USB Types You Never Knew Existed
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2024
- You'll be an expert on USB soon enough!
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▼ Time Stamps: ▼
0:00 - Intro
1:39 - USB Types Explained
3:24 - Common USB Quick Summary
4:16 - Rare: Mini-A and Micro-A
5:07 - Mini-AB and Micro-AB
6:30 - Mini-A Port
7:03 - Non-Standard USB Connectors
8:08 - USB "Type-E" Connector
9:04 - "Dangerous" USB Cables
10:17 - Secret USB Pro Tip
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I've actually used a USB Type-A to Type-A cable before, it was for programming a development board for a class. I remember my friends and I calling it "the cursed cable".
I''ve used one for this laptop cooling pad that for some reason used a type A connector for power input. So it came with a Type-A-A cable to power it from a laptop or USB power adapter. I lost the cable and now I have a laptop cooling pad I can't use unless I order one or build one myself.
@@aarondewindt Same here.
I had an usb hub mousepad which used a normal usb A for the connection to the pc
I have that cable to connect between pc and usb hub and i tried to connect them directly between device luckly they just reboot
Also HTC Vive's link box uses that
That "Dangerous Cable" is often added to notebook cooling pads which has usb hub in them.
YES! I had one like 10 years ago lol
That is a violation of the spec, the port on the device should be type B as a power receiving thing. But Iáve seen a disassembled one and the electrodes are directly wired, so when you plug it in, the free port directly turns into an extension of the one on your host laptop. The cooling pad itself does not do anything more with the data pins, it just draws power to turn the fans.
As i also used to have a cheap Stanley rechargeable light thing that had a type A to Type A cable, it was mostly used because the USB port on the lamp could be used to charge USB devices and i guess the builder just decided it was easier to just create a male to male cable rather than put a different port for charging like pretty much everything else, though weirdly i never saw any type of warning telling you to only use this cable with the lamp, or something along those lines... so yea if i didnt know any better or just didnt have a need i could have just tried connecting my laptop to my desktop and watch the world implode, or blow out the controller, though i would also say, seems like since USB 2.0 most computer companies have implemented some sort of protection in place so that if you did try it the USB port would just shut down... though i should preface this by saying, i don't know that for sure its just in my experience most USB controllers on computers will have protection in place.
2.5" HDD cases too.
External hard drives sometimes use it too, both 3.5" and 2.5"
My TI-84 actually came with a mini-A to mini-B connector, and both my TI-84 and TI Nspire have the mini-AB port. Pretty cool
the same for my TI-83 CE
I feel like all calculators do this. I've taken to calling it the calculator connector. My casio FX35 uses it too.
Same on TI nspire CX CAS
I was thinking the same thing. I’ve always wondered what connector my calculator uses. I didn’t realize they stopped using those ports
My HP G2 prime uses the micro AB connector, I knew it's not normal micro B but I never gave too much thought about until now. this connectors will phase out eventually for USB C, they will remain as legacy connectors.
The "dangerous cables" can be found on some laptop cooler pads. Have fun ;)
Can confirm as i have one of this fan (my friend just left it in my bag, and i forgot to return it)
Well, i dont have its cable, so its useless for me.
Correct. I've got one of those 😂
Thats exactly what i was going to comment,
As i use one currently
I used on of those and plugged it Into a usb-c otg cable. Don’t know if I broke anything 😬
Yep, I am also using one atm and was about to comment about it :)
IIRC The Mini-AB Port is used on those TI-84 Plus Graphical Calculators we used in school, always wondered why it looked this odd
Hm interesting
@@ThioJoe It makes sense if you think about it. Those calculators can be connected to a PC to push some data or apps onto it, but it can also be connected to other calculators to move data around between them.
and here i thought it was just another attempt for ti to sell you more custom junk, good to know, even if it does mean using my least common standard cable for it
@@nickolaswilcox425 really hope they upgrade to usb-c at some point.
The Micro-AB is on the DJI Mavic Air remote. It is used as an A port when the remote is connected to a phone and as a B port when charging
Beat me to it. It’s also on the mini
As well on the Sony Xperia Go
Came to say the same exact thing, but you beat me to it. LOL
Also on the DJI Mavic Pro controller to allow charging of controller and data/display output to phone. These connectors are prone to breaking at great expense. Should have been a USB C.
@@jay-em Nowadays even the cheaper stuff gets *type c*, heck even 40$ headphones, and they can't get it on a 500$ + drone ?
