Re: MFM drive gone nuts

On 22/07/2014 6:58 AM, silverdr@wfmh.org.pl wrote:
> On 2014-07-22 at 00:30:11, Clockmeister (clockmeister@internode.on.net) wrote:
>
>> I don't see how cable length was any less an issue whether you had a
>> twist or not but hey we are all different.
> Yes, we are unique... like everyone else ;-)
>
> Answer: cable comes from point A to point B and shortly after that - point C. A being the controller outlet. There were usually no problems if the drives were in the same order as the connectors on the cable. But if they were to be connected the other way around, then imagine: cable comes from the bottom to the upper drive first, passes the IDC connector and goes further up. Now it has to go to the lower drive, which means it has to somehow find its way down-under (pardon the pun) the first section of the cable. How do you do this, without making (and squashing later on) a loop big enough to circumnavigate the ribbon running between points A and B?
>
> Without the twist on the cable you connect whichever drive in whichever order you want. Meaning you can *always* connect the lower drive first and the cable goes further up and quickly finds the upper drive. No need for unnecessarily long cables, no need for strange routing and squashing the cable "artworks", etc.
>
> I believe you have some old hardware laying around. Instead of guessing or imagining, check it out and connect two drives one above the other but when the cable goes from the bottom and connector "B" (the one in the middle) needs to be connected to the upper drive...
>

Been there and have done it many times. I'm not imagining it, I lived it 
for years.
I know what you are talking about, but I just never found it to be much 
of a problem, and like cases, cables came in different lengths and 
connector spacings. Some had both 3.5" and 5.25" floppy drive 
connectors, and also had floppy drive connector convertors - both ways.

Probably because I built a lot of systems, I could match the best 
fitting cable to the particular requirement.

That is my experience, and likely that of most PC builders back in the 
day who dealt with a lot of hardware.

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