I have my plotter, but I now need to get it hooked up as it didn't come
with any cables. I have a power cable, but the data cable is a special
RS-232 NULL modem cable. (See the attached file HP-17255D Cable.pdf.)
I found various new and used cables on the internet for prices ranging
from around $35 to $75, but it has a 25 pin connector on each end, and
my computer has a 9 pin serial port. Also, the factory cable is too
short for my installation. This leaves me with three options:
1. Buy the HP cable, a RS-232 extension cable, and a 25 pin to 9 pin
adapter. This would be an expensive kluge, and it would be my last choice.
2. Buy a custom made cable that includes all of the features of the
three items in choice one. (See the attached file HP7475A Interconnect
Cable.pdf.) I found a company on the internet that will build a ten
foot cable for about $35.
3. Buy the components and assemble the cable myself. The same company
that would build the cable for option two (Showmecables.com) has real
good prices on components. I can get all of the components including a
100 foot spool of cable for about $35. Buying just 10 feet of cable
would reduce the price to about $17. The cable is a lot more expensive
by the foot instead of by the spool.
Right now I'm leaning toward option three. Of course, I would also need
to buy a couple of tools which I have been wanting for some time anyway.
One of the tools is a Panavise #381
(http://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=6)
which I have already ordered. The other tool is a heat gun
(http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66098)
which is an excellent tool for shrinking heat shrink tubing. I'm also
leaning toward the 100 foot spool of cable. This would leave me about
90 feet of cable for some other project.
I can't order anything more until May, but I think I'll have enough to
get everything.
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