Firewire connectors

Hello Steinbergers!

Does anybody know of a rock solid way to connect a firewire cable?

The cables we have tried connecting to our interface have a sloppy fit and the connection is easily lost even just bumping the cable a bit.
What we would like is some way of securing the cable to the interface with effective strain relief.

http://www.abcstudios.co.nz/Firewire%20connection.JPG

Actually the optical cable is not much better… :unamused:

I’ve never seen special firewire connectors that do something more to stay in place. I have no problems with mine because I simply never get near them, but I agree firewire aren’t the best fitting connectors. For what it’s worth, the 4-pin mini firewire connector fits much better in my experience, but that’s of no help here.

Thank you Strophoid!

We use the firewire at live gigs. If I was hiring the guys that designed these connector I would fire them.

The achievements of mankind and we cannot even get a plug to fit a socket!

USB is ok, Optical is abysmal, like firwire. Remember VGA? with the two screws? :slight_smile:

I’m not sure if you’re considering drilling a small hole above the FireWire input on the case. You might try a small “L” bracket that is screwed into the case above or below the cable, then use the slim zip tie to secure the cable to the lower ledge of the “L”. When you’re ready to pack up, clip the zip tie and remove the cable.

Of of this would be on a small scale, small screw, either self tapping or secure with a tiny electronics screw and nut…and should not interfere internally. The “L” should be something like an adjustable shelf bracket or a slice of angle material.
image.jpg
Of course, free advice may only be worth the cost… Nothing

Thinking out loud

If you have other cables in/out of the computer, maybe the FW cable can be tied together with them for a more stable “bundle”.

Considering the live aspect, I would prefer to go the knuckle47 route. :slight_smile:

Well thinking along the same lines but I see from the photo that the closet cable is an optical one … They’re worse than the FireWire on retention.

With these small connectors, the cable weight and stiffness tends to put a lot of stress on them. If not held at 90 degrees with some positive insertion force, movement and dragging sideways will loosen the mating surfaces, distort the connectors, or even dislodge the sockets from the circuit board.

The only way to ensure this is to double-tie the cables. That is:

a) One TIGHT tie a few cms from the connector so that it applies a slight positive pressure to the socket, to ensure the plug is always fully inserted.

b) A second tie a few cms further away to limit the bending going into the first tie, and so limiting the shear (sideways) force on the connectors.

Alternatively, using a single clamp that braces the cable along a few cms would do the same.

If you have your equipment loaded in a road case, you could use a back panel fitted with locking connectors of the IP67 type (weather-proof) because they typically include better strain relief. Even if you use standard feed-through connectors on the panel, at least if any damage occurs, it will not be to expensive equipment! Internally, you can set the cables to minimise problems, but even if loose, you know that they will never be placed under stress.

I bought XLR backplates (like 1U 12 x XLR Socket Rack Panel), fitted with 1394a (like Switchcraft EHFW2BX Straight Wired Firewire 6-Pin Feedthru Jack - Black) and optical (like Switchcraft EHTL2 Toslink Feed-Thru Connector For Panel Mounting) feed-through connectors. I also fitted feed-through connectors for 1394b, RJ45, BNC, USB2 and HDMI, so you can really go to town. I use the same panels and connectors to connect between the inside and outside of the studio.

I consider the miniDisplayPort (mDP) one of the worst in this regard. Not only has the locking mechanism of DisplayPort been abandoned, but the cables, especially the 10GHz ones, just seem far too large and stiff. To me, mDP is under-engineered.