Never again

One time I had an ex ask me for some obscure cable that I happened to have. We went over to my cable drawer and as I pulled it out she said "Why do you have this drawer of random cables?"

FOR THIS EXACT PURPOSE BECCA YOU BITCH

Think about the apocalypse BECCA
I was a Scout as a teen. Taught me the value of being prepared and the use of good tools. Basically, I still carry things like a Swiss Army Knife, flashlight, that sort of thing. I also just like to have things in case I need them, like a charge cable or bicycle pump.
You wouldn’t believe how often I’ve had interactions that go like this:
“Does anyone have a knife? I need to cut this”
“Here, use mine”
“Why do you have a knife???? Who are you going to stab???”
Same thing with other tools. People need one, you’re someone who carries it, now you’re somehow weird for being the only person prepared…
I’ve had to guide people out of buildings during blackouts while using my flashlight (this was before phones had them). Number one comment while doing that? “Why do you have a flashlight???”
MOTHERFUCKER, WHY DON’T YOU? On this planet, it gets predictably dark for, you know, almost half the day. So it might just be handy to carry some light with you. Tool use is what sets us humans apart from most animals, so can you at least try and not embarrass your species?
- “Why do you have a knife???? Who are you going to stab???”
  I've gotten this one too. I've had a knife on me almost every day for the last 15 years or so and I've managed not to stab anyone except maybe myself a little bit.
  Tool use is what sets us humans apart from most animals, so can you at least try and not embarrass your species?
  I'm stealing this.
- The Problem is, being unprepared worked out for them because they always had someone around who was prepared. It's the same people who say afterwards: "You see, wasn't that bad, all worked out fine". Yes, it worked out fine because someone else was prepared and saved your ass. The worst of those people then also somehow turn it into their own achievement, which makes them think like that: "Why would someone carry around $thing$, I never do that and yet I still manage to save the day."
  Unfortunately, being such a person seems to be a requirement to get hired for middle management.
- It's so annoying. I stopped carrying a knife regularly not because I stopped thinking it was a useful tool to always have but because while the law here does allow carried knives to be defined as tools, if you bring them in to certain places, they automatically get considered weapons and carrying any weapon is illegal (in most circumstances). So if I happen to go to a bar and have my knife in my pocket, it could result in a possession of an illegal weapon charge.
  I hate laws that assume intents based on triggers that aren't necessarily associated with those assumed intents, like "carrying a weapon implies intent to hurt/kill someone", "having possession of your keys anywhere near your car while drunk implies intent to drive drunk (even if you're sleeping in the back seat)", or "carrying more than some arbitrary amount of drugs implies intent to sell", like anyone who shops at Costco intends to open up their own store. Lazy fucking laws.
- Being a stagehand made all of these things mandatory to carry & be proficient with. I can't say I see a downside (other than belt weight. Makes me miss having an ass to hold my pants up)
I don't like Becca.
For this exact purpose. To impress your ex? Sounds fair enough.

You never know where you'll be when you need a mini-B usb to 30 pin apple sync cable.

I actually needed a 30pin the other day. I'm glad I still had one
Landline telephones will soon be popular enough to need all these extenders and splitters.
- You mean my serial console cables?
I have two of those in my hoard... One new in box still...

There's a tool sharing program in my neighborhood. You pay like $20 a year for access, and come by, borrow a tool/leave a tool. It's great as people leave lots of big tools sitting around doing nothing.

I want that for computer parts and wires.

Lets pool our ps/2 keyboard adapters and VGA cords together!

You've already got a decent business name for it (minus the "@slrpnk.net" part)!
- Neighbourtools. But with fewer vowles

I refactor the box every year because there are usually some new cables.

Some simple empirical rules:

keep the shorter cables
maximum of 3 cables of the same type: for donating, for lending, for spare
USB cables that can transfer data > USB cables that don't transfer data
no damaged cables
store long cables as coils (tied up tight)
store short cables in bunches (tied up tight)
should be sorted and grouped into categories
box should be sealed, but aired out once in a while (outgassing)

Wait, there are USB cables that don’t transfer data? What do they do then, charge only?
- Yup. Notorious with usb c cables. Lots of battery powered tools give you a cable that only works for charging, and looks the exact same. I guess you could test the cable and mark them as charge only, but it's a hassle
- Yep. Very annoying in some cases.
Just be sure to not damage cables with plastic zip ties or other things that crimp the wires inside.
I bundle my cables and put them in ziplock bags by type. I bought a whole spool of twist tie wire with it's own built in cutter. I also keep a bag with damaged cables because sometimes I make my own custom cables or just need some scrap wire.
Wait why does the box need to be closed?
- To avoid the collection of cables growing?
- To avoid dust.
- To not ever let them escape
- Less degradation of the plastic maybe? Idk
- So that the cables don't get covered in humid air and dust which sticks to them and forms a grime (with bonus added chemicals from the plastics).

My wife had her finger nail grinder break and it turned out to be the power adapter. It was an obscure 9.6V. guess who had it in my box.

She still complains about my box, but that night she complained a little less.

What's a finger nail grinder?
- It’s like a grinder, but for fingernails
- She uses this demenel looking grinding tool to remove gel nail. She likes doing pedicures herself.
Voltage fluctuates. You could put 9v into it and it will be just fine. Hell you can probably put 12v into it and it will be fine. I have a switch at work that only exists to split one ethernet cable into two, and it's rated for either 5 or 9v, but I'm using a 12v power supply on it and it's just fine because it's power conversion is rated for well over that (I think 16v max).
Disclaimer: don't blindly put higher voltage into a device rated for a much lower voltage. 9v devices will usually tolerate 12v, but not all.
- Ya, I run 18V for for my kid's 12V power wheel and he can drift with it now.
Amen brothuh
Vindication of the box is better than cocaine.

Been there, done that...tossed the hd with crypto....

- On a hard drive? I remember a bunch of people messing around with bitcoin when it was new, relatively unknown and considered a niche nerd thing. There were online competitions with money prizes where the "last winner" (eg. third place) would win like one bitcoin.
  Fast forward 15 years and the stuff you mined for fun in high school and forgot about on some dusty old computer is worth thousands of dollars.
- If anyone here has that problem I can solve it for you

Last move, I collected all cables in a one HUGE box.

After the majority of the unpacking (like I'll ever finish that) was completed, I sat down with the box and sorted out all the cables.

I kept a sane amount of each cable, at least one and trashed the rest.

I now have half a dozen labeled sterelite dollar store organizers with the cables in them.

add it to your bucket list....

I organized all my cables into like types and put them in gallon sized plastic bags to prevent all that intertangling, at least nominally. I still hardly go into that box though. It's still a pain in the ass, just less of one.
- LPT: intertangeling only happens when cables are looped. Just put them together linke you would crumble a piece of paper and put them in your bottles. No more intertangeling
Same, except I kept all of each kind that have potential use, and set aside any that are technologically obsolete by over two decades so I could throw them out.
That box is still on the shelf as well ...
I did this last time I was unemployed. Garage is super organized now
I store all mine in a closet door shoe keeper. Each pocket is 1 type. And I keep as many as will fit in that pocket except for a few special things I keep a ton of. PC power cables, Current USB, HDMI/DP

No one f’ing dare touch my box of obscure cables and stupid converters I’ll probably never use !

Thanks, J. Walter Weatherman!

Bro I literally just used 2 of my cables from the cable box today. Never giving that up.

Microcenter is the answer. But never ever give up the box. One day you may need to daisychain VGA to DVI to HDMI through a series of adapters.

Only a very lucky few live near a Microcenter.
The rest are a 8-16 hour drive away from one.
I miss Radioshack. Old radioshack, not the "Come in and buy a smart phone and toys" radioshack.
- As a hobbyist in the 80s, RadioShack was a tinkerer's play space. I miss those days.
They opened up a MC by me about a year ago.
I was returning an item last weekend and the employee made a comment on how many times I've been there haha.
Microcenters cables and adapters are outrageously expensive, and at least the one near me has the least useful supply of shit.

This is natures way of punishing you for defiling and disrespecting the box.

The Box should always be kept, and respected, lest it bring ruin to your household.

So, so true. And yet my wife questions the merits of my vast attic collection. I shall tell her later how I discovered that the Internet agrees with me.

A few months ago I FINALLY organized my cluttered box of miscellaneous technology and cables into one of those plastic bin drawers with wheels. I now know what I have and can keep it all fairly organized. Found some stuff I could've thrown out, but this post just told me not to. So thanks!

I still have my 5 1/4 inch floppy drive in a box. At some point someone or some company will need it desperately and I can fund my retirement
- Look for aviation maintenance businesses, you might get a good price. Testing equipment never gets upgraded, just replaced. intel 386 32MHz with a 5 1/4 floppy and Windows 3.1 is pure gold.

Work at retirement home doing tech. My drawer has grown to a closet of old cords.

It pays off weekly. Too many people with too many different generations of tech. Never know what you'll run into.

Old Person (on deathbed): "This disk contains my entire life's work, I want you to take it."
many years later, playing in park
"Daddy, where did you get this weird frisbee?"
"Dunno. Some old guy wanted me to have it."
- The magnavox tv on the shelf makes it not that far off lmao
- Umph.
  Gut shot.
  I guess I hadn't had a bad enough Dad joke this week.
Starting to speak in tongues, give thanks unto Jesus my brethren

OMG! I was just about to throw away a box of "cables" I've been accruing since college. My wife has been complaining about these cables that never get used. I think I'm going to have to hold off now. Thanks for the warning!

I had an ISA serial card sitting on a shelf next to my desk at work for 14 years. In the yearly clean up it was kept. 10 years after the last ISA machine had been in the office it was scrapped.
Not 2 days after the truck I had to order one exactly like it for a machine i did not know exsisted in a printing press i did not know at a customer... NEVER throw out anything!

No problem! You can purchase that hard to find cable at Radio Shack....Oh wait.

I have all my cables zip ties and in labelled clear bags and grouped by cable type into larger bags. It's like my own store inventory, I love it.

Solid. Good care of gear is worth more than their original cost.
- Agreed. I also do the same thing for my radio equipment and electronics in general-- all in compartmentalized, clear bags with printed labels on them. I always thought label makers were expensive but I bought a $20 handheld label maker + 3rd party tapes and it's amazing how good this thing is. It's really helped me stay organized.
  This way I basically have an inventory that is easily accessible by friends and family, like a shared inventory. The initial process of labelling, zip tying, bagging and boxing everything... That admittedly took a few days of work because I wanted to find and sort every cable/most small electronics, but after that? Smooooth sailing.

When I used to do LAN games with my dad it was a tradition that we needed on average of 2.75 adapters per PC to get the right combination of male/female ends and pin count. I think you need a cable box AND an adapter box.

You never know when you might need a PS/2 to DIN convertor!

Of course you'll never be able to find the one you need in the moment, so will end up ordering one for about £3 from Amazon.

Strangely enough I know exactly where mine is, not least because it was connected to my last but one keyboard for approximately 15 years.
Now my Xbox controller to usb cable, no idea where that is at the minute (it'll be in one of the boxes)

I’m sure I’ll never need all 4 of the SCART cables I have, but then maybe I will so I’ll hang onto them just in case.

You could make a scart scarf

I have several boxes of these that I'll never let go, but I have to admit, I ditched the SCSI cables at one point and have no regrets.

Until a few years ago my workplace still had dozens of BNC networking cards, ISDN routers (bought on the cheap a few months before ADSL took off), and Windows 98 SE licenses.
USB ate SCSI in a similar way to HDMI eating DVI so that one makes total sense.
- Not throwing out DVI or even VGA cables. I run in to/test older gear way too often to let them go.
  Buying things from thrift stores requires tools to make them work with your stuff.

Have none of you learned the law!!?? The act of throwing the cable away is what created the need for that cable. The cable gods MUST be appeased. (Also applies to adapters and random hardware.)

Here I am, literally waiting for delivery of a USB-C to Mini-USB cable that I thought I would never need and got rid of six months ago.

Turns out the little external DVD player I keep around if I ever need to watch a DVD requires it. 🤦🏻‍♂️

This has happened to me, which is why I now have an entire section of a cupboard dedicated to parts and cables. I'm not entirely sure an ISA card would ever be needed today, but you never know!!!

Same. I have a shelf dedicated to old PC stuff because sometime I end up needing it. Maybe I haven't touched it for years but it comes in handy sometimes. For example I was asked to get some files off some floppy disks someone had a couple years ago and I was the only one they knew who was able to do it. There's also been quite a few instances of someone's PC going down and I was able to loan them something to get them going again until they bought a replacement. The way I keep from spilling over into full "hoarder" is that this shelf is the only place I allow myself to keep computer parts so if I get more stuff than will fit on the shelf something has to go to make room.
- The floppy was still readable?

If you need to get rid of a pile of DC power supplies and they're all similar, consider donating them to a stem youth club. I have a huge pike of 12v power supplies with the 5.5-2.1mm plug on them and they work great with breadboard power supplies.

I've got 3 boxes. One for power cables, one for signal cables (ethernet, phone, RCA cables, coaxial) and one for usb cables and power adapters.

They're tote sized and I'm going to need even bigger boxes soon. No way I'm ever getting rid of them.

But it's in there. I know it is! I just have to shake the ball hard enough.

Amateur radio checking-in: the cables and adapters are just the beginning. There is no "box"—it's simply "storage"

I continue to carry a box (well, currently it's in three shoeboxes, technically) of cables, some of which are roughly as old as I am

Hallelujah Jesus name

Just happened to me yesterday. I needed a 12v power adapter to trigger cable, but I had thrown out the previous one thinking I would never use it.

My spouse the other night: "Where is the camera?"

Me: "In your phone?".

Apparently we have a digital camera, which I'm sure we have no way to connect to our current computers, and he is convinced someone stole it even though it's from like 2004.

2004 is like five years ago... oh wait.

Once every few years, take them out and test them with appliance. If it's a USB cable, put it into three categories:
Dead
Charges
Charges + Data
Keep the dead ones. They are very strong cables you can use to tie things together.
Need to hang a picture? Dead cable.
Need to pool some plastic bags together? Dead cable
Want to read a good comic book? Deadpool and Cable

I threw away my weird cables when I moved two years ago. How fucked is future me?

The further into your future you go, the more likely you're gonna get fucked by that bold maneuver. May glob have mercy on your soul
- Thank you.

I got around this by keeping several USB-C to USB-C cables around, and buying female USB-C to male whatever adapters. Doesn't cover everything, but enough that I got rid of a small crate full of cables and only have to keep a half-dozen or so other cables.

I have a pair of Bluetooth headphones with a USB C port, that won't charge unless the other end of the cable is USB A. So no USB C to C cables. Every time I have to charge them I want to report AKG to like, the EU parliament, or something
- Ah that sucks. Have you tried rotating the USB-C cable? I've got something like that, but if I flip one end of the USB-C cable it works.

I could probably get rid of some of the cables in my cable box, but that damn thing came with my on my sudden cross country move and was almost immediately useful so no one will ever convince me to throw it all away.

This was me. A few months ago, I threw out a cable I thought was for a 20 year old flipphone that I'll never use again, but it was a charger for something else and I wanted it last week for a relative. Now we need to buy new hardware. Don't do it, kids, horde those cables. Horde them like you don't fancy spending an unnecessary 30 smackers next year.

I can hear the phaser on overload sound.

It’s settled then. The VGA cable stays.

For servers VGA is still like the standard. I always make sure to have a VGA monitor.
You just NEVER know!!

Tip: Organize the cords into ziplock bags so they can't tangle. The freezer bags are thick enough to handle the prongs on power bricks.

You can also label and date the bags so if you decide to go against all the wisdom of the gods and do a purge of old cables.

Cables are pretty robust as well. Nothing stopping you just tying them up into self constrained knots.
- I hate this comment

The cable knot must grow.

Just when I was summoning the courage to throw mine out!

Don't you dare
- I feel like I’ve had a warning now from the future!

Look at this USB to USB-c cable Geempa Cody left to us from before the Water Wars, it's got skin residue on it!
I bet we can harvest enough retro-antirecombinant DNA shards to mollyprnt a feed dependant slave unit!

It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up my cable box.

I'll need this LPT cable eventually, then you'll see. You'll all see.

Firewire will come back
- I hope so, my camcorder is FireWire and I've still got my FireWire PCI card and all the cables :P

I regularly go into my cable bin. It's a big ole Rubbermaid that is sort of organized but also not

Even old broken USB cables get kept for electronics projects

I have 30 years of cables and adapters in a box. I needed a cable in that box, it is in my storage unit that is an inconvenient 45 minute round-trip away. I still need that cable weeks later.

The box should never be thrown away or be located further than a short jaunt. Such is the law of the random cables and adapter box.

My cable needs aren't so obscure yet that monoprice doesn't work. Of course, maybe monoprice is just that good, IDK.

At this point I think that I'm probably safe to get rid of my old cat3 cable, but I'm keeping everything else.

Yes. The correct approach is to get rid of all the cables that are not needed, and to keep the few cables that might come in handy. Throwing away a collection in bulk is risky.

And what if you find out you needed one you threw out? If we knew what cables we'd need tomorrow, we'd not have a box of cables today!
- Hasn’t happened. I do know what cables I might need, and I don’t have a box of cables.

Trim it down to one of each cable. You don't need a half-dozen patch cables. That weird wall-wart with the proprietary DIN plug for the laptop you no longer have, or the voltage- and milliamp-specific application you'll never need. The 4 SATA cables...etc.

Pare it down in order of likely need. You might need a couple USB cables and maybe a couple SATA cables, but you don't need 3 34-pin floppy drive ribbon cables.

I threw out about a dozen DC adapters last month (2 replaced in use adapters, another ~10 in "the box") after finding these USB C PD to various voltage and amp DC barrel plugs on Amazon:
https://amzn.eu/d/h7UBsKI
There's tons of kinds, and they're probably a fire hazard, but I can buy a USB-C PD power strip and some short 6, 8, and 12 inch USB-C cables to power my dsl router, wifi AP, raspberry pi, and NUC, all with one wall outlet and none of the cable mess.
- If these are USB-C driven, how can you shift the volts or amps? Won’t you need a separate USB-C PD charger to drive these adapters?

My box of cables is with my ex. I hope to retrieve it one day.

I am Smaug, and I will slumber in my mountain atop unfathomable cable riches.

I took the middle road: use cable zip ties to bundle them and put all in a bag. Since finding a cable is infrequent, you don't need to optimize for that case.

I have plenty of duplicate cables. Pretty sure I don't need all of them so I can throw out most of them and just keep one of each.

Pretty sure I don't need a SCART to VGA cable but doesn't take that much space up.

Haven't you heard? SCART and VGA are going to have a major comeback in the 2030s.
- If you have an old tv (like my grandma), you might be able to add more adapters and attach newer hardware.

I have several boxes of cables and tech junk in my garage from the past 30 years.