Author Topic: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty  (Read 1899 times)

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Offline reset

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Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 14:29:25 »
Hi everyone.

I recently acquired a Model M with a frayed, non-detachable cable, and I ordered a replacement "attached cable" from Unicomp. Are these compatible? I have a limited knowledge of electronics, so I thought I'd ask you guys before I fry something.

As you can see in the pics, the wires on the Model M run (from left to right) black, red, white, yellow, while the ones on the replacement cable run red, yellow, black, and white. I apologize in advance if this has been covered. I searched, but couldn't find the exact info I need. Thanks for your input!

Offline tgujay

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Re: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 14:31:33 »
Hi everyone.

I recently acquired a Model M with a frayed, non-detachable cable, and I ordered a replacement "attached cable" from Unicomp. Are these compatible? I have a limited knowledge of electronics, so I thought I'd ask you guys before I fry something.

As you can see in the pics, the wires on the Model M run (from left to right) black, red, white, yellow, while the ones on the replacement cable run red, yellow, black, and white. I apologize in advance if this has been covered. I searched, but couldn't find the exact info I need. Thanks for your input!

PS/2 had no standard for wire colors unfortunately, makes swapping cables a *****.  If it is from Unicomp I would suspect it is a direct swap, worst case scenario just use a multimeter to identify each wire.
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Re: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 15:18:34 »
Thanks, tgujay! I swapped the cables & everything seems to be functioning normally.

Offline rowdy

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Re: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 16:17:12 »
A bit late to the party, but I went through this while fabricating a replacement cable for one of my Model M.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=45962.msg966400#msg966400
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline reset

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Re: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 16:38:46 »
Very useful, rowdy. Thanks for the link. If you didn't have a soldering gun, would simply twisting the wires together and covering with electrical tape work? Or is that too amateurish for long-term use?

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 17:14:31 »
If you didn't have a soldering gun, would simply twisting the wires together and covering with electrical tape work?

That will work fine. As long as there is permanent metal-to-metal contact, you will have electrons flowing.
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Re: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 17:53:41 »
Excellent, fohat. Thank you.

Offline rowdy

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Re: Unicomp "attached cable" compatibilty
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 23 December 2013, 20:31:22 »
The only other thing to consider with just twisting the wires is whether the cable will be under any stress.

I noticed that the original cable had the gromit permanently attached, like it was all part of the cable's rubber coating, or perhaps had been glued onto the cable (although the colour and material seemed exactly the same).  I had to forcibly cut the gromit off of the old cable, and the new cable is just sitting in it, a bit looser than I would like, but there is a bit extra cable inside the keyboard in case the cable gets yanked.

A soldered cable would better withstand the cable being pulled, if it is not otherwise held in place.
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