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Old 08-19-2025, 01:32 PM   #3177
Quoth
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Renate View Post
Well, the worst is USB cables.
You're buying a pig in a poke there.

Even at Micro Center in the US (somewhat techy) is finding out how many wires in a USB cable almost impossible.

The best way is to bring a pair of scissors to the store, but they frown on that.

I need to swap the hardwired USB C cable on my ethernet/USB/HDMI hub and getting a 5 pair cable is not a matter of speed but of even working.
Especially with USB-C to USB-C, you can't tell if USB 3.x or USB 2.
I've two USB-C to USB-C cables that seem to support USB 3, but the Alt USB-C DP doesn't work. I've only one USB-C to USB-C cable that works with the portable display.

USB-A USB 3.x clearly has an extra five connections on the plug.
USB-A USB 3.x to USB-B has an extra part on the USB-B plug.
USB-A USB 3.x to micro-USB has an extra part on the micro-USB plug.

Usually the USB-A USB 3.0 sockets are also blue, but I've one hub with all blue USB-A sockets. Only one has the extra five pins. The others are all USB 2.


I guess if you are buying a lot of cables you buy one first and cut it open? Or maybe someone makes a tester? I have one for Cat 5, but it's just DC, so won't tell me if it's Cat5e, or Cat6, but does detect a shield.

In the past there were two MAIN problems with SCART cables:
* They might have had all the pins, but only composite and audio wired.
* They might have had all the pins, but only a bundled multi-core cable, so video buzz on the sound, or ghosting on a longer cable as the multiple video signals need to use 75 Ω coax.

Then there is Apple, who messed up the 4 pole 3.5mm jack. The sleeve might connect to a metal cover. Before Apple, the extra 2nd ring between sleeve and ring was either microphone or composite video. Apple made that ground/0V and the sleeve was then the microphone connection. Then of course having messed it up they ditched it entirely.
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