My first external HDD was using a standard type A to type A, I always wondered what would happen if I connected it between two PlayStation 2s or PCs
I mean I know, those cables exist, so some morons propably used a type A connector on a Slave, but I still can't wrap my head around it. And an external HDD? Came this out from some russian Garage, who in their right mind would built it like that?!
Because two things are very clear: A) This is absolutely not in the USB specification and B) You can absolutely expect people to try figure out, what happened if they connected two Hosts. Best Scenario? Nothing. Worse Szenario: One or both Connectors are dead permanently. Wore. Both USB controller boards are dead. Unlikely (fuses and stuff), but in the realm of possibilities: Both Hosts are gone.
I've had a couple of 2.5" HDD enclosures with USB Type-A connectors. Even though Type-A to Type-A cable could be considered dangerous, having a Type-A connector on a 2.5" external drive is much better than having mini or micro USB, because it's more robust. They might have put Type-B connector on it, as it is often seen on 3.5" drives, but Type-B is too big for 2.5" external drives or HDD enclosures.
I had one of those "dangerous" type A to Type A cables, it was a small one that came with my cheap laptop fan lol, it was how the fan powers up apparently
My Grandfather had so many weird USB wires. Which made it really annoying when I needed something for my Mp3 player
The USB A to USB A cable is used on consumer devices, like my portable hard drive.
I got a laptop cooling pad that uses one aswell
I have several usb drives with A-A on
Exactly. I have external 2,5" HDD case with USB-A 3.0 connector, because in my opinion (and after some bad experiences from people around me), Micro USB-B 3.0 is kinda fragile connector.
You forgot apples USB A connector with the little indentation inside (to allow only certain devices to be connected). Nothing a pair of pliers didn't fix back then :)
This isn’t even true lol . The apple usb is just a standard usb-A
@@urwashedlul it is, Google "Apple notched USB"
I have a couple of them myself xD
@@butisitlogical3096 Yeah, it was pretty annoying but tons of people were selling adapter for these
@@urwashedlul It is true, as I have personally encountered and been annoyed by them.
@@urwashedlul There is one in my office right now, with the annoying apple- normal usb converter
The A to A cabel is used in the HTC vive.
My first Android tablet had a type A port on it, so I actually have a A to A cable at home I used when I flashed custom roms to it.
It was the ViewSonic Viewpad 10s
The type A - A cable you mentioned as dangerous, i have a couple of them laying around, those came along with my motherboard, since those was capable of having a secondary computer connected directly.
It was a kinda neat feature since you could override all of the safety parameters there, so you could say that if was mostly used for those who was overclocking their commuters to the max
I have a couple of external USB3 hard drive enclosures which has an USB-A on them, and they came with a USB-A to USB-A cable.
Presumably the hard drives are incapable of producing any power of their own and that's why
Good choice, *way* better than the flimsy 3.1 micro B. 👍
*me who saw and used all the cables in this video:* I am 4 parallel universes ahead of you
@happy doggo
I strongly suspect that that is a "generational issue", by that I mean that "true nerds" that were "along for the ride" from when the USB was introduced quite likely have seen the absolute majority of them if not all.
Best regards.
I recognized most of those as well in fact one of my old MP3 players used the mini b 4pin
True LOL
For what unholy purpose did you find Micro Usb A useful? This connector should not exist and was probably designed by satan.
@@davidfranzkoch9789 I've seen devices that adopted it very quickly and they're stuck on it
Mostly music stuff
Ouuu, haven’t seen you on my feed for a while! Welcome back, haha!
The most different video type in tech world.
I can watch these type of video whole day, but i can't find them can anyone help me to find the correct key words which I can search on YT ?
Not really.
Tech quickie has a very similar video that doesn't go into quite as much detail as this one.
They also have one on rare video connectors.
Oh yeah! The tech king uploaded again i have a video idea: A what's on my iPhone
You forgot the "mini-b" 12-pin, used on some Olympus cameras.
Olympus always has to be different - but great cameras.
The micro a is on the dji controller for the mavic pro series
I actually have a couple of older cheap external hard drive enclosures that use the "dangerous" A to A cable. Why they used those instead of just having a B on the device is something I've often wondered about.
Amazing detail video
Correction; The "dangerous cable" with USB type A on both sides is used on a few keyboards. The Cooler Master Storm Quickfire XT (i have 2 of it and can verify it) comes with a braided USB type A.
I have an USB hub which uses that same cable, I suppose the hub has some kind of internal circuit to prevent frying the PC
Also, some PC mainboards allow for being JTAG debugged by connecting an A-to-A cable into the first USB 3.0 port, which turns that computer into a Device Under Test / connected device.
