It's really surprising to read these comments about my favorite light weight retractable USB cord.
I feel the same way. I wonder if there's some anomaly where different users got different batches of cables? My primary cable resides connected to the hub in the underside of my monitor. It holds my prop plug safely tucked out of the way and hidden until it's time to program a prop, then I grab the thing, stretch it out, program, and then retract it. So far, never had a problem. I'm not in the category of 1000s of retractions yet, but I could have a good hundred or more of them by now.
I've also used it frequently with viewport for debugging.
If Parallax is successfully lobbied to discontinue them, then maybe the leftovers could be sold at a discount.
That is interesting, because I have three, and all of them are crappy. They are within a year of one another arrival wise. I've no idea about the source batches.
Hey there, coming in a bit late to this topic. Only support for the request here - I didn't realize these cords were such a problem, so consider them promptly End of Lifed (EOL'd). It'll be a bit of a process but we'll get it rolling tomorrow morning. Changing BOMs, sources, distribution notificiations, etc. If you receive a retractable cable in a Parallax order after today please understand that it takes time for these changes to filter through inventory.
Hanno, next time you experience the challenge of turning dozens of people around because of a cable please feel free to contact me immediately and we'll fix it right away. I'm dealing with some 10-cent/part connection issues on my quadcopter right now so I can fully relate to the frustration of having a minor part like a USB cable wreak havoc on a project. I hear you loud and clear and agree entirely.
Please consider it addressed. Thank you for pointing it out.
I had a problem once that I blamed on one of these USB cables and so I was down on them, but now I think something else was wrong.
Currently, I kinda like these cables...
One issue Parallax is going to have if they go to beefier cables is that the USB connector on the Prop Plugs are going to come off due to increased mechanical stress...
I rather like the retractable cord simply because of it's flexibility. Of course I'm not a power user and haven't experienced problems with the beastie. If possible, I'll order a couple more before they go away.
If I do start to have problems, there is no shortage of regular USB cables underfoot around here! ;-)
I once upon a time bought a retractable USB/charge cable for my Palm PDA, it worked great for a short time, then it failed. I figured the thin cable was too thin to avoid wires breaking. Since then I've been wary of these kind of cables. The one I used for my Palm looked superficially exactly like those in Martin's picture, except that it had a Palm connector in one end.
My original still works fine now, but I did order a second for repurposeing. Replaceing the mini end with a temperture sensor, really gave new purpose to the retracting feature.
Not that I don't still have to fight through a spagette maze of wires to get to my desk. There is one less now.....
Comments
I feel the same way. I wonder if there's some anomaly where different users got different batches of cables? My primary cable resides connected to the hub in the underside of my monitor. It holds my prop plug safely tucked out of the way and hidden until it's time to program a prop, then I grab the thing, stretch it out, program, and then retract it. So far, never had a problem. I'm not in the category of 1000s of retractions yet, but I could have a good hundred or more of them by now.
I've also used it frequently with viewport for debugging.
If Parallax is successfully lobbied to discontinue them, then maybe the leftovers could be sold at a discount.
Hanno, next time you experience the challenge of turning dozens of people around because of a cable please feel free to contact me immediately and we'll fix it right away. I'm dealing with some 10-cent/part connection issues on my quadcopter right now so I can fully relate to the frustration of having a minor part like a USB cable wreak havoc on a project. I hear you loud and clear and agree entirely.
Please consider it addressed. Thank you for pointing it out.
Ken Gracey
Currently, I kinda like these cables...
One issue Parallax is going to have if they go to beefier cables is that the USB connector on the Prop Plugs are going to come off due to increased mechanical stress...
If I do start to have problems, there is no shortage of regular USB cables underfoot around here! ;-)
Amanda
Hanno
Ideas for alternate uses?
Has anyone done an actual study with data to show regarding the use of these exact retractable cables with the products they were shipped with?
-Tor
T o n y
Not that I don't still have to fight through a spagette maze of wires to get to my desk. There is one less now.....