Nokia CA-42 data cable local to Toronto

[Hugh]

I need to support TTL-level RS232 signals for an urgent hacking project (see later).

I think that the easiest and fastest way to accomplish this is to hack on a Nokia CA-42 data cable for some of their handsets.

I'd rather not pay $40 for a genuine Nokia one. Does anyone know of a cellphone store that would likely have a clone for sale? I imagine this is the kind of think that a Pacific Mall store might have.

Suggestions welcome.

Background (skip if you feel like it):

We have a Seagate 7200.11 disk drive that has bricked. It came in a Gateway machine. Neither Gateway nor Seagate will fix it. There is a fix that I should be able to do by talking to a diagnostic port on the drive. This diagnostic port uses RS-232 signals but at TTL voltage levels (like the Linksys WRT54GL's serial console). The CA-42 cable does just that -- all I should have to do is cut the cable and connect the correct wires to the disk drive.

I have a CA-42 from Dealperfect, bought on spec. But when I operate it, I find that the expected voltages are not on the wires and it doesn't pass a loopback test. Of course I cannot return it since it is butchered.

[steen]

I've done this fix before. I bought a USB to UART cable from alldav.com for $6 shipped and soldered some wires to it.

[FerrisB]

I have one that I used for my old phone. You can have it for $10 if you want. PM me.

[Hugh]

I have one that I used for my old phone. You can have it for $10 if you want. PM me.

Thanks for the offer. Barrie is a bit far.

I just bought one from a store in the Pacific Mall. The genuine Nokia one seems to be $40 but clones seem to go for $20 except for the place where I bought it for $15 (unit A60).

Several stores were not open at 11:45 even though the mall opened at 11:00. Unlike most malls, I guess stores are not obliged to be open whenever the mall is. That probably makes sense when staffing for such a small store would be awkward.

Dealextreme and Dealperfect sell these for US$4.87 and US$4.83, including shipping. Delivery takes quite some time.

[TOEngineer]

How did you make out with your drive? Did the cable work? I have read other threads stating that some cables don't seem to work. I have the same drive that is bricked and want to attempt the same repair. Thanks for any advice.

[Hugh]

How did you make out with your drive? Did the cable work? I have read other threads stating that some cables don't seem to work. I have the same drive that is bricked and want to attempt the same repair. Thanks for any advice.

Here's a writeup of my experience. Of course you must read linked items too. http://forums.seagate.com/t5/ATA-and-Serial-ATA-drives/Gateway-Acer-OEM-7200-11-drive-locked-up/m-p/37222

My theory is that any CA-42 cable should work but you certainly cannot count on the colour of the insulation on the individual wires of a cable matching the colours of a different cable. You really have to use a VOM or continuity tester to figure out which wires are which.

Another warning: the circuits of the cable are easy to burn out. I did that. It may well be that the circuits on the drive are similarly delicate.

Good luck!

[TOEngineer]

Hugh, Thanks very much for pointing me to Pacific Mall. I went to unit A60, but they didn't have the cable, so I managed to find it at 123Cell (or Cell123, can't exactly recall) - believe that the unit number was C9 - 12 bucks. Anyways, after following various instructions and reading everything I could find on the internet about this repair, I successfully managed to unbrick my drive! I had the same struggles as you regarding the wire colours, but pulled the USB cover off and the circuit board identified which colour wire was which signal. Thanks again!:D

[JWL]

In case anyone else runs across this thread, I had the same problem and fixed it using this method (used a CA-45 USB cable. I think any phone cable with the leads marked in the USB plug would work):

Instructions:
http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Interna...IVES/m-p/26009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29FztWJVxbM