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Bad ComUSA firewire cable damages cameras
Found this on rec.video.desktop. Sounds like one should be very cardful with this product....
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Subject: [TRV900] Toxic CompUSA Firewire cable alert!
From: James M. De Arras
Date: March 23 2001
(originally sent to TRV900 mailing list, reposted to usenet by John Beale)
The 6 pin to 4 pin cable comes with the CompUSA PCI 1394 Firewire host adaptor, SKU # 274516 is badly miswired. It destroys whatever is connected to the 4 pin side when the 6 pin side is on a powered connector. I dissected one, on the 6 pin side, and found that of the 4 signal wires in the cable, 2 are ties to pins 1 and 2 on the 6 pin side, these are the power source pins, and previously what is frying the 4 pin end. The cable shield is connected to pin 3, a signal line, and the other two signal leads are connected to 5 and 4. The signal pairs should be 3 and 4; 5 and 6.
I did not dissect the 4 pin end, it is too small, and the molded ends would make it nearly impossible to determine pinout, so I do not know what the correct pairing would have been, but it's clear from the 6 pin end that the cable is totally wrong, and toxic to boot.
The cable is black, kind of thin wire. The cable itself is labeled VW-1 COPARTNER, but that is the wire brand, nothing wrong with the wire as far as I can tell. The connectors are nicely injection molded, also black, and carry only the firewire logo on the 6 pin end, no branding I can see anywhere else. I bought three of the CompUSA branded Firewire cards, and all the cables are bad. Took a while, and a blown FX190 and TRV900 before I put the pieces together. The cards all work fine, I have a wide selection of cables, and did not initially use the "free" cables, as they were too short for my setup. But I was setting up for portable operation with my new
Vaio FX190 and a Belkin firewire hub, when all this came to light. I was testing capture to a firewire drive, hence the hub. Worked with long cables, then I dug these out so there would be less bulk in my case, and things started failing.
Feel free to include my name in any cross-postings, if you want, I am real, the problem is real. But although it makes this sound like a message virus, I really encourage you to copy this to other DV-related groups, I have a fried TRV900, and would like to help prevent as much further damage as possible.
Jim De Arras
beale@shell3.ba.best.com
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This guy is known to a longtime user on the MUG list, so you should probably take this seriously.
Dr. Mordrid
[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 26 March 2001).]
======snip======
Subject: [TRV900] Toxic CompUSA Firewire cable alert!
From: James M. De Arras
Date: March 23 2001
(originally sent to TRV900 mailing list, reposted to usenet by John Beale)
The 6 pin to 4 pin cable comes with the CompUSA PCI 1394 Firewire host adaptor, SKU # 274516 is badly miswired. It destroys whatever is connected to the 4 pin side when the 6 pin side is on a powered connector. I dissected one, on the 6 pin side, and found that of the 4 signal wires in the cable, 2 are ties to pins 1 and 2 on the 6 pin side, these are the power source pins, and previously what is frying the 4 pin end. The cable shield is connected to pin 3, a signal line, and the other two signal leads are connected to 5 and 4. The signal pairs should be 3 and 4; 5 and 6.
I did not dissect the 4 pin end, it is too small, and the molded ends would make it nearly impossible to determine pinout, so I do not know what the correct pairing would have been, but it's clear from the 6 pin end that the cable is totally wrong, and toxic to boot.
The cable is black, kind of thin wire. The cable itself is labeled VW-1 COPARTNER, but that is the wire brand, nothing wrong with the wire as far as I can tell. The connectors are nicely injection molded, also black, and carry only the firewire logo on the 6 pin end, no branding I can see anywhere else. I bought three of the CompUSA branded Firewire cards, and all the cables are bad. Took a while, and a blown FX190 and TRV900 before I put the pieces together. The cards all work fine, I have a wide selection of cables, and did not initially use the "free" cables, as they were too short for my setup. But I was setting up for portable operation with my new
Vaio FX190 and a Belkin firewire hub, when all this came to light. I was testing capture to a firewire drive, hence the hub. Worked with long cables, then I dug these out so there would be less bulk in my case, and things started failing.Feel free to include my name in any cross-postings, if you want, I am real, the problem is real. But although it makes this sound like a message virus, I really encourage you to copy this to other DV-related groups, I have a fried TRV900, and would like to help prevent as much further damage as possible.
Jim De Arras
beale@shell3.ba.best.com
======snip======
This guy is known to a longtime user on the MUG list, so you should probably take this seriously.
Dr. Mordrid
[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 26 March 2001).]