Is cable both power and data?
 

I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

Yet when I plug one end into the computer and another end into a Harmony
remote control, I get no beeps from the computer. So that means the
cable is defective, right?


I've had it for years, but I guess I've never used it except for
charging things.

Is cable both power and data?
 

On 11/18/20 11:33 AM, this is what micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

Yet when I plug one end into the computer and another end into a Harmony
remote control, I get no beeps from the computer. So that means the
cable is defective, right?


I've had it for years, but I guess I've never used it except for
charging things.

I had a usb external drive that had 1 end plugged into the external usb, and 2 ends that plugged into 2 usb ports on the computer. It
required more power than one usb port could supply. And it was flakey if I didn't plug in both.

Al

--
Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.0 64bit, Dell Inspiron 5570, Quad Core i7-8550U, 16G Memory

Is cable both power and data?
 

micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

Yet when I plug one end into the computer and another end into a Harmony
remote control, I get no beeps from the computer. So that means the
cable is defective, right?


I've had it for years, but I guess I've never used it except for
charging things.

It sounds like a hydra cable. The end with the two Host-side connectors, is this:

VCC
-
-
GND

VCC
D+
D-
GND

This means the peripheral *absolutely needs* the lower one
to be connected to the Host, as there'd be no data path without it.

The top one is a DC power path from a second USB Host jack to try
to get enough power. It has no data wires.

Hydra cables are used with 2.5" portable hard drives, to get
enough current to meet the "5V @ 1A for 10 seconds" spinup
current requirement. Once the drive is up to speed,
the motor current flow is reduced.

Paul

Is cable both power and data?
 

On 11/18/20 10:33 AM, micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

I have a charge-only cable (A to mini-B). It is marked with the USB logo
at both ends. I might have gotten this cable with an old phone that
wouldn't charge with a normal power/data cable.

[snip]

--
36 days until the winter celebration (Fri, Dec 25, 2020 12:00:00 AM for
1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Martyrs have been sincere. And so have tyrants. Wise men have been
sincere. And so have fools." [E. Haldeman-Julius, "The Church Is a
Burden, Not a Benefit, In Social Life"]

Is cable both power and data?
 

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Thu, 19 Nov 2020 16:28:59 -0600, Mark
Lloyd wrote:

On 11/18/20 10:33 AM, micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

I have a charge-only cable (A to mini-B). It is marked with the USB logo
at both ends. I might have gotten this cable with an old phone that
wouldn't charge with a normal power/data cable.

[snip]

Okay, so I won't count on that anymore.

The idea started in my head because of a discussion I once read where
some or all said that a non-data cable wasn't a USB cable even if the
ends were the same as on a USB cable. So if it's not USB, of course it
shouldn't use the logo. But forget all that.

Thanks, all.

Is cable both power and data?
 

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:48:06 -0500, Big Al
wrote:

On 11/18/20 11:33 AM, this is what micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

Yet when I plug one end into the computer and another end into a Harmony
remote control, I get no beeps from the computer. So that means the
cable is defective, right?


I've had it for years, but I guess I've never used it except for
charging things.

I had a usb external drive that had 1 end plugged into the external usb, and 2 ends that plugged into 2 usb ports on the computer. It

Were the mini ends different like mine?

required more power than one usb port could supply. And it was flakey if I didn't plug in both.

I've heard of that, but I never knowingly saw one, so I don't know if
the mini ends are the same or different. I'd assumed they were the
same.

As to this cable, I think I got it at a hamfest with no packaging and
markings, and I thought it was like a swiss knife, all-purpose, and I
take it with me on trips, rather than 2 long cables. I wanted to buy
another, and Monoprice didn't have it. I don't think I looked very much
anywhere else. They did have a Y-cable with the same ends.

Monday I was trying to program my Harmony 200 phone and I'm almost
ashamed to admit that I wasted over an hour trying to use the bad cable.
I noticed the PC didn't beep when I plugged in the phone but I thought
maybe this phone was an exception.

The cable I know worked was buried under my papers because I haven't
used for years, but I came across a brand new one from the dollar store.
A few years ago they were selling every variety of USB, and I bought one
of each, for a dollar, but when the first one or two didn't work, I
stopped using them and stopped buying more. But this one worked fine.

Al

Is cable both power and data?
 

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Wed, 18 Nov 2020 12:14:06 -0500, Paul
wrote:

micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

Yet when I plug one end into the computer and another end into a Harmony
remote control, I get no beeps from the computer. So that means the
cable is defective, right?


I've had it for years, but I guess I've never used it except for
charging things.

It sounds like a hydra cable. The end with the two Host-side connectors, is this:

VCC
-
-
GND

VCC
D+
D-
GND

This means the peripheral *absolutely needs* the lower one
to be connected to the Host, as there'd be no data path without it.

The top one is a DC power path from a second USB Host jack to try
to get enough power. It has no data wires.

Hydra cables are used with 2.5" portable hard drives, to get
enough current to meet the "5V @ 1A for 10 seconds" spinup
current requirement. Once the drive is up to speed,
the motor current flow is reduced.

Paul

I coudln't even find one of those, except optical iirc. Closest I came
was
https://www.amazon.com/Seadream-Spli...FN2/ref=sr_1_4

Is cable both power and data?
 

In article , Mark Lloyd
wrote:


If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

I have a charge-only cable (A to mini-B). It is marked with the USB logo
at both ends. I might have gotten this cable with an old phone that
wouldn't charge with a normal power/data cable.

charge-only cables are non-compliant with the usb spec and therefore
forbidden from using the usb logo.

what you have is counterfeit.

Is cable both power and data?
 

On 11/18/2020 8:33 AM, micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

Yet when I plug one end into the computer and another end into a Harmony
remote control, I get no beeps from the computer. So that means the
cable is defective, right?


I've had it for years, but I guess I've never used it except for
charging things.


Just get a straight USB cable with the proper ends. When I used to go to
thrift shops, they had lots of them.

Bet you will like that remote. I love mine.

Is cable both power and data?
 

On 11/18/2020 11:33 AM, micky wrote:
I have a Y-shaped USB cable, 18" long, with type A at one end and the
two previously most common mini's at the other end, the one that used to
be used for cell phones and the other slightly bigger one.

All 3 ends have the USB logo in the plastic.

Doesn't that mean it's both power and data?

If it were power only, it should not have the logo, right?

Yet when I plug one end into the computer and another end into a Harmony
remote control, I get no beeps from the computer. So that means the
cable is defective, right?


I've had it for years, but I guess I've never used it except for
charging things.


Suggestion: do what I did and drag out _every_ cable you can find in every
box, bag, hole, hanging rack, whatever and then identify, sort, test,
neatly bundle, and label as necessary. Then assess what you have. If you
have no possible foreseeable use for any items bag them up and take them to
the nearest recycler capable of properly handling them. I found myself
getting rid of pounds and pounds of SCSI, IDE, VGA, NEMA, and some totally
unidentifiable sorts of cables. Before anybody pipes up and says that NEMA
cables are quite usable, having 40+ of them isn't. I still have an
excessively huge number of cables, but at least I know what they are and
where they are. Yeah, it is a PITA while doing the job but the results are
satisfying.

--
Bodger's Dictum: Artifical intelligence
can never overcome natural stupidity.