The Curious Case of the new USB to B Printer Cord

brent

I got a new printer. Read in quite a few places it's 'good form' to go ahead and outfit it with a new USB-to-B printer cord.

So for a couple bucks i did. New, in bag. USB 2.0. Snug fit on the B side.
Solus and this new cord did not communicate. No data---pdf pages, docx pages, txt pages---went across that wire. In one hour I could not get them to talk.

My old cord is fragile and worn, with no give anywhere, at least 25 years old, and is far from a snug fit in the B port. If there was a time before 2.0, then this is it.
It works fine. I put it back in.

I'm not super pissed because it was only a couple bucks wasted.
What are the chances of a defective cord that is brand new?
More common than I think?

Axios

brent I use tell customers when they said well its new, that being new didnt mean
anything.
Quality control now days sux big time.
Way I see it couple bux or not you paid for a working cable but you know story there may cost you more to get it replaced part of life i guess.

BuzzPCSOS

brent I think it all comes down to the bathtub curve for reliability.
When something is new, the chances of it falling due to poor quality control or faulty materials is quite high. The next time the chances of it falling are as high as this is right at the end of it's useful life when failure is likely due to wear and tear. Between these two events there should be good reliability.
In short, if it ain't broke don't fix it 😄

TraceyC

brent What are the chances of a defective cord that is brand new?

For cheap cables, sadly common. At a place I worked up until a few years ago, the Desktop Support manager was very fond of one cable brand because it was cheaper than say, Anker. This started in the days before all the cheap brands on Amazon with random letter names that are even worse. Those cables failed on a regular basis, either new or shortly after.

The situation has gotten worse. There is a trend toward cheaper and cheaper badly made crap. Some of it just doesn't work or breaks easily. Some of these things are actually dangerous - fuses, for instance that don't stop electrical shorts, resistors that don't meet their impedance standard, chargers that catch on fire. Do a search on the web or YouTube and you'll find plenty of data and rants.

brent

@Axios BuzzPCSOS depresses me that a new product is expected to fail.

But that's the way it is these days. Most everything I buy is used with a lot of life left because most new stuff sucks, but a new cord in a bag for $2 seemed foolproof 🙂

Related: I failed emissions twice yesterday. have a older jeep. if failed the NOX test by two one-hundredths...when NOX is high it means a lean condition and a lean condition is caused by excessive heat somewhere. Or what the vehicle perceives to be excessive heat (faulty coolant temp sensor or 02 sensor). I ruled out a manifold exhaust leak, the 02 was new...but I noticed my coolant was really really low and the cap had a busted gasket. that means the radiator leaked from the top and was not pressurized and that creates excessive heat. So I'm going to replace the cap and hope for the best

BuzzPCSOS

brent a new cord in a bag for $2 seemed foolproof 🙂

If it seems too good to be true then it probably is 😉
Good luck with keeping the old iron running. I wonder if you have exemption for very old vehicles, in the UK historic vehicles have very lenient emissions requirements due to them being, well, historic. Or is this not a roadworthiness test but a condition that must be fulfilled for the jeep to run properly. It must be said that I consider most vehicles made after the 70s to be new-fangled 😄

Citfta

My first thoughts are that maybe you got a charge cable and not a data cable. I have been fooled by that a couple of times. Charge cables don't have all the pins connected. Only the ones needed for charging. So they don't work for data transfer. Just my 2 cents.

brent

Citfta valid. are there devices that charge usb to b, though?

TraceyC

Citfta My first thoughts are that maybe you got a charge cable and not a data cable.

There is nothing I'm aware of that charges with this kind of cable.

brent

TraceyC The situation has gotten worse. There is a trend toward cheaper and cheaper badly made crap. Some of it just doesn't work or breaks easily. Some of these things are actually dangerous - fuses, for instance that don't stop electrical shorts, resistors that don't meet their impedance standard, chargers that catch on fire.

As I fly in airplanes and have a gasoline car I can't call myself a devout environmentalist, but you would think this failure-by-design manufacturing plan is the biggest environmental atrocity there is. There won't be landfills big enough the crap appliances and electronics that are coming down the pike.

As a consumer I prefer built to last. I have a cast iron skillet from the 1920's. But built to last costs way too much and the higher tier product isn't necessarily that much better.

Don't get me started on car parts anymore--they are supposed to keep you safe but they don't do that anymore.
You hit the nail on the head--thanks for your input.

brent

BuzzPCSOS
this was a buy since I found it at a thrift store!
my state in the usa doesn't consider a vehicle historic til 1968 or older. A lot of other states are more realistic. But generally in big cities you need emissions compliance in order to renew your registration, which I'm trying to do.
Speaking of the 70's I had a 1979 truck I bought and enjoyed the heck out of.. To this day it is the best vehicle I ever owned.