Nokia CA-42 question

[efilnikufecin]

I ordered all the pieces several weeks ago to build the Nokia CA-42 JP1 cable and the cables finally arrived yesterday. Now I find my way back to the forums to grab the directions for building the cable, and find the following:

Warning: this thread is obsolete - it remains just for historical purposes.
Please see the following thread for updated info:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13928

After I saw that I thought well crap, I wasted a crap load of time waiting for the parts to arrive for nothing. After reading more into it though, I am beginning to think maybe it was more a case of giving up on finding a reliable source for the correct data cable than anything else. There was mention of the possibility of there being a virus on the driver disk that came with the cable, but that seems to be nullified by the fact that chances are good that you wont even need the disk.

Now I am staring at the pieces wondering if I should bother putting the cable together, or should I shift gears now and just obtain the cable that is now recommended? I only paid $4.40 each for 2 of the cables, so it's not that big of a deal to turn tables and switch to the other design.

Ultimately the cable will be getting a lot of use because I have discovered that I can purchase electronics like televisions at my local consignment auction that need to be programmed in order to be useful again for literally just a couple of quarters. Sometimes they wind up being just junk, but most end up being good, and once reprogrammed I can turn around and return the TVs to the auction properly programmed and turn a profit of around 20 bucks.

I have also found that I can pick up various versions of JP1 compatible remotes for anywhere from 10 or 15 for a buck to a buck a piece. Again sometimes they are just garbage with no hope of repair, but if I don't count my time 1 TV can pay for 5, 10, and even sometimes 20 TV's or remote controls so I still will wind up ahead in the deal. Most of the time I haven't had to connect the remote to a computer to program it well enough to reprogram the TVs, but sometimes I do need to do so.

Case in point, Right now I have a Toshiba LCD TV/DVD combination in front of me, using it as a computer monitor. I had to program a remote for it just to be able to turn it on. It has a hard power button on it, but the remote is required to bring it out of standby if it is in standby when the hard power button is turned off. If the TV is not in standby when the hard power is shut off, then when the hard power is turned on, the TV turns on. The problem...no sound comes out of the speakers. When hooked up to external speakers though it has sound. A little more studying, and I found the original remote had an audio button on it which brought up options like treble and bass. It also had the option to turn the internal speakers off so that the volume on the TV could control the volume level of an external amp without the loss of sound quality caused by the built in speakers. If I can turn the speakers back on, then this TV will be a great TV for a parent to buy for their child's room to connect a game system to, and play DVDs. If not, then it pretty much is only useful to someone who has a stereo they can connect it to for sound, or as a computer monitor.

OK so given that info, should I go ahead and build the cable with what I have, or should I order what is recommended now? I have verified that I have the correct cable to build the Nokia style cable already.

[The Robman]

Did you get a "snap together" cable or a molded one? The molded ones are no good for this task but the snap together ones are just fine. So, if you have a snap together cable, ignore the warnings and go ahead and build your cable.

You are correct that the warnings are all about the trouble finding a reliable source for the snap-together version of the CA-42 cable.

[efilnikufecin]

They are both the snap together type. I have already popped both of them apart and looked at the board inside.

A strange thing, I ordered the heat shrink tubing and 2 cables from deal extreme. I'm looking at the customs declaration, and wondering how it even got through customs in the first place. I can tell that the envelope it came in was opened after it was sealed, and I figure that was done by customs. The cables are listed as "gadget" and the value is shown as "8.80" for each one, total value "17.60" The heat shrink tubing is not listed on the customs declaration at all. Also, the area for date and signature is dated, but no signature. It was also listed as a gift. I would assume that this was to avoid paying taxes or customs fees? If so I would rather have just paid the fees. Money just isn't worth going to jail over. The address printed on the envelope was not correct either. Luckily I live in a small town, and the post office could identify where it was actually supposed to go by the name printed on the envelope.

I guess I will go ahead and start soldering later today.