Which is the most satisfying IO connector system, in your opinion?
Do you like a tactile click? Are you a sucker for screws? Or something you can put in any direction? Maybe it's yours or another country's power plugs?
This is sounding more sexual than I intended I think
Most RJ-45 connectors (without a boot on them)… The connector only fits one way, the orientation is clear on both ends while holding, looking or even by feel if you have to do it blind and it locks into place easily. Only issue is how fragile the locking part is, which boots are supposed to help protect but make more difficult to use.
I like reversible connectors like lighting and USB-C but I find them too small and fragile in general and they are not very satisfying to connect.
I have a special hate for connectors that are HARD to blind connect or even tell at a distance like USB-A, HDMI and Displayport which are ether rectangles or slightly not rectangles that are close enough that is hard to tell in the dark behind a device.
I have a strong dislike for connectors with thumb screws, but like locking connectors like Centronics or as noted RJ11 or RJ45.
Terminating RJ-45 takes about 2 minutes if you damage the connector, and takes novice techies about an hour to get it down quick. You can’t say that about USB-C.
I love USB-C in a lot of ways but I also have two different projects that are sitting and waiting for me to solder in the USB C connectors, because JESUS H CHRIST. Those things were not built to be attached by human hands.
Seriously though. Those damn boots on RJ-45 cables are the bane of my homelab. Sure they protect the needlessly fragile prong on the connector, but have you tried unplugging a single cable from a full switch? I have to leave a pair of pliers next to mine for that. To hell with that! I’ll take SFP over RJ45 any day!
Special “Fuck You” to whoever invented micro-HDMI. Difficult to plug in, super easy to destroy. And for what? It’s not that much smaller that full-size HDMI. I had to send in one (out of warranty) mirrorless camera for service because on that, and it was super expensive.
It’s probably whatever my phone charger uses (USB C probably), but that’s mostly because I’m associating the little buzz my phone does when it starts charging with the connection. So yeah, purely fetishistic.
I replaced all my USB-C and Micro-USB connectors with magnetic ones. No more orientation worries, no more fumbling in the dark, no more not-inserting-it-hard-enough. Just bring the two into proximity and them magically snap together.
Yes. The Magsafe connector on MacBooks has a very reassuring snap and feels solid and durable. And the color coded light indicating whether it is charging or fully charged is very satisfying.
I use a hose a lot and I kept breaking those shitty plastic fittings. I bought some high-end solid brass ones made by CK Tools and oh my goodness they’re satisfyingly clunky
The few that I’ve used either require too much force to connect, or are just friction-fit only (like those Neutrik combo XLR + 1/4" receptacles you find on audio interfaces), but I’ll take your word for it. XLR looks like it should feel solid.
Worst internal connector by far is dual USB3, the cable is so thick and unwieldly, I always feel like the pressure from trying to bend it is going to rip the header off the board
I dislike the US power plug way more than the Europlug (or compatible sockets like Schuko). It just slides in, only thing holding it in is friction. Also, there is a connection while the contacts are exposed, exposing the user to the risk of shock.
Also, I like DisplayPort more than HDMI, it clicks really nice on insertion and in my opinion pulling it out is also more satisfying.
But when it comes to my keyboard I like a bump with a solid bottom out, not a click.
Currently though I’ve got some damn fine clunky toggle switches for some electronic projects that are super overkill for the project but they clack so good.
I agree! And it’s reversible, and it’s specially satisfying by holding it from the cable and just approaching it to the macbook and feel (it happens too fast to see it) how it moves and snaps into place no matter what. It’s the only one ever I always have had a 100% success rate ever.
I'm a sucker for any connector that has a nice solid spring load mechanism that pops into place when properly connected. It should sound like a movie sound effect of a gun being reloaded.
I've also used some really nice quick release steering wheels, like on race cars or racing sims, where they have a spline connector with a tight fit and a good spring load.
You ever used a Deutsch Weatherpak connector? We use them on mobile equipment. They have a spring loaded face seal then a solid lever lock that is plastic but substantial enough that it’s usable. They’re pretty good wire to wire connectors. I’ll take anything with a twist lock though, BNC etc.
