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Floppy drive extension cables?

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Syntho

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Feb 23, 2022
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I have a 3.5" and 5.25" drive. I remember having to fool with the configuration to get my 3.5" drive to show up as A: and my 5.25" to show up as B:. I forgot exactly what I did but now it's just how I want it. With one exception: My caddy CDROM sits above my 5.25" drive and I'd like it to sit below it. This is how it is now, from top bay to bottom:

Caddy CD-ROM
5.25" Floppy Drive
3.5" Floppy Drive

I would like to switch the CD-ROM and 5.25" drive positions for convenience's sake. The PC sits on floor so I have to reach down more to access it. But the problem with that is that the floppy cable I have won't reach the 5.25" floppy drive (hence why it's right next to my 3.5" drive). I don't mean it's not long enough overall, I mean there's not enough distance between the A and B connectors.

Does someone know if there happens to be some sort of extension cable for a 5.25" drive, or if there's a normal floppy cable that has a few inches more space between the A/B connectors than usual?
 
That looks like it'll work. I have a question though. The 5.25" drive I have uses the card edge and so do all of the other 5.25" drives I've seen. Conversely, all of the 3.5" drives I've seen use the pin connectors. I'm going to guess that the connectors themselves don't dictate what kind of drive the computer sees at all. I was thinking that was possible, but after seeing the adapter you posted I'm guessing it has no bearing.
 
Correct, it makes no difference. Early on, floppy cables only had edge connectors. So it was common to use an adapter when upgrading to a 3.5" floppy drive to allow it to plug into the old cable.
 
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Might be cheaper to just buy another floppy cable that supports both styles ... Or just a connector if you have a vice to press it onto the ribbon cable.
 
I think he already has a cable like that. The issue is not enough distance between A/B.
 
Gotcha. Ya I have a ton of cables, and some really long ones are lifesavers with large cases.
 
Plasma said:
Correct, it makes no difference. Early on, floppy cables only had edge connectors. So it was common to use an adapter when upgrading to a 3.5" floppy drive to allow it to plug into the old cable.
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Early during the introduction of 3.5" drives with the pin connectors, it was not uncommon for a new 3.5" drive to come with one of those adapters in the box. It was also not uncommon to open a case and find a cable with 5 connectors, an edge connector for the floppy controller, and a connector of each type in the positions for the A: and B: drives. Those turn up on eBay from time to time. I made a cable like that from scratch that goes one step further. It has some extra length, and at the controller end has both types of connectors to allow for connecting to pin type connectors on later motherboards.

Comes in handy for testing purposes.
 
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I generally used an extender that went from the motherboard IDC to the IDC that is used to connect to the motherboard so that the original cable can be used, like this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/272702286576

That way I only needed one type extension cable and could keep the original cable in the machine. I kept some 40 pin types on hand too until the 80 wire IDE came out
 
In this situation, I just unreel the correct amount of ribbon cable from a spool, grab some connectors and my IDC crimp tool. Takes about 10 minutes.
 
Chuck(G) said:
In this situation, I just unreel the correct amount of ribbon cable from a spool, grab some connectors and my IDC crimp tool. Takes about 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
I've done that at times myself, mostly on server equipment though I normally used a small clamp on vise with plastic jaw covers. CNAweb.com has been my go-to for many years for cabling and connectors.
 
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