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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Vinge on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:21:34

Title: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: Vinge on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:21:34
Hi, I've been browsing through the galleries and noticed so many people with all these fancy looking custom USB cables.

If I purchase the ones I like, is there anything I need to be mindful of before making the purchase? eg incompatible with the keyboard/computer(?)

Will it matter if the cable is USB 2.0 or USB 3.0?
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: hitaki on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:27:12
Here's one place: http://pexonpcs.co.uk/collections/all/usb-cables
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: azhdar on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:28:21
http://www.mimic-cables.com/ or http://zealpc.net/
If you're in the US. Zeal shop is closed for a while for his business trip.

http://pexonpcs.co.uk/ if you're in europe.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: henz on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:29:20
http://zealpc.net/ has some also. But its closed atm
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: Vinge on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:39:27
Oh sorry, I'm in Australia.

I'll take a look at those links anyway
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: katushkin on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:44:17
Oh sorry, I'm in Australia.

I'll take a look at those links anyway

Both do INTL shipping, you will just have to see which one is closer to you and cheaper. All three guys do excellent work.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: Vinge on Thu, 28 May 2015, 04:53:38
This might sound stupid but I just want to make sure, will it make a difference if I get USB 2.0 or 3.0?
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: henz on Thu, 28 May 2015, 05:37:45
This might sound stupid but I just want to make sure, will it make a difference if I get USB 2.0 or 3.0?

It depends if your keyboard is 3.0 compatible or not. I dont think its necessary. And i havent heard about a keyboard which is a 3.0 keyboard
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: hwood34 on Thu, 28 May 2015, 06:38:09
This might sound stupid but I just want to make sure, will it make a difference if I get USB 2.0 or 3.0?

It depends if your keyboard is 3.0 compatible or not. I dont think its necessary. And i havent heard about a keyboard which is a 3.0 keyboard
Nope, 3.0 vs 2.0 on a keyboard won't make any difference
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: Spopepro on Thu, 28 May 2015, 11:59:42
In fact, you should probably avoid *any* handmade cable claiming to be USB 3.0.  The high speed complementary pairs need to be precisely matched to make them work, which is likely beyond the capabilities of a human.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: eternalmetal on Thu, 28 May 2015, 13:38:30
In fact, you should probably avoid *any* handmade cable claiming to be USB 3.0.  The high speed complementary pairs need to be precisely matched to make them work, which is likely beyond the capabilities of a human.

Shouldnt just soldering up the correct connections on USB 3.0 connectors be good enough?   Im not sure I understand why you need complementary pairs that are so specifically matched, since a proper connection should work just fine, no?
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: hj-s on Fri, 29 May 2015, 04:50:08
Another option - make you own cable. But the first attempts will not be so beautiful as cables from pexon/mimic-cables/zeal-pc.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: LeandreN on Wed, 03 June 2015, 14:02:49
Sentrantpc.com has some nice cables too.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: livingspeedbump on Wed, 03 June 2015, 14:18:04
reddit user /u/patchythepirate2 made my latest one. He had really good prices so I thought why not, I was very impressed with the quality. Feels as good as my Pexons, which I definitely recommend as well. They can just be pricey when getting it shipped to the US

Pic http://i.imgur.com/Z8Oq8eW.jpg
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: C5Allroad on Wed, 03 June 2015, 14:45:55
Zeal sells cables! But he's closing for a vacation.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: Bucake on Thu, 04 June 2015, 00:40:48
do any of them sell mini usb (keyboard) to ps2 (pc) for keyboards that support ps/2?
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: hwood34 on Thu, 04 June 2015, 00:43:46
do any of them sell mini usb (keyboard) to ps2 (pc) for keyboards that support ps/2? the adapter i have is ugly and fat

(or would a cable like that not even work?)

i've only seen one of those cables in my life( it came with the keyboard my brother bought).
mimic does ps2, but the lead time is like 3-4 weeks
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: Bucake on Thu, 04 June 2015, 00:45:09
do any of them sell mini usb (keyboard) to ps2 (pc) for keyboards that support ps/2? the adapter i have is ugly and fat

(or would a cable like that not even work?)

i've only seen one of those cables in my life( it came with the keyboard my brother bought).
mimic does ps2, but the lead time is like 3-4 weeks

nice!
thanks for the quick reply :-)

well, i have the time, so i'll take a look.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: KHAANNN on Thu, 04 June 2015, 02:25:04
pexon is a very safe bet, also I think double sleeving is kind of a must ;)

Normal cables get the dusty looks easily for example, the double sleeving really camouflages the dust :)

I checked mimic's cable pictures right now, the shrinking looked really unpleasing to me, comparatively pexon's is more low profile and professional looking

Make sure you choose your colors well :)
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: Tiramisuu on Thu, 04 June 2015, 05:36:15
The price of a single sleeved USB cable is obscene once you add shipping.

Someone with Chinese connections should start knocking these out.   These don't require anywhere near the effort or custom work that power supply sets do.
Title: Re: Where to get those fancy USB cables?
Post by: KHAANNN on Thu, 04 June 2015, 05:44:37
The price of a single sleeved USB cable is obscene once you add shipping.

Someone with Chinese connections should start knocking these out.   These don't require anywhere near the effort or custom work that power supply sets do.

Before I knew the cables were easily acquirable custom cables, I searched the Chinese retailer scene (aliexpress) in detail, there are some colourful cables yet they were no where near the quality/selection of our custom cables

It's a pretty niche market, so probably they don't pitch in because of this reason

As far as the effort goes, I think you might be underestimating things a bit, especially double sleeving