inSync reader Eric S. asks:
"Regarding the practice of "plugging" drives on a Mac to keep them from being polled (inSync TTOTD 5/28 and 6/6):
For the SCSI drives (Jaz, Zip, Syquest) couldn’t you just use an SCSI utility (such as Silverlining) to unmount those drives? I do not think the Mac polls an unmounted SCSI port."
This should work fine, Eric. Of course, you do lose convenient access to those drives while they are unmounted… thanks for the suggestion!
inSync reader John G. asks "What’s an ELCO connector?" (Mentioned in the 6/2 inSync TTOTD)
Thanks for the question John, an ELCO connector is a multi-pin connector commonly used in audio gear where space is an issue, and where many cable connections need to be made quickly and easily. On an ADAT for example, a single 50-pin ELCO carries all 16 +4 connections (8 balanced ins and 8 balanced outs for a total of 48 conductors) in one compact and convenient connector – much smaller and easier to deal with than 16 separate balanced cables!
Modular snake cables, large format consoles, the rear side of large patchbays, and the backs of ADATs are some places where you will encounter these connectors.
Other common multi-pin connectors you might run into include DB25 (8 channel balanced lines on Tascam DA-88’s), 25- and 50-pin SCSI connectors, DB9 cables (9-pin sync) as well as a variety of miscellaneous computer connectors.