@@zfaddix No it doesn't. And I almost fry the USB port on my previous laptop because of that. I guess it's really rely on the protection on the PC for that aka "leave the problem for someone else"
@@FlameRat_YehLon what did you connect to the hub for it to fry the pc tho?
@@zfaddix external power supply. It's a 7 port hub with external power but no power isolation, which means it can indeed send power to the USB port on the PC.
I remember making one of those "Dangerous cables", nothing happened though lol.
I was waiting for this video!
I love the sponsor! Great Job!
Dell included one of those dangerous A to A cables with a computer I bought over a decade ago, but it had a light on it. The purpose of the cable was to transfer files over USB using software on an included disc. Now you know the use of one of them.
In your case this is not just a cable , there is a PCB inside .
@@intel386DX I figured there was more to it than what I could see on the outside.
Originally, there was a different USB type B mini connector. The first type B mini had a more trapezoidal shape, but was electrically identical. I don't recall exactly why they changed it, but they identified some kind of mechanical weakness. It was replaced with the current design, so that the current plugs will fit in the original Type B mini sockets.
You will always try plugging USB A connector 3 times. Once right way but it won't go in, then you flip it and try again, and finally you flip it back and plug it in.
If you want a really strange "standard" cable check out the pUSB. They are mainly used on PoS systems, but they come in 5, 12, 19, and 24 volts. They are locking and even color coded.
you really love that picture at 2:27 don't you
The A-A dangerous cable is a little bit more common than you think. I remember probably 15 years ago having an external hard drive that had 2 Type A on one side broken out, and another type A on the other side. I assume it was to try and get more power from the ports to power the drive. It was a weird Frankenstein consumer product
Thiojoe can get make a clip of usb s into a CZcams rabbit hole and I fall into it and watch the whole thing, and love it. 😍🤣
Thanks man!
I do own an A to A usb transfer cable. It has in-line power management and software side support for pc to pc data transfer.
More obscure cable videos please.
I recently bought an HP Prime calculator and it has a micro-AB port. It also came with a regular A to micro-B cable AND a micro-A to micro-B one. I think the latter is intended for transferring files between calculators
Texas Instruments graphing calculators with a USB port and a monochrome screen have a mini-AB port. The linking cable they use (to communicate between two calculators) is a mini-A to mini-B cable. People have also reverse-engineered the hardware and been able to get flash drives, keyboards, mouses, and whatnot running on it.
Also, both my old phone and my mom's had a micro-AB (Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro & Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman). Also an old tablet we used to have (Medion Lifetab 9512) that ran Android 4.0.4.
This channel is more about cables and connectors than anything else nowadays lol
👍👍👍👍👍
The "mini-b" 8-pin is still found on some Nikon cameras today. It has USB as well as composite video out for cameras to connect to computers or TVs
I have a Zalman NC2000 notebook cooler. A Type-A to Type-A USB cable is used to connect the cooler to a laptop USB port or a USB wall charger. The cable was included with the notebook cooler. It is the only time that I have seen this cable configuration. I really enjoy your videos...accurate, informative, and relevant.
Hmm
@@ThioJoe hmm
Heavenly Father I pray that you keep the person reading this alive, safe, healthy and financially blessed Amen💪
Financially Blessed ????? really ?
i think it's safe to say that that prayer is not going to come true
if you really cared for the people here
YOU CAN FEEL FREE TO GIVE YOUR FINANCIAL BLESSING TO ANYONE IN THIS FORUM
I'M SURE THEY'LL APPRECIATE IT
a better prayer might be
Heavenly father i pray that USB never comes up with a different USB Type and may USB C dominate forever so we can stop guessing which side is up or down
For the mini-AB, look at TI graphing calculators
I kinda love his videos dude 🔥🔥 awesome
I think first
very fast
Yuppers..👌
@@ThioJoe HOOOOLY COW YOU REPLIED
I use A to A cables for some portable hard drives, surgically a Sabrent enclosure for 2.5" SSDs with a type A port and an A to A cable in the box. Works great!
My TI-89-Titanium from Freshman year of college has a USB mini A/B receptacle in it! I used it for transferring programs to and from other calculators & my PC. You could also use it with Vernier data collection devices. The calculator also came with a 5" micro A/micro B cable for client/server transfers.
Though the port is depreciated, you can still buy TI-89s new from various retailers.
I've used an extenal HDD, with a standard Type A connector, where the included cable had one standard typeA for the HDD and two, yes two standard type A connectors on the host end (it was like the second type A extends out from the first one like the letter "h"). The extra type A was supposedly not for data transfer but for additional power. Like if the HDD throttles as the host is unable to power the device, connect the extra connector to another usb port to draw more power.
