For anyone interested CPC have some reversible USB2 cables and they work.
You can plug the ends in either way around and they still work.
I have not had them long enough to comment on reliability.
What annoys me about USB it was designed for comparability, however all the manufacturers seem to have different shape/sized plugs. :-((
Really? Been mixing and matching cables for years with no problem.
Tim
Maybe he means micro, mini, type "B", etc.
You've been lucky then.
The "small USB" connectors often look similar, but are not always interchangable. The main culprits being Mini USB and Micro USB.
Thankfully Mini USB is getting less common now, and Micro USB seems to be the standard. Although I still see Mini USB on some things like GoPro cameras.
Yes, most phones/cameras use micro. My wife's dashcam (Transcend) uses mini, but mine (SJCam "GoPro-like") uses micro. Need to remember to keep relevant cable in car for powering.
Of course Apple is a law unto itself :-)
Their lightning connector is nice, since it's reversible, though I don't like the contact pads being exposed as they'll get dirty and they don't have a metal sheath to protect the PCB with copper pads from getting snapped off.
I believe that all USB connectors are designed so the majority of the wear is on the plugs on the leads (leads being easy to replace) and there's much less wear on the sockets on appliances.
The biggest problem with mini/micro USB is that the D connectors on appliances are sometimes difficult to tell which is the longer side and therefore which way round to insert the plug. These reversible plugs look good, as long as they are as rugged and don't suffer from plugs waggling on sockets and thus making intermittent contact.
It has compatibility...
It's compatible with
Type A sockets
or
Type B
or
Mini B
or
Micro B
or 1969 Gate, 1970 Left side door. Please leave outside flat 26 upstairs
Type C
Just not all at once!
Standards are great - there are so many...
Type A was a good idea - stood the test of time, robust and I've never had one die.
Type B was a waste of time - trying to differentiate client from host. Now no one cares...
It is a huge pity they could not have got from A to C directly.
C is nice. Reversible, small. However, for physical format I think that Lightning was still better, because it did not need a "socket" type design on the plug. Simpler and more material can be put into making the little tab and contacts robust. And it's also reversible.
The worst case was on my, now rather old, Olympus C-2040Z camera which had a proprietary USB connector of a similar size to mini USB. Since they had the monopoly a replacement lead would cost you £50 if you were rash enough to want one..
I am reminded of IBM Type 1 Token Ring connectors!
Giving them names does not make them compatible. Also, as we are talking of names what is the one that is basically square with the top 2 corners rounded, this is what my Toshiba DD requires?
They aren't usb though. They are multiple use connectors and usb is just one of the uses. They also tend to have video and other stuff on the connector. You would struggle with the five pins in a micro usb plug.
usb type b at a guess, most printers use that connector. I think all the first USB devices were supposed to use that and all computers type A.
Grudgingly, I'd agree, but too "closed"
Though USB type C is not hermaphroditic.
Does anyone know if connecting a micro USB from my Android phone to the micro USB on my TomTom, to copy route data files (.GPX), would work?
I ask as I was told connecting a USB PC to a laptop would fry one or both.
I can understand why you'd want a smaller connector on a phone or whatever
- but why on a printer?
Perhaps, using an OTG cable, if one or other device (more likely with the phone) supports host mode.
It shouldn't be possible to buy the USB A to A cable that would be required, but they do exist, it's not going to fry anything, but it's not going to do anything useful.
It's not different to be smaller, it's different to be unmistakably "the other end"
Is type B smaller? - it justs look a bit more robust.
I am using an A to A cable ATM. One end connects to my docking station and the other to my weather station.
I also have a hdd enclosure that uses an A to A USB 3 cable.
No, the socket on this camera is very much single purpose for the transfer of photos to a computer. The connector at the camera end has 4 pins and the other end of the cable is bog standard USB.
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