On 2026-08-29 15:31, SpallsHurgenson (NG) wrote:

"Kurt Weiske" <kurt.weiske@realitycheckbbs.org.remove-lo6-this> posted:

To: SpallsHurgenson(NG)

SpallsHurgenson(NG) wrote to alt.folklore.computers <=-

Sp> I occasionally tried null-modem cables for transfer. It was never
Sp> satisfactory for me. Firstly, you were always limited to just two
Sp> computers, which meant a lot of cable swapping. Then getting the
Sp> machines to handshake, and the slow-transfer rates... it was always
Sp> easier for me, back then, to just yank out the floppy disks.

I have gotten rid of many obsolete cables over the years - first MFM
ribbon cables, then ATA cables, then older USB cables, an old AT
keyboard extension cable, parallel cables, and the list goes on.

The one legacy cable I keep around is a laplink DB9 to DB9 serial
cable. I'm sure it'll come in handy *someday*...

I admire your ability to discard. I still have a host of old cables. I'd
be more willing to toss them out if --time and time again-- I didn't find
use for the old things. Sure, I might not need that SCSI-50-to-25 cable /right now/ but who knows what may happen in the next twenty years? There's many the time I've been working on a project and have kicked myself for discarding some 'obsolete' component ten years back that would have been perfect for just that moment.

That said... I probably /could/ survive a culling of some of the
IEC power cables. I'm pretty sure those things breed like rabbits, I've
so many of them.

I am also a hoarder - because I have been burned by having culled
stuffed that turned out to be irreplaceable.

I suppose by IEC power cables, you mean the NEMA 5-15 to IEC 60320 type
C13 cable. It is true that as you throw out old computers and buy newer
ones, you accumulate a bunch of them. I also regularly use NEMA 5-15 to
IEC C5, and NEMA 1-15 to IEC C7. And since I regularly (every year or
two) visit family in Denmark, I often need an "Europlug" or "type C"
male to NEMA 1-15 female adapter.

Right now, I am accumulating a ton of USB-A male to USB-C male, most of
them either 6 inches long or 6 feet long, while I am having to buy some
2 feet long.

--
Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: Old cables and other things to hoard (Re: The Return Of Cassette Tape)

On 2026-08-30, Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:

Right now, I am accumulating a ton of USB-A male to USB-C male, most of
them either 6 inches long or 6 feet long, while I am having to buy some
2 feet long.

I recently separated part of my mass of cables into a series of
ziploc bags, one for DVI/HDMI, one for USB, etc. I need to keep
a variety of USB cables: in addition to the new favourite A to C
I still need A to B, micro, mini, and a proprietary connector for
my Olympus camera.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | In this world there are
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | two kinds of people:
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | 1. Those who can extrapolate
/ \ if you read it the right way. | from incomplete data.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: Old cables and other things to hoard (Re: The Return Of Cassette Tape)

On 8/30/26 08:49, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

On 2026-08-30, Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:

Right now, I am accumulating a ton of USB-A male to USB-C male, most of
them either 6 inches long or 6 feet long, while I am having to buy some
2 feet long.

I recently separated part of my mass of cables into a series of
ziploc bags, one for DVI/HDMI, one for USB, etc. I need to keep
a variety of USB cables: in addition to the new favourite A to C
I still need A to B, micro, mini, and a proprietary connector for
my Olympus camera.

I also recently repacked my cables in ziplocs. No more tangles! And
labeling the bags makes it simple to find what I need.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: Old cables and other things to hoard (Re: The Return Of Cassette Tape)

On 2026-08-30 21:48, Peter Flass wrote:

On 8/30/26 08:49, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

On 2026-08-30, Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> wrote:

Right now, I am accumulating a ton of USB-A male to USB-C male, most of
them either 6 inches long or 6 feet long, while I am having to buy some
2 feet long.

I recently separated part of my mass of cables into a series of
ziploc bags, one for DVI/HDMI, one for USB, etc.ÿ I need to keep
a variety of USB cables: in addition to the new favourite A to C
I still need A to B, micro, mini, and a proprietary connector for
my Olympus camera.

I also recently repacked my cables in ziplocs. No more tangles! And
labeling the bags makes it simple to find what I need.

Indeed.

I have done that in my small suitcase of electronic cables and things,
which I use when I temporarily go to another place.

--
Cheers, Carlos.
ES??, EU??;

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)