1 (jailbroken) on my iPhone 6 and iOS 8.1.2 on my iPad mini Retina.

Now that you mention it though, it stopped giving me the prompt "This cable or accessory is not certified and may not work reliably"... Maybe the physical cable just failed, broken strand or solder potentially.

At any rate, does you know, is the part that indicates the cable is certified (MFi) within the Lightning connector itself?  The reason I ask, as much as I'd hate to do this, if I were to chop Apple OEM cables keep the OEM Lightning connector but replace the USB A Male end, I might bypass this issue?

Thanks again!

Mitch


Offline tjcaustin

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Re: Making your own custom USB cables
« Reply #49 on: Tue, 24 February 2015, 22:10:23 »
Did you update to 7.1 or higher on iOS?  Apple started cracking down big time on non-MFi lightning cables on that first big update to iOS 7.  Secondly, I'm assuming they do say "this device not made for iphone"?

I am running iOS 8.1 (jailbroken) on my iPhone 6 and iOS 8.1.2 on my iPad mini Retina.

Now that you mention it though, it stopped giving me the prompt "This cable or accessory is not certified and may not work reliably"... Maybe the physical cable just failed, broken strand or solder potentially.

At any rate, does you know, is the part that indicates the cable is certified (MFi) within the Lightning connector itself?  The reason I ask, as much as I'd hate to do this, if I were to chop Apple OEM cables keep the OEM Lightning connector but replace the USB A Male end, I might bypass this issue?

Thanks again!

Mitch

Yeah, the MFi signature thing is programmed into a chip in the lightning end itself.  Easiest way to do is get either the monoprice or gear beast cables and mod from there.