IDC termination s for a 3-row connector are mechanically problematic. They're probably needlessly/intolerably fragile. Fortunately, external ribbon cables are no longer tolerated here in the U.S. They have been replaced with Pacific-rim-manufactured shielded cables which work quite admirably and which can be built into the DD50 with just as much integrity as the 2-row connectors. Those guys on the SCSI-II committee must have been software weenies, having picked the teensy and fragile high-density cable connectors they chose. I'd say they're every bit as likely to break as the microscopic things used in the "SCSI-III" connectors which look like the ones used on several of my PCMCIA cards. Fortunately, I'm too cheap to buy these most modern and extremely expensive connectors. I've got about two dozen of the old "Blue-Ribbon" (used in office phone systems) connector-fitted cables most of which I've had for years, used to tow the car, etc, and I've never had reason to cuss them. I have seven of the "SCSI-II" connectors on five cables, of which all but one are adapters. Only one of the adapters works right, i.e. their strain relief actually relieves strain, as opposed to pulling out. Of course, with them, I always know which end has the problem. I've not used the one with the little connector at both ends. I doubt I could fix it if it broke, which it surely will . . . Dick -----Original Message----- From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 5:37 PM Subject: Re: non-SCSI disks on a SCSI disk interface (was Re: Space, the next frontier) have NEVER