Radio-Shack's six foot printer cable was unshielded and untwisted? I wouldn't have expected that to be reliable.
Am I overly cautious? Or was it perhaps only meant for very low speeds? Did Radio-Shack at least ground every other wire in the ribbon to reduce crosstalk? --b9 P.S. Probably not relevant, but I wonder if the level of background electromagnetic noise has changed in the last fifty years. On July 13, 2026 2:33:37 PM PDT, Peter Noeth <[email protected]> wrote: >Jeff, > > If I remember my "70s mini-computer days" correctly, the normal max >length for Centronics Printer cables was 12'. This was with the round >cable, consisting of 18 "twisted wire pairs" (one wire signal the other >wire ground), that was then shielded with an aluminum foil wrap and a bare >ground "drain" wire connecting it the full length to the metal shells of >the connectors. > > Doing the same with simple flat "ribbon cable" I would expect that Radio >Shack's 6' length would be the maximum, as they tested functionality with >that length (but not FCC compliance). Radio Shack used that cable for all >of their computers, with the "business machines" usually connected to a >printer on a floor stand, so the 6' length would be appropriate, and for >connecting a "home computer" with an Epson MX-80 size printer on the same >tabletop, the cable would just drape down behind the table. > > But for portability with the M100 (or T-102 / T-200) I would think a 3' >cable would be better, especially if you use its original TRP-100 printer >(or some other portable printer of similar size), as it would be more >convenient to roll up the cable to pack in a computer bag. > > The one I made to use with my Seiko DPU-414 printer is 34" long. For me >this is long enough to use the computer in my lap while watching T.V. and >have the printer sitting on the end table. > >Regards, >PeterN > >On Mon, Jul 13, 2026 at 1:10 PM <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:56:53 -0500 >> From: [email protected] >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [M100] Ideal length for M100 printer cable? >> Message-ID: <[email protected]> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >> Hi all, >> >> >> >> I had someone ask about acquiring an M100 printer cable a few weeks ago and >> was surprised how much they were going for on eBay. I have an original >> cable >> which is 6' long, which is a bit too long, I think. I picked up some >> Centroincs connectors and just made a 3' one which is fine for sitting the >> M100 next to a CGP-115 or larger printer but perhaps not for having the >> printer sitting away from the M100. >> >> >> >> What do you think the ideal length is? 3', 4', 5', 6' or perhaps just offer >> then in either 3' or 6'? >> >> >> >> Jeff Birt >> >> (Hey Birt!) >> <big snip>
