4 ms·

Almost 8 years later, I wonder if he's managed to sell the whole lot, and whether some obscure Chinese company has started making them again.

ted_dunning 2y ago
Well, IEC doesn't seem to have any 19 pin DB style connectors for sale (9, 15, 23 and 25 are available). So maybe he did sell them all.
- TonyTrapp 2y ago
  According to the comments under the article, this is the item: http://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/ http://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/ - so it still appears to be in stock.
- atombender 2y ago
  The 19-pin is there (https://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/ https://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/), but the connector has a blue interior, which suggests it's a different source than OP? I suppose it could be a stock photo of a different version.
tecleandor 2y ago
Well, they just re-stocked their Mac Floppy Emulator, that uses one of those connectors, so I guess they still have a bunch of them :) https://shop.bigmessowires.com/products/floppy-emu-model-c-bundle https://shop.bigmessowires.com/products/floppy-emu-model-c-b...
Frenchgeek 2y ago
https://www.bigmessowires.com/2018/05/10/10000-more-db-19-connectors/ https://www.bigmessowires.com/2018/05/10/10000-more-db-19-co...
- fragmede 2y ago
  oh wow, 10,000 more in 2018, and that's only 2 years later than the article. there's probably been a couple more buys in the six years since!
  - zoeysmithe 2y ago
    Stuff like this made me realize how I have no idea how big enthusiast markets are. If you asked me how many weirdo disk connectors for vintage macs and Apple II's could be sold today I would have guessed maybe one or two hundred at most, sold over many years. It looks like they've sold tens of thousands of these. If we guess 50,000 at $129, with say a 30% profit margin, which might be low for hobbyist markets, its $2m net. These "little" enthusiast markets are much larger and lucrative than I thought.

ted_dunning 2y ago

Well, IEC doesn't seem to have any 19 pin DB style connectors for sale (9, 15, 23 and 25 are available). So maybe he did sell them all.

TonyTrapp 2y ago
According to the comments under the article, this is the item: http://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/ http://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/ - so it still appears to be in stock.
atombender 2y ago
The 19-pin is there (https://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/ https://iec.net/product/d-style-male-solder-type-connector/), but the connector has a blue interior, which suggests it's a different source than OP? I suppose it could be a stock photo of a different version.

tecleandor 2y ago

Well, they just re-stocked their Mac Floppy Emulator, that uses one of those connectors, so I guess they still have a bunch of them :) https://shop.bigmessowires.com/products/floppy-emu-model-c-bundle https://shop.bigmessowires.com/products/floppy-emu-model-c-b...

Frenchgeek 2y ago

https://www.bigmessowires.com/2018/05/10/10000-more-db-19-connectors/ https://www.bigmessowires.com/2018/05/10/10000-more-db-19-co...

fragmede 2y ago
oh wow, 10,000 more in 2018, and that's only 2 years later than the article. there's probably been a couple more buys in the six years since!
- zoeysmithe 2y ago
  Stuff like this made me realize how I have no idea how big enthusiast markets are. If you asked me how many weirdo disk connectors for vintage macs and Apple II's could be sold today I would have guessed maybe one or two hundred at most, sold over many years. It looks like they've sold tens of thousands of these. If we guess 50,000 at $129, with say a 30% profit margin, which might be low for hobbyist markets, its $2m net. These "little" enthusiast markets are much larger and lucrative than I thought.