SONY Spressa USB cable !

[capecodbeachfront]

While moving my drive two of the pins broke on the end of the cable.
SONY says this is a unique connection....
Thus I can only get it from them ???? Price $50 !
It is a 36 pin smaller than parallel...
Is the connection available somewhere else ?
Could I rebuild using Radio shack parts ????
Any suggestions ?
I hate to spend $50 as I figure the next might break as well !
The drive was only reconnect two maybe three times.
The weight of the Fan shaped connection put weight on the pins !
Does anyone have old cable to part with ?
Phil T

[BuddhaTB]

Which Spressa USB CD-RW drive do you have? The one I have can be used with an ordinary USB cable. In addition, I don't think your cable is a USB, as USB cables don't have pins, just one large piece in the middle on both connecting ends. Write back with your drive's model number and I'll try to look into the matter for you.

[Ian]

Some drives have a 36 pin connector on the back of it instead of the usual USB connector. This way the company can market it as USB, FireWire or PCMCIA just by swapping the cable.

$50? Thats a rip.

[BuddhaTB]

Some drives have a 36 pin connector on the back of it instead of the usual USB connector. This way the company can market it as USB, FireWire or PCMCIA just by swapping the cable.

Thanks for the clearification Ian. The Sony Spressa USB drive I own only has a power and USB connector on the back.

[capecodbeachfront]

Sony CRX100e/X
Does have the 36 pin at back of drive.
Usb at computer end !

[Ian]

Here's the cable that drive uses. It's manufactured by Shuttle Technology, or SCM:

http://www.scmmicrosystems.com/connectivity/usbata.html

It might be cheaper to buy from another one of their distributors.

[jjones]

You may be better off getting a newer, faster drive, since your drive is 4x if I am not mistaken. You can definitely get 48x drives for under $50 which you mentioned would cost you to repair the cables.

Sony CRX100e/X
Does have the 36 pin at back of drive.
Usb at computer end !