The fuse thing comes from history but is still good because then each device is fused appropriately for its load. Get a short on a 3A circuit - fail nice and quickly. If you just rely on house wiring your breaker need to be the maximum possible load on the circuit.
That said of all the non UK plugs, the Australian one is up there. US are the worst and schuco (most of Europe) isn’t great.
What kind of breakers or RCDs are you using in your house that wont fail on a short?? If your house wiring is to code, then at best the fuse is a waste of time, at worst it might prompt someone with no electrical training to open the plug up to change the fuse.
This will be the comment that starts the war between Britain and Australasia. During the first wave we’ll just drop millions of plugs pin upwards on your streets, there will be severe foot damage on a scale you cannot fathom
That tactic might work in the overcrowded ghettos of London but millions of plugs will be an easily dodged hazard in the spacious streets of any Australian city. We await your first free copper delivery!
His first point is nonsense. The holes are big enough for a screw driver full stop. If I have two screw drivers then I can shock myself. Not only that, its a guaranteed shock because I'm now making a perfect path to earth. Simple fix: dont make the holes big enough for screw drivers. UK plugs are even worse than yankee plugs for this. Aussie plugs fix this problem.
Aussie plugs cover the second problem. The letter nonsense is nonsense. The fuse is dumb, as above, FIX YOUR DAMN HOUSE WIRING. The last bit about your plug falling apart is classic British ideology, stop building things that fall apart.
Its clearly better than EU or yankee plugs, but thats not a great selling point when its still garbage.
What exactly do you think it’s wrong with our wiring ??
Sensing a lot of hostility or Aussie patriotism just because Britain did something well and you don’t want to admit it.
No other plug had the safety features the UK plug when it was designed or now AND the plug is just one part of a whole system. You act like our plug is the only line of defence - newsflash it isn’t.
Any new property has built in RCD and breakers at entry to the property. That means it’s hard to shock yourself regardless of the plug design.
The fuse in the plug is arguably not needed anymore but it’s still a safety feature that could be used in some circumstances, so why take it out? The fuse existed before RCDs and as technology improved so did our electrical safety standards. The fact the fuse is still there doesn’t mean it is the only way. The fact the gate is there doesn’t mean it is the only way. You might guess by the number of safety features in the plug design that electrical safety is taken seriously in this country.
I’d also argue that screwdrivers are unlikely to be the thing that gets jammed in there anyway. Paperclips, toys, letter opener, etc more likely to be in kids hands I’d have thought, the gate makes it not matter what the implement is. Plenty of things are metal and will fit in any electrical socket - except the UK one unless the gate is held open with a second object.
The dexterity and understanding needed to open the gate with one hand and shove a metal object in the live in with the other is high enough that you are probably dealing with old enough children that they will know what happens if you do it. Even if they do, our “damn wiring” requires an RCD at the consumer unit so they’d still be safe.
There are older houses of course which have less safe electrics like a fuse box, but if you are going to judge by decades older standards, then I can do the same and then you still come out worse, because you don’t have RCDs way back when and your wall sockets are unprotected.
P.s. A quick Google tells me Electrocution statistics in both countries are exactly the same when taking population into account. 20 deaths per year in Oz, 70 in UK. Most caused by faulty appliances. 1 in a million chance, in both countries.
If the number of electrocutions per capita are the same then it's clear the fuse is doing nothing. The only reason to keep it is if you don't trust your domestic network, specifically the protection systems provided. If they are to code then why waste your manufactures time, and the time and space of your users continuing to require them.
My argument isn't born from patriotism, it's frustratration at years of having to use an inferior product only to have someone claim it's not only great but the best. Well, it's not the best, far from it, but at the end of the day I don't think I'll ever live in the UK again so shrug have fun with your garbage connectors =)
Bear in mind that there are very old properties out there maintained by people who don’t care or can’t afford to rewire their house. The fuse remains to protect them not because of trust. Antsy part of my point was that taking one aspect in isolation doesn’t tell the whole story. The Australian plug on its own is not as safe. It is made safe by upstream components.
BNC is the one. No idea how this response is that far down and people are saying stuff like “USB-C”. I guess people have no experience with the wonder that is a BNC connector…
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