HELP: bash cable w/ multimeter

[pastrami]

There's been a number of post on building your own bash cable, each one of them has a slight difference on what color cable were present. Then there was a post that mentioned using a dmm to get the correct connection w/o using colors. I have a dmm with me, but I'm not sure what to look for? Should the two colors that belong together provide some sort of specific voltage?

any help would be appreciated!
TIA

[BubbleLamp]

Originally posted by pastrami
There's been a number of post on building your own bash cable, each one of them has a slight difference on what color cable were present. Then there was a post that mentioned using a dmm to get the correct connection w/o using colors. I have a dmm with me, but I'm not sure what to look for? Should the two colors that belong together provide some sort of specific voltage?

any help would be appreciated!
TIA

Forget colors, period. Set the meter to read resistance, and use it as a continuity tester. (A flashlight bulb and battery would do.) All you are trying to do is make sure you have the right pin on the DB9 connector connected to the right part of the mini-stereo plug. (Sorry, don't recall what that is at the moment.)

[pastrami]

thanks for the quick reply - do you have more details on what I'm looking for on dmm? I probably could get bulb/battery circuit going but how do I know I have the right pin on the DB9 connector connected to the right part of the mini-stereo plug?

sorry for the newbie q's .. .thanks for the help

[T_RJ]

pin 2 = tip...............^
pin 3 = ring..............' '
pin 5 = sleeve..........[]

[pastrami]

Sorry, I do no understand your the reply - please put in a 2nd grade terms .. what does tip, ring and sleeve mean?

pin 2 = tip...............^
pin 3 = ring..............' '
pin 5 = sleeve..........[]

[keith721]

pastrami:

T_RJ was attempting to draw a side view (and the message board has made it less than obvious :() of the stereo plug that fits into the back of the DirecTiVo. Maybe this illustration in fixed width font will help:

pin 2 = TIP................_
/_\ __________ black insulator
pin 3 = RING .............| |
|_| __________ black insulator
| |
pin 5 = SLEEVE............| |
|_|
[###]
[###] .......... rubber/metal/plastic shell
[###]


TIP is the conductor at the pointed end (or 'tip') of the phono plug. Hold it with the point facing towards the ceiling, the cable hanging down, and view it from the side. you'll start to see it.

RING is the conductor just below the pointed TIP, it's typically a very narrow metal band around the phono plug, with a ring of black insulator above and below it. (Think like a ring around your finger.)

SLEEVE is the largest and lowest conductor of the phono plug (typically it's the ground, but i'm not entirely sure in this case)

The PIN numbers above are the connections on your DB-9 COM/serial port connector at the other end of the cable. These equate ( I believe ) to 2-Transmit, 3-Receive, and 5-Ground. The most important thing to remember is:

Wire colors DON'T matter !! Every cable is made with whatever is the cheapest three-conductor (or two-conductor with shield) cable available at the time. It's what portion of the phono plug is attached to which pin on the DB-9 connector, that DOES matter.

good luck . . .

[captain_video]

Look at a mini stereo plug like the one on the end of a set of stereo headphones that come with a Walkman or portable CD player. The plug is separated into three segments with black plastic insulation between each segment. The tip is the end segment, the ring is the center section, and the sleeve is the base of the connector.

[BubbleLamp]

Heh Keith, that's a pretty phallic looking drawing buddy. You sure you aren't a hacker, they seem to be the only ones still into ASCII artwork. :D

[jchan88]

Pastrami, you have pm.

[keith721]

Originally posted by BubbleLamp
Heh Keith, that's a pretty phallic looking drawing buddy. You sure you aren't a hacker, they seem to be the only ones still into ASCII artwork. :D
me? a HACKER?? nawwwww..... :o as for phallic resemblances, since i didn't design the original phone plug (some Bell System guys, a loooonnng time ago) i never even gave it a thought. if you know any retired Western Electric / Bell Labs engineers, you could blame them. :D waitaminit - - wasn't the phone company where all this hacking and phreaking stuff got started, even before ham radios, CB, DSS, and TiVo came around?? yeah, i definitely think you can blame TPC for the resemblance, and the whole plug/jack mess.

keep smiling . . . :D :D