Source for MMJ cables.

[Andrew Back]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2008, tiggerlasv at aim.com wrote:

<<SNIP>>

> There are two different styles of DecConnect cables;
> both inverted, and not inverted.?? The only difference
> of course, is that one connector is flipped on one end.
>
> When used with genuine DEC adapters, one?style worked
> for printers (DCE), and the other style worked with terminals (DTE).

Ah, OK, so my cable is physically crossed - if I hold the plugs 
side-by-side the colours run in reverse order. And Googling 'BC16E-10' 
suggests this is a crossover. So assuming the MMJ port on my VT420 marked 
'1' (plus arrows) is not broken it is likely I have a cable for a printer.

> Back in the early 90's, our office used uVax 2000's,
> connected to VT220's. along with various printers,
> connected using DEC MMJ <> DB25 adapters.
> You couldn't simply swap the DecConnect cables
> because of the inverted MMP's on some of the cables.
> All of our cabling and adapters were unmodified DEC products.

In the 90s I had loads of MMJ cables and adapters, and uVAX 2000s with the 
3 port adapter, pizza box SCSI and external RD54 Etc. Ugh, all gone sadly 
:o(

> If you're really in a pinch, you can always
> pop the connector off of one end of the cable,
> and re-crimp it by hand.
>
> It's a bit cumbersome, but you can use a thumb-tack
> to lift the gold contacts out of the connector, and then
> use a small flat-blade screwdriver to push them back in.
> Just be careful not to stab yourself in the process.? ;-)

I think I'll try and find a ready made straight cable! But thanks for the 
tip.

Cheers,

Andrew