Über~PhLuBB
10-27-01, 05:29 AM
The reason IDE cables are 80-wire is because there's an insulating wire between each data wire. This prevents electron migration (electronic noise), which can result in data errors. Making a "W" folded wire would result in more errors due to noise.
It's easy to make a rounded IDE cable with an ATA-33 cable, they're 40-wire, there's no chance of noise. With an ATA-66 or ATA-100 cable, it's a little harder, but still possible, if you stagger the cuts (explained below).
If you fold a cable, the edges of the fold are too tightly packed, electron migration is highly likely. If you cut a cable, and "stack" the cuts, you can stagger the data and insulating wires, resulting in a much lower probability of noise.
I rounded my cables by cutting (CAREFULLY!) the ribbon into strips of 9 wires each (80 wires divided by 9 equals 8 strips of 9 wires and 1 strip of 8 wires, which is as close to square as you can get. Why 9 and not 10? 10 results in data wires next to data wires in the strip below. You'll end up with 1 undersized strip using 9 wires per strip, but it's worth it.) with a razor blade, then stacking them. If you exose a wire, it's not nessecarily bad, but try to avoid it. You can cover exposed wires with a small strip of electrical tape adhered lengthwise. And don't worry about it, you WILL expose wires, no matter how sharp or thin your razor blade or X-Acto knife is.
You will have to bend the wires by the connectors in a certain way to avoid crimping at the base of the wire (see picture). Bind the cable at 2 places with electrical tape or zip ties (Get the cable into the position it'll be in the computer then bind it. This ensures the placment of the strips will not cause crimping or stretching).
I tried the idea of unbinding the connectors from the ribbon, splitting the cable, stacking it, then rebinding it (So you wouldn't have to bend the wires to avoid crimping. Professionally made round cables are rounded first, then the end connectors are bound on). The results were unacceptable, a ruined cable.
So how well does it work? Well, I've been using 2 ATA-66/100 cables (One for my CD-ROM and CD-RW, one for my HDD) since I rounded 'em myself 6 months ago, and I have yet to corrupt any data, or have data-related errors that can't be explained by overclocking or hardware issues.
The top picture shows the would-be position if it were installed. The bottom pic is just another angle so you can see the bends at the connector.
I thought I might add that the depicted cable is one I whipped up in about 15 minutes. It's actually better than the one I'm using, but because I don't feel like poking around in my computer unless I have a good reason, I'm gonna leave it in my "Assorted partz-N-crap" drawer.
It's easy to make a rounded IDE cable with an ATA-33 cable, they're 40-wire, there's no chance of noise. With an ATA-66 or ATA-100 cable, it's a little harder, but still possible, if you stagger the cuts (explained below).
If you fold a cable, the edges of the fold are too tightly packed, electron migration is highly likely. If you cut a cable, and "stack" the cuts, you can stagger the data and insulating wires, resulting in a much lower probability of noise.
I rounded my cables by cutting (CAREFULLY!) the ribbon into strips of 9 wires each (80 wires divided by 9 equals 8 strips of 9 wires and 1 strip of 8 wires, which is as close to square as you can get. Why 9 and not 10? 10 results in data wires next to data wires in the strip below. You'll end up with 1 undersized strip using 9 wires per strip, but it's worth it.) with a razor blade, then stacking them. If you exose a wire, it's not nessecarily bad, but try to avoid it. You can cover exposed wires with a small strip of electrical tape adhered lengthwise. And don't worry about it, you WILL expose wires, no matter how sharp or thin your razor blade or X-Acto knife is.
You will have to bend the wires by the connectors in a certain way to avoid crimping at the base of the wire (see picture). Bind the cable at 2 places with electrical tape or zip ties (Get the cable into the position it'll be in the computer then bind it. This ensures the placment of the strips will not cause crimping or stretching).
I tried the idea of unbinding the connectors from the ribbon, splitting the cable, stacking it, then rebinding it (So you wouldn't have to bend the wires to avoid crimping. Professionally made round cables are rounded first, then the end connectors are bound on). The results were unacceptable, a ruined cable.
So how well does it work? Well, I've been using 2 ATA-66/100 cables (One for my CD-ROM and CD-RW, one for my HDD) since I rounded 'em myself 6 months ago, and I have yet to corrupt any data, or have data-related errors that can't be explained by overclocking or hardware issues.
The top picture shows the would-be position if it were installed. The bottom pic is just another angle so you can see the bends at the connector.
I thought I might add that the depicted cable is one I whipped up in about 15 minutes. It's actually better than the one I'm using, but because I don't feel like poking around in my computer unless I have a good reason, I'm gonna leave it in my "Assorted partz-N-crap" drawer.