Poqet PC serial cable for $70!!??

[Psycho Bob]

I was just quoted by California Digital that the serial (they say it's a
null-modem kind) will cost 70 C-bills! Is this a horrible deal?

Is there way to make up one myself? I don't have the Poqet PC but am
thinking of one -- the serial cable just threw me off.

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[Faethor]

Yes, you can make your own serial cable, assuming you've got a few
tools. You'll need a piece of blank circuit board (or perhaps a thin
piece of plastic would work), a saw to cut it to size, sandpaper to clean
the edges, copper wire - I used 2-pair phone cord, epoxy, and either an
RS-232 or DB-9 connector.

There's a PIN-out on the Poqet connector/bus available at
http://www.best.com/~bmason/PoqetPC/. I only connected GND, RD, and SD.
This works fine with the Poqets' in-ram 'TALK' terminal program, which
supports Xmodem. I transfered three MEGs of software this way.

What you do is measure the connector, cut a piece of circuit board of
appropriate size (perhaps slightly large, so you can sand the cut edge),
measure the location of the 'guide bar' (there's a plastic vertical strip
towards one end so you can't plug the connector in upside-down) and cut
a slot in the appropriate place.

Make sure the board can be easily inserted into the connector, but
has no room to move left or right. This is the difficult part - figuring
the exact location to epoxy your wire leads to the circuit board. For
ground, use pin#1 on the connector. Easiest to find. A flashlight will
help in getting the connector edges in the correct places. Strip an inch
or two copper wire, and epoxy it in the locations you marked. If epoxy
gets on the top of the copper, don't worry, you can easily scrape or file
the tops clean. After the epoxy hardens and drys, slowly insert the the
board, making sure it doesn't bind or catch. Make sure the wires you
epoxy'd are in the correct places (fortunately, they're all on TOP of the
connector!) If everything looks good, connect the ends of the wires to
your DB9/RS232, and voila!

NOTE! If you place your wires in the wrong position, the possibility
of doing damage to your Poqet exists. I've made two connectors, a NULL
modem DB9, and a regular RS232 which I use with my PPI pocket modem. I
didn't have much trouble making my cables, but I'm not saying they're
easy to make, either. Take care.

-j

[Rolan]

A few weeks ago, I had posted a message asking to see how many people
would be interested in purchasing a poqet cable $20 or so. Sadly
I only received 3 responses - definitely not enough quantity to economically
run off a small batch.

I'll make one last call for orders.

IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A FACTORY MADE QUALITY
POQET CABLE FOR AROUND $20, PLEASE EMAIL ME.

If I don't receive enough responses by next week, I don't think it's going
to happen.

I'll fill you in on the story: My friend owns a company that specializes
in producing small runs of electronic devices and cables. I have a cable
that works great (the full 8 wire cable) and it is very sturdy, unlike the
very large and heavy screw-in connector from Ca Digital). We will run off
a small batch of 50 or 100 if there is enough interest. If you guys don't
respond, well, then it's up to you to hack your own cable. I have mine working.

Another satisfied POQET owner,
Rolan Yang
rxy...@hertz.njit.edu