USB Design Idiocy

[Boerseun]

Cool idea - convert a USB jack & socket to a normal two-channel male and female audio jack. Two channel audio has two circuits for each channel to give stereo, i.e. four connectors in total.

 

Because a USB's interface is flat, i.e. 90 degrees to the cable, you'll always have crossover issues. But if the interface is parallel to the cable, like an audio jack, you'll never have that problem. But that also implies that the power circuits would be open on the male jack, and would be more easily shorted, damaging equipment. Then again, the power running through USB to power devices is very small.

 

Using a linear setup like audio jacks (with more connectors, obviously) would also sort out cross-over issues for networking. It would also make the connectors last longer! RJ45 is CRAP!

 

I'm a'gonna get my soldering iron and try this...

[Jay-qu]

Well if you where to try design it, you would probaby want it to be cased in so you cant shock yourself.. something like an audio jack, but with a hole in the middle for one live, and an outer case for ground, the other 2 could be like the current audio jack. but like I said it would become rather bulky..

[Pyrotex]

Very frustrating indeed. I think the designers should have learnt from nature how to put a plug into a hole in a way that fits properly... :cup:

The problem would have gone away if they had simply added a small plastic flange to ONE side of the rectangular plug. By touch, you could know which side was which, and the flange would have positively prevented accidental insertion the wrong way.

[SolarFreak]

yes I agree the plug shape should have better Keyed. I hate reaching behind a computer to plug in a thumb drive and having to flip it around to get it to fit.

[Mercedes Benzene]

I agree the plug shape should have better Keyed. I hate reaching behind a computer to plug in a thumb drive and having to flip it around to get it to fit.

 

I guess you guys do not have computers with front-side USB ports. :hihi:

[CraigD]

Cool idea - convert a USB jack & socket to a normal two-channel male and female audio jack. Two channel audio has two circuits for each channel to give stereo, i.e. four connectors in total.

…

I'm a'gonna get my soldering iron and try this...

Look again. A normal 2-channel audio (headphone) jack has 3 wires – left, right, and a common ground.

 

A possible problem with using a headphone jack is that they’re prone to being staticy – when the cable shifts, the pin is free to rotate in the jack. Also, the contact area is smaller than most other kinds of plugs. With an audio signal, the resulting static is merely annoying – with a digital device, it can be anything from performance impacting to fatal. People with experience with cassette tape-based storage may recall sanding the plugs and jack prongs with emory cloths, spitting on them, etc. when the damn things unexpectedly refuse to load a file.

 

:hihi: I always wondered why USB plugs don’t have a small plastic post off center, to prevent them from being inserted backwards, something like the gap in those pesky 9-pin PS2 plug.

[bryankennedy]

I solve this design problem by putting a little sticker on the "top" of my USB plugs. So depending on the device I know which way to stick it in.

[GAHD]

IO really don't have a problem...shove in, if it fitsds great, if not flip it...

[ronthepon]

IO really don't have a problem...shove in, if it fitsds great, if not flip it...

Problem arises when you've turned it sround repeatedly ten times in a row.

 

And when you recieve an electric shock. (How???)

[Guest jamongo]

Strange, I've never had any problems with the USB plugs.

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Ahhh, but then I always take a running start.

[alexander]

USB is alright, you want to talk about real pain in the butt ones, talk about Sun serial plugs, those always seem to bend, especialy if you use them a lot (or for example the monitor plug) those are a real pain in the butt. Even more so, the ultra slim scsi connectors, especialy if you have 2 arays split in half so you gotta connect 4 plugs to the card in the back of the server on the top of the rack....