"Timothy Daniels" wrote in message ...
"Rod Speed" wrote:
Timothy Daniels wrote:
Rod Speed wrote
Timothy Daniels wrote:
As for cables, have you looked into a set of "round" cables,
such as by Vantec (see http://vantecusa.com/ide.html ) which
come in lengths which may accommodate your drives' spacing?
Those flout the ATA specs. I wouldnt use them myself.
Where can one find these ATA specs on the Web,
http://www.t13.org/
and how do "round" cables flout them?
The main problem is that the 80 wire standard has a ground
line between each signal line to provide something close to
a reasonable transmission line and to isolate the signal lines
from each other. Even if the round cable is just a ribbon cable
rolled up, you clearly get signal lines next to each other in a
way that you dont with a flat ribbon cable. Even worse when
the round cable isnt a ribbon cable rolled up.
I called Vantec about pairing of signal polarities
(such as is done with Cat 5 cable),
That cant be done with a PATA drive because the differential
signals that are used in that config arent even present.
What can be done is to have a twisted
pair with one of the wires a ground wire.
and they said that there is no pairing of wires
- they are all just bundled in the braided metal
sheath. So right there is a caution flag for me.
Yep, they're 'designed' by pig ignorant fools who
dont understand even the most basic stuff like the
legal cable length, let alone the reason that every
second wire in an 80 wire flat ribbon cable is grounded.
I guess the proof is "in the pudding",
Nope, its in the standard specs.
Thats why that stuff is specified there.
and the next question I have is whether people
experience increased error rates with "round" cables.
Its not even possible for most to get a handle
on the error rate seen with a particular cable.
BTW, the t13.org site doesn't give much of a clue about which
document might contain the pertinent ATA specs which describe
line configuration and electrical properties. Could you point me
at them a little more specifically? Thanks.
The version number is just the development sequence that
the standard has gone thru, so ATA7 is later than ATA6 etc.
http://www.t13.org/docs2003/d1532v2r3.pdf
starting at page 27