IDE Extension Cable for 2.5 inch Hard Drive

I have little idea what is for sale, but you might more easily find a F-F cable and also a F-M gender changer.

(Or are they called sex-changers, given that gender is a grammatical term and refers to words, not to people or cable ends?)

The trick is to search using Google Images, not to sift through the web text search. Like this: Note that I've excluded SATA from the search. Then, just look through the images for something close.

etc... etc... etc...

Hi Micky,

I did not mention that I have an extension cable removed from a broken laptop. This IDE extension has female connectors on both ends.

WHY GENDER CHANGER WON'T WORK:

I thought about a gender changer until I noticed that the "key" (blank spot, no pin connector) position was not in the center.

John

Hi Jeff,

UPDATE:

Thanks to you, I just ordered the cable from notebookcables....

Regards, John

What I've done in the distant past was find a 44 pin header like this: and just cram it into one of the connectors. If there's a keying pin, I just remove it from the header. If the header is keyed, and the missing pin ends up in the wrong slot, I just heat the connector, and move the pin.

I think the point here, is that the header is now a mirror image of the mating connector that is required. There has to be an inversion of the sense of the connector, i.e. the header has to stick through the back of the connector before engaging the female sockets, or it isn't a compatible mate to the cable in the extension-cable sense.

Sure, but the header in the above URL, before a keying pin is removed, is symmetrical and will both fit in any derangement. If a keying pin is needed, just extract the pin from the header. The header shown is simply crammed into a common F-F ribbon cable, turning it into an extension cable.

I've done this successfully a few times when I needed an HD or FD extension cable in an old monster tower case where the typical PC ribbon cables are usually too short. The only headache was that the header pins were slightly short, so I had to move the black plastic base to the approximate middle of the pins.

Gotta call BS on this. That will connect pin 1 of the first cable to pin 2 of the connecting cable. Don't see how that could ever work.

Argh. Y'er right. Three cables and two sets of headers will work. However, that's not what I did when I built the extensions. I'm on vacation this week, but will dig into the box of ribbon cable junk next week and see what I find.

WARNING/CAUTION:

I received the cable in the mail late yesterday. This "extension" cable is DEFECTIVE.

The connectors are "out of phase". The top row of pin connectors on the female side are connected to the bottom row of pin connectors on the male side, and vise versa.

Note: If you "flip" the 2.5 inch hard drive, Pin #1 will end up connecting to Pin #20, etc.

This cable came from Atlantic ComputerTech, 95 Horton Ave., Lynbrook, NY 11563.

I will call them after 8AM (now 7:25AM) about returning this cable for a refund. I am afraid that all their cables may have the same problem.

If I have a problem getting a refund, I will report back.

John

Hi, I called Atlantic ComputerTech, and I had no problems regarding making a return for refund or exchange.

It turns out there is a "true extension" version. Until now, I did not know that there are two types of extensions.

CAUTION:

If you want a "true extension", the top pins on the female connector are the top pins on the male connector, order FI2-X06M.

John

Hi, Yes, if I ordered two of those extensions, the second one would put the end connector back in "phase".

I did not know there are two types of extensions until now.

John

This is not surprising - see my response to Jeff L. I think if you used two of them for a total of three flat cables connected together, it may work.

You don't want exceed a total length of 18" as that would exceed the specification, so keep that in mind as well.

heh... The Electronics Industry has taken a page from the Plumbing Industry -- and you'll find there are WAY more than "two types of extensions".

Jonesy