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DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

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Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#21

Post by Johnny555 »

Animats wrote: post #5

It's embarrassing that it's easier to get things made in China than in the US. I had some 5/16" paper tape manufactured for use in antique Teletype machines. I tried several US paper tape manufacturers. One quoted me $10 a roll, but made a good roll. One sent me a roll with rough edges that jammed in the machine. Most were uninterested, even for a large order. The US companies were really hard to communicate with, to…

Some of the decline in US manufacturing comes from this sort of thing

Are you sure it's not the other way around? That the decline in US manufacturing leads to this sort of thing?

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#22

Post by piannucci »

saul_goodman wrote: post #11
Yetanfou wrote: post #7

Yes, this has been here before. Back then I replied that, when confronted with the same problem, I simply took a hacksaw to a DB-25 and had a working connector within a minute. Not as fancy, maybe, but just as functional...

Sure, that works for a one-off. Not exactly a good solution though when you are selling a new product. "So, plug the cable into the rough hack-sawed connector on the back of our jankey product".

I wonder if it'd come out nice if you water-jet them in bulk and then glue the halves together.

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#23

Post by pkaye »

Animats wrote: post #20
pkaye wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe for 1-3 days turnaround local is better but it you can wait a week, the overseas prototyping can save you a lot of money. You have to deal with the communications gap but you can hire people locally to bridge that gap.

The communications gap is worse with US companies. - "You have to speak with the sales rep for your area for that, and he's out until next week". - "We don't make that any more." "Then why is it on your web site?" - "The order form on your web site doesn't work". - "Live chat is not available at this time". - "Your call is very important to us. Please leave a message." Companies in China seem to rely on email, and th…

I guess everything has become emails and messages now but back when I dealt with local manufacturers (ie machine shops, PCB, etc,) I would just drop by their office and talk with their engineers, brainstorm on the white board, etc. And if your employer was big enough, they would come to your office.

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#24

Post by kilo_bravo_3 »

Animats wrote: post #20
pkaye wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe for 1-3 days turnaround local is better but it you can wait a week, the overseas prototyping can save you a lot of money. You have to deal with the communications gap but you can hire people locally to bridge that gap.

The communications gap is worse with US companies. - "You have to speak with the sales rep for your area for that, and he's out until next week". - "We don't make that any more." "Then why is it on your web site?" - "The order form on your web site doesn't work". - "Live chat is not available at this time". - "Your call is very important to us. Please leave a message." Companies in China seem to rely on email, and th…

I don't even know how some US manufacturers stay in business with how abysmal they are at actually conducting business.

I work in aerospace product development, and my company has projects where we can source components from anywhere and projects where components must be US-supplied.

If I need a 12-fiber Male MT to Female MTP custom wiring harness I have to play email and phone rinky-dink with some regional rep for weeks to get it ordered when dealing with US-based suppliers. Then it has to go up and down the "value adding" chain between the rep, the sales department, business management, purchasing, and finally manufacturing. I have to have an account, deal with purchase orders, and the terms are usually 30-90 days ARO.

Or I can send a crudely-drawn picture with connector part numbers and some basic length figures to a cable house in China, get a quote the next business day, and order the damn thing with a credit card and have it in my hands in a week or two.

And no, the quality is no different. OM3 is OM3, Amphenol connectors are Amphenol connectors, and skill is almost irrelevant when the whole thing gets done up in the same automated fusion splicer that a US firm would use.

With US-based companies that are actually subsidiaries of international firms, I have an entire address book full of points of contact in the "mothership".

With US-based companies that have substantial overseas presences, like the company formerly known as GE Intelligent Platforms, even then the overseas folks are less worthless than the US-based ones.

It actually is a major source of job dissatisfaction when I have to get stuff done and the only POC I have for something I need is "sales@uscompany.ignore.me" when I know for stone-cold certain that there's a Wang Da Nian in Shenzhen who will abuse Google Translate for hours trying to get my employer's money.

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#25

Post by Scoundreller »

> For the moment at least, I have nearly the entire world’s supply of DB-19 connectors, stacked in my living room. I think I’m going to fill the bathtub and swim in them.

And 2 years later, all the stock on Ebay is still from North America/Europe. I'm a bit surprised.

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#26

Post by Scoundreller »

Animats wrote: post #5

It's embarrassing that it's easier to get things made in China than in the US. I had some 5/16" paper tape manufactured for use in antique Teletype machines. I tried several US paper tape manufacturers. One quoted me $10 a roll, but made a good roll. One sent me a roll with rough edges that jammed in the machine. Most were uninterested, even for a large order. The US companies were really hard to communicate with, to…

Same thing with spare parts. Need a funky USB to USB cable at a precise length? Someone from China on Ebay will have it.

