PC Cables

Parallel Connectors

Parallel printer cable
1284AB-6
High speed IEEE-1284 Printer cable, DB25 Male to CN36 Male,

Most computers today have EPP/ECP parallel ports, whose performance is vastly superior to that of the original standard parallel port. In order to get that high performance operation, you'll need to use IEEE-1284-1994 standard cables. In fact, virtually all newer printers will not operate correctly with non IEEE-1284 compliant cables due to missing signals. Even so-called "bi-directional" cables are not necessarily IEEE-1284 compliant. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a "standard" parallel printer cable. Usually people think of a "standard" printer cable as one with a DB25 connector to connect the PC's parallel port and a Centronics 36-pin connector for the printer. Regular printer cables may work fine for printing to an old, slow Dot-matrix printer, but for todays printers and other parallel port devices like Zip drives, scanners, and other devices capable of 2MB per second operation at lengths of up to 30 feet, nothing less than a true IEEE-1284-1994 cable will do!

Connector Types

IEEE-1284 Printer Type “A” Connector (DB25 - Male)

Standard Printer cable connector, computer side.

This is the connector most commonly used as the computers parallel port output.

IEEE-1284 Printer Type “B” Connector (CN36 - Male)

Standard Printer cable connector for printer side.

 

This is the most commonly used connector for the end of the cable
that goes to the printer. Known as a Centronics connector, the male connector
on the cable has a "tongue" like protrusion in the middle and is used on the cable;
the female has a slot and is used on the printer.

CN36-female  standard connector on printer

DB25-female  standard connector on Computer

PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard

The physical PS/2 port is one of two styles of connectors:  The 5-pin DIN or the 6-pin mini-DIN.  Both connectors are completely (electrically) similar; the only practical difference between the two is the arrangement of pins.  This means the two types of connectors can easily be changed with simple hard-wired adaptors. 

PC keyboards use either a 6-pin mini-DIN or a 5-pin DIN connector.  If your keyboard has a 6-pin mini-DIN and your computer has a 5-pin DIN (or visa versa), the two can be made compatible with the adaptors described above.  Keyboards with the 6-pin mini-DIN are often referred to as "PS/2" keyboards, while those with the 5-pin DIN are called "AT" devices ("XT" keyboards also used the 5-pin DIN, but they are quite old and haven't been made for many years.)  All modern keyboards built for the PC are either PS/2, AT, or USB.  This document does not apply to USB devices, which use a completely different interface.

Mice come in a number of shapes and sizes (and interfaces.)  The most popular type is probably the PS/2 mouse, with USB mice gaining popularity.  Just a few years ago, serial mice were also quite popular, but the computer industry is abandoning them in support of USB and PS/2 devices

The pinouts for each connector are shown below:
 

Serial Port and Connector

An input/output location that sends and receives data to and from a computer’s central processing unit or a communication device one bit at a time. Serial ports are used for serial data communication and as interfaces with some peripheral devices, such as mouse.

USB Connector

USB 1.x/2.0 Printer Cable
USB-AB-2828-06

USB  "A"-male connector to "B"-male connector cable.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is the new "plug & Play" interconnection standard used for both PC's and Macs. Most USB devices work with either PC's or Mac's, while USB cables are completely interoperable. These USB cables may be used for USB mouse or keyboard cables, usb printers or any other standard USB devices. They are rated for usage in either 12Mb/s and 1.5Mb/s applications which are currently standard. All of our USB cables are fully USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 compliant for 480Mbps. There are four normal USB connector types most often used, the "A" type, the "B" type, the mini USB, and the mini USB "version 2" or USB2 connector. The smaller connectors, the mini and mini v2 are used on the newer Digital cameras, replacing the serial connectors used previously. Note: Some Digital cameras use "Proprietary" cables and connectors which don't allow you to buy them from anyone but the cameras manufacturer. Check out the proper connector types you will need for the ends of the cables to make sure you get the correct cable or adapter. We have a wide variety of adapters and converters in case you have trouble connecting different types of connectors to each other.

USB 2.0 Cables with LEDs
USB 2.0 Certified Translucent Cables with LEDs

This cable allows you to connect hubs and peripherals such as printers, scanners, and storage drives. Built-in LEDs let you know if the USB port is working properly and helps locate cable in dark areas. It is USB 2.0 certified, has silver braid shielding with translucent jacket and supports USB speed up to 480Mbps.

Firewire

Firewire originally was developed by Apple Computer, Inc. While it was developed, many thought it was actually too fast, and some lower speed interconnect like USB would be cheaper to implement. Suddenly, in 1995, a tiny connector showed up on the first DV camcorders shipped by Sony. In late 1995, Firewire was accepted as a standard by the IEEE, henceforth called IEEE 1394.

Firewire interface card             Firewire connectors   

There are currently two versions of the FireWire interface in use:

800 megabits per second - The latest version of FireWire, IEEE-13994b, also known as FireWire 800 which is twice the speed of FireWire 400/1394a

400 megabits per second - The original version of FireWire, the IEEEE-1394a interface, also known as FireWire 400

Firewire 400 the original version of the IEEE-1394 interface specification, also known as Sony's i.LINK,®.  FireWire, IEEE-1394 or iLINK are all different names for the same high-speed digital technology that enables consumer electronics to easily interface with computer products.

The video capture using Firewire