At 9:52 PM -0700 5/2/00, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >I am attempting to create a power cable for the USB port to power an older ADB >supplied power device. I am looking at the severed end of my USB cable and I >see one red and one black "thick" wires, one white and one green "thin" wire >and one uninsulated wire. Now, like ADB, I know that there is a + and a - wire >for power and two data wires. Does anyone know which are which? Are >the thicker >insulated wires the power wires or data? Then, which color is +? Usually, red is positive and black is ground. But not always. It's a very good guess that the thicker red and black wires are power, since they have to carry more current than the signal lines. Get a multimeter and check it. :) Be warned that this might not work. I think USB controllers are supposed to be capable of shutting down power to a port, and they might not turn the power on if they don't detect a real live USB device. (It may also mess with USB's scheme for allocating limited power across multiple devices, though that shouldn't be a problem if you always plug it directly into one of the computer's ports.) > Finally, is >the uninsulated wire simply a strengthening cable or is it the ground wire (or >part of the grounding wiring)? Thanks for any input on this off topic subject. Could be strength, probably is shield ground, could be both. Cheap cables which only use a thin strip of foil spiral-wound around the central insulated wires for a shield need an uninsulated wire up against the foil to guarantee that the shield ground is continuous throughout the cable, since the foil tears easily. Better cables have foil surrounded by a woven wire sheath. Since it's most likely a shield (chassis) ground, it would probably be a bad idea to try to use it as a power ground. Tim Seufert ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> XRouter | Share your DSL or cable modem between multiple computers! Dr. Bott | Now $199.99 <http://www.drbott.com/prod/MIH120.html> PowerBook Guy is | Click here! Everything PowerBook! | http://www.powerbookguy.com Midwest Mac Parts ][ <http://www.midwestmac.com> After-market parts for Macs. ][ 888-356-1104 ][ MacResQ Reader Specials: 2.5GB Seagate SCSI: $119, 4GB IBM SCSI: $199, Norton Util. 4.0: $29, Mac Parts, Systems & Repairs <http://www.macresq.com>