Vote up, nice video clip, thank you for sharing it :)
The usbA to usbA cable is used sometimes for old usb hubs with detachable cables, i have a couple
Scary how much I learned about things I use all day, every day! 😱🤗
I have the Mini USB cable that came with my TI-84 Plus Calculator, and I recently saw the Micro USB variant in a thrift store.
There's also a 4-pin "Mini-B" known as a Fuji 4-pin. It was used by Fuji and Panasonic (the LS120 camera used it).
I had that dangerous cable for a USB hard drive. My best guess for why it was used is that the type A port is smaller vertically than a normal type B, but the small type B (mini and micro) connectors were too weak?
Actually used to use that AB combo connector all the time on a humanware victor reader stream first generation. The device came with a special cable which featured a non-shielded standard a plug on the other end which would allow you to plug in either special audiobook cartridges for the blind or USB flash drives.
9:23 I have one of those, I actually use it to connect an external HDD case with my computer, so yeah they sell it for consumers lol
Less so lately, but a few years ago, there were all sorts of proprietary connectors for charging and data ports. A lot of them would have 10, 20, 30 or more pins on one end, and a standard USB A connector on the other end. It seems like manufacturers did that for no other reason than to be able to charge $30.00 for a cable that cost $0.30 to manufacture. I’ve had pretty good success removing the proprietary ports on quite a few devices and replacing with micro USB ports. Not needing to keep track of or worry about replacing a broken proprietary cable makes life a lot easier now that I can just connect to them using micro USB cable to charge or transfer data.
Wyze Cameras use an A-to-A with the USB A port on the back sometimes. If you install their webcam firmware for the v2 or pan cameras, you can use it to get the camera data for use as a webcam.
The mini ab port and mini a is not actually deprecated. It is used by 1 company which is Texas Instruments. They put their mini AB port on all models of the TI 84 plus, silver edition, ce, silver edition c. The mini a is used for transferring calculator data from one to another.
first thing to come to mind with the mini AB port and A -> B cable is the ti84+ silver/black with the usb port on top. used for a faster link cable.
These cables were kinda sorta common in the early days of USB, when, say, a camera manufacturer would say "let's just use this one" or "let's make our own" and standards weren't that big a thing yet. Also, I know A to A are used as just cheap 4-line cables for non-standard data transfer
my old Nokia E71 used a micro-AB connector, and I did have an old USB cable set that used an A to A cable and a set of adaptors that connected to a type A cable end, haven't seen the like of it in decades.
The ti nspire cx has the mini a/b plug and cable, it was unidirectional and allowed for data transfer.
Many A to A cables are used for extended periphials, we have many to connect a computer to a smart TV so the touch screen TV can be used as a Mouse.
Many years ago, I had a portable hard drive enclosure that uses a full-size Type-A port, so-called 'dangerous cable', I tried to connect 2 computers together with that cable, and expecting that the C drive will magically show up in each other's 'My Computer', but nothing happened haha
Uh, USB data transfer cables have Type-A connectors on both ends as standard. Type-A to Type-A as a powered device connection is not 'dangerous', but was pretty standard before the insistence on making everything smaller. Also, I've got a Micro-AB port on my Dell Venue tablet. It's also probably worth mentioning the eSATA port/connector, as that is very similar in size and shape to USB-A and can quite commonly be found on older laptops as an eSATA/USB combo port because it is just so similar.
My Lenovo Thinkpad L13 yoga has the “type E” as a part of a docking connector on the left side of the laptop. The connector is used for the original PXE boot compatible RJ45 dongle. It would make sense as most RJ45 dongles connect via usb. BTW the docking connector is a standard usb-c and usb “type E” side by side combo jack, but the jacks can be used individually.
10:15 newer TI calculators actually include micro b to micro b as a link cable
My TI Nspire CX CAS calculator has this connector. For example, when you put this calculator in exam mode, you can only get out of that mode using the windows software or by using a mini a to mini b cable with a calculator in normal mode
Cool, maybe do a vid about speaker cables and interconnects. Your critique would revolutionize the hifi industry
Back in the days there were type A to type A cables that supposed to connect two computers. It internally works by having 2 usb to serial adapters connected together, it has a small box in the middle. My father has one somewhere
very nice video.
Back in around 2006 or 2007, I had a SUPER cheap digital camera/webcam combo thing that shipped with usb-a to usb-a. Probably the only time i saw a usb-a on an electronic that wasn't a host device.