The "free" shipping time can take 3-12 weeks to Canada. So I always buy extra and re-sell them on Ebay to recover my costs.

I have 4 micro-businesses for beer money of spare parts people are willing to spend an extra $5-10 to get in ~1 week.

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#27

Post by sverige »

kilo_bravo_3 wrote: post #24
Animats wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The communications gap is worse with US companies. - "You have to speak with the sales rep for your area for that, and he's out until next week". - "We don't make that any more." "Then why is it on your web site?" - "The order form on your web site doesn't work". - "Live chat is not available at this time". - "Your call is very important to us. Please leave a message." Companies in China seem to rely on email, and th…

I don't even know how some US manufacturers stay in business with how abysmal they are at actually conducting business. I work in aerospace product development, and my company has projects where we can source components from anywhere and projects where components must be US-supplied. If I need a 12-fiber Male MT to Female MTP custom wiring harness I have to play email and phone rinky-dink with some regional rep for w…

> Then it has to go up and down the "value adding" chain between the rep, the sales department, business management, purchasing, and finally manufacturing.

This times 10. One factor is that many US manufacturers incentivize their sales people so heavily that it actively interferes with getting things done, because that sales rep has to be involved every step of the way.

Another factor is the (apparently) natural tendency of all purchasing departments to become little bureaucracies that turn themselves into the customer by requiring the people who want to buy stuff to do it their way. ('Their' referring to purchasing or whatever the department is called.) Often that bad habit of turning themselves into the customer spreads to other departments.

In fact, I have seen software in use that turns entire sales departments into the customer, insisting that people calling for quotes spend far too much time providing information in the order the application requires it rather than allowing sales people to do what they are supposed to be best at: finding out what the customer wants and giving it to them for a price. I could have solved that problem, but it's tough to get directors interested in changing those kinds of things, let alone VPs and C level executives.

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#28

Post by kaennar »

lisper wrote: post #19

Heh, I've had a similar project on my back burner for a long time having to do with reusable Keurig filters. There are a ton of them on the market, and they all have the same fundamental design flaw: they are just a filter, without the surrounding housing with a small hole designed to hold pressure. So they all make weak coffee (and a huge mess). I would happily sink some money into the design and manufacture of a fi…

This might be an idiot answer, but have you checked your local makerspace? Or contacted someone at a university?

Last year a few of my classmates did an "Aggie Challenge" where they designed something for a private party in exchange for some mentorship and a resume bullet.

We usually do small projects for professors/companies that need help with something simple (like a CAD model/Design).

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#29

Post by lisper »

kaennar wrote: post #28
lisper wrote: post #19

Heh, I've had a similar project on my back burner for a long time having to do with reusable Keurig filters. There are a ton of them on the market, and they all have the same fundamental design flaw: they are just a filter, without the surrounding housing with a small hole designed to hold pressure. So they all make weak coffee (and a huge mess). I would happily sink some money into the design and manufacture of a fi…

This might be an idiot answer, but have you checked your local makerspace? Or contacted someone at a university? Last year a few of my classmates did an "Aggie Challenge" where they designed something for a private party in exchange for some mentorship and a resume bullet. We usually do small projects for professors/companies that need help with something simple (like a CAD model/Design).

No, I haven't. I doubt reusable coffee filters are "cool" enough to attract that kind of attention. I need to somehow reach the people who are already making them, and they are almost certainly in China somewhere.

Re: DB-19: Resurrecting an Obsolete Connector (2016)

#30

Post by qume »

Animats wrote: post #20
pkaye wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe for 1-3 days turnaround local is better but it you can wait a week, the overseas prototyping can save you a lot of money. You have to deal with the communications gap but you can hire people locally to bridge that gap.

The communications gap is worse with US companies. - "You have to speak with the sales rep for your area for that, and he's out until next week". - "We don't make that any more." "Then why is it on your web site?" - "The order form on your web site doesn't work". - "Live chat is not available at this time". - "Your call is very important to us. Please leave a message." Companies in China seem to rely on email, and th…

Exactly my experience in the US. Then I tried China and am now used to getting fast polite responses literally 365 days per year.

And they appreciate the business.

To be fair I have learned better how to get stuff done in the US - pick up the phone. But unless you're ordering for huge military contracts good luck getting past the attitude.

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