What is the most inappropriate connector with enough pins to support USB-C?

I suggest:

@jonty May i suggest TRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRS?

https://fv.technogothic.net/@AgathaSorceress/113317998120714263

@jonty alligator clips. Enough of them.

@jonty the Sega MegaDrive expansion port (for the Mega CD) has more than enough pins. It would finally allow us to create the ultimate gaming system and beat Nintendo!

@jonty Caterpillar 14 pin or J1939 if you omit some usb 3 superspeed lines

@jonty You jest, but they're trying to push insane wattages through incredibly tiny pins these days. If this keeps up, USB-C cables are going to have to start adding some sort of cooling component.

@jonty

@jonty How about we use something really tiny, using really weak materials, such that after a year of twice daily use it becomes unreliable, and lets make the devices we install it on virtually impossible to repair, so devices, hardware, and cables that would otherwise be good for many years become e-waste after barely a year because a dumb fucking connector is a single point of failure

@jonty Lesker 32-pin ultra-high vacuum feedthrough using "MIL-C-26482 style connector".
https://www.lesker.com/feedthroughs/instrument-feedthroughs-mpc-singleend/part/iftrg327013

@jonty Is it finally time to bring back the 30-pin Apple connector? I have a ton of old iPod docks that I could finally put to good use again

@jonty
Back to communications basics.

@jonty I love your suggestion. Have you ever experienced a Speakon connector? Those are my all time fav. Very satisfying to lock by rotating one quarter turn.

@jonty now I want reversible ATX.

@jonty The BSI coupler, modelled here by the mighty Pacer train, has 50 electrical pins. I make that enough for two USB-C connections.

@jonty Has anyone posted this one yet?

Of course it isn't reversable like USB-C (at least not without a hacksaw...)

And you'd have to physically align both devices, unless you're into flexi PCBs...

@jonty Come on, now. The PT02A-10-2S(027) (Mil-spec connector by Amphenol) is way more inappropriate! 😆

@jonty after working in physics labs for much too long, I suggest the good old "24 unlabelled bnc cables hanging from some hook on the ceiling" coupling.

@jonty 13W3

@jonty 3 of this.

@jonty @else Three-strand braided Cat6 Ethernet cable, abbreviated 3x8P8C. For convenience, the connectors are colored red, yellow, and white, leading to the connector's nickname: Composite PoE.

@jonty thread for you, @digimint >:3

@jonty taking usb-c reversibility to the next level with a connector that requires not one but two special tools, one each to insert and remove it.

@jonty i mean, techically,

@jonty a few extra lines, call it multi usb c

@jonty @prozacchiwawa v.35

And so affordable!

@jonty That’s cursed. I love it.

@jonty
TX: SERIAL
RX: SERIAL
V+: SERIAL
AC: SERIAL
GND: SERIAL
BUS: SERIAL
CC: SERIAL
SBU: SERIAL
CLK: SERIAL
DATA: SERIAL
PWM: SERIAL
Analog: SERIAL
Reset: SERIAL

@jonty one from @foone
Usb to VGA, doesn't support usb C yet tho!
https://digipres.club/@foone/113262419209347413

@jonty You may be thinking “well that’s only 12 connectors” - each shield is independently connected. 😆

@jonty Centronics

@jonty Four separate BNC connectors with floating shields.

@jonty alternative suggestion

@jonty scart? :)

@jonty which generation of SuperSpeed do you intend to support? You don't need more than 6 contacts (7 with PD) for valid USB 2 connectivity for USB-C (12 or 14 if you want to make your connector "wrong orientation pluggable", which very few of the ludicrous connectors but USB-C would allow, anyways…).

So, the spiciness here lies within "most inappropriate" but "still makes sense to have 24 pins, because USB 3 SS works". I'll go with a LEMO 24-pin circular connector with 6 coax connections,…

@jonty Whatever the box is in this photo. https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/electronics-and-detonators/

@jonty how about a pair of six-pin DIN connectors?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_connector

@jonty no, wait, I've got it:

@jonty Centronics had 25...

@jonty i can't think of a connector more inappropriate than usb-c

@jonty both the Dreamcast and Nintendo (SNES, Gamecube, and N64) AV connectors also had enough pins to support USB-C 🤔

@jonty WTF I wanna build that

@jonty Just put all the PD standard voltages each on a separate pin, and tada: no need for any complex power negotiation anymore!

@jonty Four unlabeled MIDI cables so that you get that nostalgic USB-A charm of having to try it different ways when plugging it in.

@jonty

@jonty @darkphoenix I have a soft spot for the old SCSI connectors

@jonty
Scharfenberg! Because there are so many variants!

https://www.s-bahn-galerie.de/S_Bahn_Berlin/xScharfenberg/877_602_03.htm

@jonty any modern cpu socket :3

@jonty Does OBD-II have enough pins?

@jonty @cstross I'd suggest IBM bus and tag cables, from their older mainframes: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/IBM_360_Bus_Tag_Cables.png. Note that the connectors are about 10 cm long — and you needed two to connect to each I/O device…

@jonty boring answer because my first thought was already posted: Digital Video Interface :3

@jonty
Looking at this hurts my fingers

@jonty 16 pin JST-XH for data + XT60 for power

@jonty For a second I though that was a connector-of-connectors, welding a bunch of RJ-11 jacks together and...

Wait, hold on, I have an Idea!

@jonty Fiat Punto Door Connector

@jonty Does SCART have enough pins?

@jonty ooh wait
B gague jackfield and multicore loom

@jonty Nuclear Instrumentation Standard (NIM bins).

@jonty Hmmm.

PCIe card edge?

QSFP+?

DIMM?

@jonty 36-way EDAC? It’s got a lovely bolt-in design to keep it mated.

https://edac.net/series/519

https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/edac-inc/519-036-000-305/13721392

@jonty Aren't we missing the obvious here?

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0565/9293/products/DSC_0028_489509f2-da6f-4391-9075-d4e93ad58c35_grande.JPG?v=1479405862

@jonty

@jonty this one is future proof an will be able to comply with PD-42 spec, handling 1000W to power your fancy USB-C kettle

@jonty I suggest the HD50 standard. It can carry two USB-C connections for twice the fun, and 50pin HD-Dual-C (TM) to USB-A connectors are already available!

Be HD (tm)

This deeply cursed suggestion from @bazbremner

@jonty Okay. I had not considered that. An impressive feat!

@jonty wait I got one - it solves the issue where you can't plug it in first try. Didn't count but should be more than enough pins.

(Image credit: Wikipedia)

@jonty I like that this one, unlike most extension leads, is reversible

@jonty spicy breadboard

@jonty @bazbremner The forbidden breadboard

@jonty I know of someone who thought it would be clever to use one of those to distribute low voltage DC.

Someone else not knowing this plugged the device into a different one that was connected to 240v A/C.

Apparently the bang was quite spectacular.

@jonty 3 phase commando

@jonty well, re. an ongoing conversation elsewhere:

@jonty https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART true full Inappropriateness