We used to make all of our own cables and sometimes even build our own computer systems. We built several using a Heurikon system board, Fujitsu Eagle 400 MB drives, Kennedy tape drive, wyse terminals, Western Digital 5 1/4 disk drive, Printronix printer, Hyperchannel network boards and hubs and a Ramtek color monitor. Cabling was always a nightmare. Cable clamshell covers always got left off so we could visually inspect the connections. One hint never solder up 25 pin cable connections after having a beer. My eye hand coordination slips. Every device seemed to prefer its own "flavor" of connection. tie 6-8-20 together, crossover 2,3,4,5. Lots of our connections were straight through with the cross-overs in the connector or gender changer. We usually cut large holes in the wall, it was easier to plaster a hole than cut off and reconnect a cable end connector. Of course many just hung down from the ceiling. Our tech always carried a breakout box and several gender changers. We also had a little vacuum based vise to hold the connector while you soldered on it. Mike mmcfadden(a)cmh.edu