Building the ZoomFloppy Parallel Cable
Parts needed:
- (1) DB15 male plug + hood
- (1) DB15 female plug + hood
- (1) 6' or 1.8 meters (max) 8 conductor unshielded cable
Visit the ports, parts & pinouts page for a descriptions of all the above parts.
Tools needed:
- Multi-meter with DIODE checker
- Soldering iron
- Solder
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- Various screw drivers
- Small vice
- A lighted magnifier is very handy
This cable is a simple straight-through parallel cable used to hook the parallel port of the ZoomFloppy to the parallel port of a C= disk drive. It is a companion cable to the standard DIN6 serial cable which is the primary connection from the ZoomFloppy to the disk drive. This cable works with Star Commander and with MNIB/NIBTOOLS.
If you're not sure this is the right cable for you, see my cable picking guide to check.
Step 1: Prep the DB15 connectors and attach the wires
- Pre-solder pins 1 to 8 on both DB15 connectors so that the wires will solder better
- Strip off one end of the 8 conductor cable about 1/2" (1.5 cm) back.
- Strip 8 individual wires back about 1/8" (3 mm) to expose bare wire.
- Twist and tin the wires
- Solder these 8 wires to one of the DB15 connectors on pins 1 to 8. Mark down what wire color goes to each pin.
- Strip off the other end of the 8 conductor cable about 1/2" (1.5 cm) back.
- Strip 8 individual wires back about 1/8" (3 mm) to expose bare wire.
- Twist and tin the wires
- Solder these wires to the other DB15 connector, matching the pin numbers 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 etc.
Step 2: Check the cable
- Using a multi-meter on DIODE (continuity) check, measure between the pins on the following chart. There should be a short between each of the pins from one connector to the other
Cable pinout chart
DB15 (male) |
DB15 (female) |
|---|---|
1 |
1
|
2 |
2
|
3 |
3
|
4 |
4
|
5 |
5
|
6 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
Step 3: Finish the cable. Mount the DB ends in their hoods
- Put the hoods on the connectors. If the wires need to be squished a bit to fit, it should be OK to do so.
- Test the cable to make sure it works.
Email the author: Peter Schepers | Last updated: Jul 2, 2019