Severed USB cable

skitch92

I have a 10 ft usb cable etension chord.

It was severed halfway through and i was wondering how i could repair this?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks, SKitch

jerryh3

You can spend two dollars and buy another one.

skitch92

yea, too bad it was actually a 30 dollar usb extension chord for a specific purpose.

But, i do appreciate the sarcastic, response.

AndrewF

You could try to solder it, but that is likely to not restore it to original specifications and depending on what you use it for, have intermittent issues.

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jerryh3

You're welcome. That fact that you can't even spell "cord" leads me to believe it can't be that important of an application. What make this a $30 cord?

skitch92

Wow, I practice music and am use to spelling "cord" as chord. My spelling mistake must make the application totally unimportant. You're right.

Never mind, I'll get help from a real forum that actually try's to answer your question and not beat around the bush all day.

jerryh3

Let's start over. As was stated before you could try soldering the cable together, but the fix would probably allow interference into the line. The only good fix is to replace the wire. Is there a reason replacing the wire would be more of a hassle than fixing it? Difficult run? A 10' extension can be bought on Ebay for less than $5 delivered. You may want to just order one now and try the solder fix to get you back going now.

Speedy Petey

Can you solder?
Do you have heat shrink tubing?
Do you have an hour or two?
Do you know how to Google?

You can likely do it.

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Scuba_Dave

There are specific USB cables that run $25-30
They do not have the everyday connectors & you can't buy them on EBay for $10

nap

don't have everyday connectors?

USB is a standard and the connectors are standardized.


skitch, what is special about this cable? Unless it is a multi connector cable or is some sort of conversion cable, repairing it would most likely cause signal degradation to the point that buying a cheap cable would be a better fix.

thegonagle

Word of advice: Don't buy USB cables (or any connection cables) at Best Buy or most other brick and mortar retailers. The markup is extremely high. (Connection cables are a great example of something that's best purchased online.)

You're looking not for a standard USB cable like you'd use for a printer, but for an "extension cord," so that you could move that printer 10 feet farther from the computer--something like that. Don't worry, those are actually pretty easy to find if you search for a "USB extension cable."

Here are two that would work:

Generic: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812117021
Name Brand (Belkin): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812107286

Even after shipping, you come out way ahead.

As for repairing the original cable in question, I agree that soldering and heat-shrinking each individual conductor is the way to go. It would be the most reliable way to do it, even though it won't exactly be pretty or elegant. (I've done this to extend a run of cat5 cable before--just have to be careful not to untwist the pairs too much.)

So really, just order the new one for $2.99 + shipping.

Scuba_Dave

Tell that to the camera MFg & specialty devices
They put their own connectors on so you have to buy THEIR cables at higher price. #1 on the list is Sony
Anybody can put their own connector on

Again, you CAN'T even get these at brick & mortar stores
I was ticked that I couldn't find the right cable
I had to buy another one

J. V.

Common sense says you replace the cable. Next time a light bulb burns out don't come here asking how to fix it. You were given the correct information on the first response. Then you turn around and treat the advice with little respect. It does not work that way here.

DangerMouse

scubadude is right on the money on this one, i've seen lots of one-of-a-kind cables for huge markups.
each one proprietary to it's unit. it stinks that companies do that too.
nowadays, printers don't even come with the friggin' cable! .....that's 'optional'... as if it'd work WITHOUT it!!!
but the guy said he wasn't coming back here anyways, so i guess it's a moot point......
i think perhaps he was upset.

DM

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nap

Um, then it is not a USB cable. USB is a standard just as rj45, rj11, etc.

there are 5 standard configurations. USB A, USB B, mini B, micro AB, and micro B

once you leave those 5, you are talking about a USB conversion cable, which, if you will read, I mentioned as being different.

this is the quote from my post: