h a l f b a k e r y
Ask your doctor if the Halfbakery is right for you.
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The cables connected to my laptop and the sockets into which they are plugged are in pretty bad shape: the USB ports are not as firm as they used to be, the headphone jack is loose and wiggly, and the power cord is hanging on by the merest thread.
If only there were a loop of Velcro attached to my
computer, I could use it to tie up the cables and prevent the connectors from getting shocked, strained, stretched, and bend every time I move my computer. Unfortunately there isn’t, and there’s nothing to attach one to. Therefore, I propose a piece of plastic that slides firmly into one of the PCMCIA slots and has a loop of strain-relieving hook-and-loop tape on the end that sticks out.
[link]
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PCMCIA slots are delicate, and can ruin the system board if strained. Fishbone. |
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<points at [AO] and whispers> there he is. that's him. don't make any sudden movements. he might disappear. </pa[AO]aw> |
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I have no idea what you're talking about [AO], but I'm delighted to see you. How you been? |
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I don't think mounting the strain relief to the slot will fly, but I sympathize. |
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I deal all day long with rapidly engineered, insufficiently restrained cable group assemblies, and if I ever come up with an inexpensive universal cable-to-connector restraint system I'll become a vendor. |
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I've got a few ideas, but as usual, the real world makes impractical most of my halfbaked approaches. |
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Generally I favor the loose and wiggly. But being a Helpful Soul may I suggest you crazy glue this plastic loop to the computer? Alternatively, take some conventional phone cord (no-one plugs in their laptop to a phone line anymore, do they?), plug it in, cut it off, tie a loop, and use that for mooring. |
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How about the attach point for the security cable that most laptops have? |
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The RJ12 connector, for the 'phone cord, seems to be the most logical point. It's unutilised, and easily clipped in or out, when you want to remove the loop. Just make sure it's not securely attached to the mainboard. |
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A keyring and a handful of mini cable ties should do the trick. |
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Rename it Mooring Point and you'll be hailed a hero. |
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I'm going to agree with the security lock point as a good place for this -- stress won't be transmitted to the silicon, like it is with a modem slot. |
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Alternately, break-away cables (Ex: Xbox controller cables) could be used; that may invite its own set of problems, but at least you won't get your laptop pulled off the desk when someone trips on a cord. |
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Mine appears not to have a security lock point. WAH!, I've been bilked! |
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Yeah, they send all those unsecurable ones to the third world countries. |
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Then distribute them to the 5th column? |
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Am I the only person who still plugs his computer into a phone line? After closely examining my laptop (my computer, I mean) I’ve discovered the grill in front of the radiator exhaust fan thingy makes a pretty good anchor point. |
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(I have been well, [k], though I also have no idea what I’m talking about.) |
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A phone line? You mean that thing I sometimes have to talk through? Why would you plug a computer in there? |
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Apparently they still do that, [bris], in some third world countries. |
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