16 Sep
2007
16 Sep
'07
2:53 a.m.
On 15 Sep 2007 at 23:40, Tony Duell wrote:
I said -
> I'd sure as heck would like the assurance
that whatever plug I'm
> sticking into a receptacle at least isn't going to result in "magic
Since the PS/2 keyboard and mouse interfaces are
electrically very
similar, I can see no reason why you'd let the smoke out if you pluged
them into each otehrs' conenctors, unless oyu plug a PS/2 keyboard into
one of thsoe seiral pouse adapaters and then into an RS232 port.
No, but I didn't specify that I meant the keyboard and mouse ports
(though there was some chatter about it. My concern is with things
such as printer and RS232 ports using the same connector, or putting
power on connector pins where it's possible to insert the connector
"upside down". Or using a power connector and wiring it differently
than the rest of the world (e.g. MD2 diskette drives as opposed to
anyone's 3.5" diskette drive). I believe that a few old Calcomp 8"
floppies actually put mains power through the signal connector on a
couple of models.
Wall warts are perhaps the worst examples of "user friendly" design.
It's not sufficient that one match the voltage and current and AC vs.
DC but one must also match the polarity. And the markings on some
equipment is missing entirely or engraved/printed too small to see
clearly. I've seen those little "tip and ring" symbols in all 4
possible orientations.
Take a look at a dozen bits of equipment with wall warts and you'll
note that many carry an entirely different branding than the
equipment they power. So matching brands won't work. And even when
there are matching brands, there's no specific information that a
Sony CD player PSU belongs to the CD player and not the DAT drive
sitting next to it. And so on.
I have several of those "universal" wall warts and find them to be
useful also. I also keep a doublet (magnifier) handy for deciphering
those connector symbols.
Cheers,
Chuck