So true.
We all rememember when people were throwing away their extra cables.
BUT, while looking on eBay for them, consider that it might be as cheap to
buy a purportedly good 225 or 251 drive that comes with cables.
On Fri, 21 Nov 2025, Mike Katz via cctalk wrote:
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred [email protected]
Warner,
Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately the only cables I could find on
eBay were $20 each, which I thought was a bit expensive.
I thought I would see what I could find in this group and maybe keep some
cables out of the landfill.
On 11/21/2025 11:28 AM, Warner Losh via cctalk wrote:
Last time I needed them, a dozen sellers on ebay had the right cable kits
for MFM drives. Cost was like $10 each with shipping (since they were old),
but it was fast and easy... The time before I bought the parts, used a
vice, had to redo one cable twice for silly reasons, and though the cost
was about the same, I spent an extra hour on the process.
Warner
On Fri, Nov 21, 2025 at 10:17 AM Paul Koning via cctalk <
[email protected]> wrote:
For that matter, since the connectors are insulation displacement type,
you can assemble your own: buy the connectors and a length of table, cut
pieces to size, and assemble the connectors onto the cable. A press is
normally used for that, but a vise should do the job too.
paul
On Nov 21, 2025, at 11:03 AM, Paul Koning via cctalk <
[email protected]> wrote:
General comment on cables like that: in the past I have obtained flat
ribbon cable assemblies from Digikey. If you're dealing with a cable
that's simply a ribbon of width N and a connector at each end, companies
like that can supply them easily and cheaply, in any length you want.
paul
On Nov 20, 2025, at 9:40 PM, Mike Katz via cctalk <
[email protected]> wrote:
Does anyone out there have a spare 1/2 high 5 1/4" Seagate MFM hard
drive face plate (ST-221, ST-251, etc.) that they can let go cheap?
And also a 34 conductor dual drive cable and a single 20 on single
drive cable?
Thank you.
Contact me off list at [email protected]
