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Connector Technology & Design
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Connector Technology & Design
Forum What's the worst contemporary connector you could have on a piece of hardware?
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  • Replies 23 replies
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  • connectors
  • USB 3.0 Micro B
  • Micro-HDMI
  • communication
Related

What's the worst contemporary connector you could have on a piece of hardware?

OwainM
OwainM 1 day ago

Hey everyone,

A small thought experiment came to mind today when discussing what the worst or most inconvenient connector or connector combination you could find on a device is? I'm specifically thinking of obscure or compact variants of common connector standards.

It came to mind when discussing a Sony camera I have which includes Micro-HDMI Output, or the USB 3.0 Micro B port Samsung used on one of their phones a few years ago.


What is the worst still contemporary connector you could find yourself using is?

If you can't think of anything, what is the most inconvenient connector type you once used, that was contemporary at the time?

I'm intrigued to hear what you've had to use, or at least commiserate together Sweat smile.

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Top Replies

  • dougw
    dougw 1 day ago +5
    It is really annoying when companies like Apple use a standard connector but use a different pinout from the standard.
  • shabaz
    shabaz 1 day ago +3
    SCART : ) Extremely useful, you wouldn't want a TV without it at the time, but impossible to plug in without perfect alignment* (and orientation precise to a degree or so!) - not possible with the back…
  • kk99
    kk99 1 day ago +2
    Mini-USB and Micro-USB were annoying.
Parents
  • shabaz
    shabaz 1 day ago

    SCART : ) Extremely useful, you wouldn't want a TV without it at the time, but impossible to plug in without perfect alignment* (and orientation precise to a degree or so!) - not possible with the back of the TV against the wall.

    * I believe in connector world the technical term is "gatherability", i.e. how much the connectors can be misaligned and still be able to connect. SCART gatherability was not great.

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  • dang74
    dang74 1 day ago in reply to shabaz

    Just curious, do newer TVs for the European market still have SCART?

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  • Jan Cumps
    Jan Cumps 1 day ago in reply to dang74

    My last one - a 5 year old smart TV - doesn't. The previous one still had one..

    Also, no more SCART on the recent cable decoder that I got from the provider. Previous version had it.

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  • Jan Cumps
    Jan Cumps 1 day ago in reply to dang74

    My last one - a 5 year old smart TV - doesn't. The previous one still had one..

    Also, no more SCART on the recent cable decoder that I got from the provider. Previous version had it.

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  • OwainM
    OwainM 1 day ago in reply to Jan Cumps

    My 5-year old TV doesn't feature SCART either, and an RCA to Four-pole 3.5mm jack is needed for an RCA Connection

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  • shabaz
    shabaz 1 day ago in reply to OwainM

    A lot of RCA connectors are quite bad because they get used in the wrong environment : ( in-car hi-fi. After a while, poor connection and crackly sound appears : ( One or two mnfr make really nice RCA connectors though; Pomona from memory, their outer connection doesn't loosen as easily.

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave 1 day ago in reply to shabaz

    A lot don't have an outer connection to start with... bzzzzzz....

    Also ground tends to mate after signal.

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