Reply to post: Re: Proper lash up

A paper clip, a spool of phone wire and a recalcitrant RS-232 line: Going MacGyver in the wonderful world of hotel IT

JeffB

Re: Proper lash up

Much later than RS232, but still a Heath Robinson affair...

A cabling lash-up that I have used a few times to get users out of deep do do involves a broken USB memory stick and a length of ribbon cable. A cheap USB stick is in the front port of a PC, which is housed in a lectern/stand such that the USB is sticking out beyond the stand. Tutor turns around and knocks said USB with their posterior, causing the body to depart from the connector.

Said tutor comes crying to me with the parts in their hands saying that all their teaching materials are on there and they don't have a backup!! Close inspection identifies sufficient copper track to be able to solder to, but the mount points for the connector are damaged, so it cannot be re-attached normally. Enter a length of ribbon cable, extract 4 strands, strip the ends and solder into place, all data now accessible, cue fawning 'Thank Yous' from tutor.

How long they carried on with this lash-up before transferring the data to either another stick or network storage I'll never know...

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