I had a camera with no cable, and I remembered this video that I saw this connector here, turns out it really was a mini-B 8 pin afterall, thanks for the help! :D
We used a type A to A cable on our development kits for booting the main SoC over USB to flash some software into the NAND, since for the main purpose (reading files from an USB drive) of the development kit only the A receptacle was needed.
But even then as a precaution we cut the 5V wire int the cable.
So indeed a very special purpose.
The dangerous cable USB Type A to USB Type A is often used on cooling pads for laptops. You use these to connect to an USB port on the laptop to provide power. Not sure why it is that way but every cooling pad I found used this connector.
oh jea i remember i saw this usb type e one time :o
but thank to you now i know about it if i see it again :D
Ty
About the Type-A to Type-A cable, can confirm i've used it on a commercial device, as i have an external HDD box that uses that kind of port and cable to connect with the computer.
Nice sharing my friend
That USB PrO tip saved my LiFe
9:45 I have some 2.5" HDD enclosure, which using Type-A - Type-A cable. It can be found in any IT store, I think.
Also, on some cameras, or dash cams (Viofo), there are 10 pin mini B connectors (Viofo: rear camera cable).
I had a cheap little digital camera that had a full sized A port on the side and used one of those A-A cables to connect.
I remember the danger cable "a to a" being used when USB 0.9 came out (the original released specification). It was supposed to be for DOS/Win3.11/Win NT. The original intention was for main boards to lose all slots (no ISA, PCI, IDE, serial, parallel, etc). If you wanted a new hard drive, you'd plug one end of the danger cable into the main board and the other end into the hard drive. If you wanted to plug in a monitor, you'd plug a danger cable into the main board and the other end would be a slot panel or screwed into a knock out plug and the monitor would have USB. The monitor was supposed to have the video card integrated inside the monitor. As you can imagine these things were never built. I have an old laptop that has a USB version 0.9 available to the outside like a regular USB port now. I can get it to work under DOS and Win95 with a lot of work with the DUSE driver in config.sys. Windows 98 second edition needs no DOS driver. The port can only seem to recognize a mouse or keyboard. Nothing else seems to work.
i was today years old when i found out the cable i had been looking (for years) for was actually a mini b 8 pin. many many thanks!!! :) :)
very epic thio
The "Type E" connector is officially part of the USB standard, however, the USB Implementers Forum only refers to it by "USB 3.1 front-panel internal 20 pin connector" and further specifies its keying (A or B). When you google "USB3p1_Front_Panel_CabCon_Implment_Doc_Rev1p1", you'll find a PDF of the documentation by the USB-IF.
And those cables with USB A on either end are really common with cheap external hard drive cases and USB hubs that are all over sites like Amazon. There is a HDD case by Sabrent, for example, that has over 35.000 reviews on Amazon.
We used to use A-to-A cables for uploading programs to robotics boards back when I was in high school. We also occasionally had smaller kids come in for experience classes, and every time our instructor made very sure these cables were locked away the day before... Kids would have connected a PC to itself and fried the motherboard FOR SURE.
A couple of my cameras, have unusual connectors, so this is really interesting topic to me. I have either lost, misplaced, or possibly gave away a cord to the computer recycling, that I now find that I need, and don't even know what to say to order one.
My parents had few of the type A to type A cables when I was younger. Never thought it dangerous or rare. We had a couple video cameras that used them to connect to our PC. They were cheap cameras for sure but just had a female type A port used to transfer videos to PC
Type-A to Type-A is used for a lot of laptop cooler pads. Most companies I know use that cable. And I've seen most of those cables, but I do work in IT store so its no surprise.
I've seen Type-A to Type-A cables used as direct links between hosts when transferring/syncing user profiles between computers. This did require proprietary software and the supplied cable was probably custom.
4:38 all Sony mobile devices (phones, tablets, laptops etc.) from between 2009 and 2016 have micro-A connectors. Connector is also competible with micro-B cables, acting as client device when micro-B cable is connected.
I had a type A to type A, but mine had a lump in the middle, it was intended for transferring data, a crossover cable
I don't think there would be a problem as bothe sides are 5v, and sure, potentially if one computer was turned off when you plugged it in, it may try to power it
I have a few USB-A to Micro USB cables that are reversible. You can plug them in either way on either end. It saves time trying to figure out if it's right side up.
one of my friends had an external hard drive that used a usb 3.0 A to A cable, and I've seen and used a mini AB port on my TI-84 graphing calculator
I have seen and used a few of them. :)