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Wednesday June 28, 2006
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 I found this cable on the PC Mag giveaway table, and I'm thoroughly perplexed by it. I'm hoping someone out there has a clue as to what this is for.
One end of the cable appears to be an RJ-11, with three wires (red, black, white) connected. The other end genuinely appears to plug into an old Atari joystick port. Or something that looks a lot like an old Atari joystick port. I may not be an 31337 h4x0r (that's "elite hacker"), but I'm pretty techy, and I'm stumped. Anyone have any ideas? Click on the picture for a bigger image.
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June 28, 2006 9:49 AM
Clearly it's designed to let you use your Atari 830 modem as a controller for Ballblazer.
June 28, 2006 9:58 AM
It looks like something you might plub into a machine that's capable of being dialed into.. I've seen similar on the back of RS600's, but those were to RJ-45. It's possible this goes to a phoneline and people can dial in from an external source? Beyond that... I'm stumped.
June 28, 2006 10:03 AM
31337 *** = elite hacker? I always thought it was "1337 h4X0rz" And clearly that's a cable to allow your evil doomsday robot (c. 1991) to be controlled via modem from your secret lair. 5-mile phone line extension, 1200-baud modem and henchmen to hold it not included.
June 28, 2006 10:30 AM
Is it RJ-11 or is it a telephone connector? I've seen some similar-looking cables for router/gateway configurations via a console (HyperTerminal or something).
June 28, 2006 10:33 AM
Example: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=LEPRSY9P&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=79646 (pnorton has my email if there is a prize) :-Þ
June 28, 2006 11:47 AM
i have, or had a cable very similar to this one. mine came with a belkin ups system it was plugged into a phone jack on the side of the unite and the other end was plugged into your computer to allow for communication between the ups and the computer..
June 28, 2006 12:22 PM
Wade - where would that have plugged into your computer? It's not a DB-9 serial cable, it's something different. Dolph - Same thing. It's not an RS-422, take a close look.
June 28, 2006 5:36 PM
It might be the cable that connects an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) to a PC for auto shutdown. The RJ11 would plug into the UPS and the other end appears to be DB9 serial that would connect to the PC
June 28, 2006 7:34 PM
The cable goes from a laptop pc modem card to the phone line.had one on old Dell
June 28, 2006 10:14 PM
I agree with those who think this is a com cable. It could be a uni-directional RS-422 connection which would be a balanced signal. Otherwise it could be a bidirectional RS-232 connection with a common ground. Manufacturers are forced to put stupid connectors on the back of a lot of their equipment to save space.
June 29, 2006 9:11 AM
since a PC serial port is the same shape as an Atari/commodore/colecovision joystick connector it could be something to configure some proprietary hardware via console port. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.
June 29, 2006 9:12 AM
it definately will fit in a DB9 serial port..
June 30, 2006 3:50 PM
It was definately a long time ago for me but if I recall correctly it is for a keyboard. I dont remember the use of the keyboard but I'm sure it was there... hmmm
June 30, 2006 4:45 PM
Hmmm, all this talk of serial ports is dredging up memories of a former life. One of my early jobs was working with VAX and HP/UX mainframes with VT100 terminals (raise your hand if you remember those!) DEC VT terminals used RJ-11 (and MMJ) jacks to connect too serial breakout boxes. I wonder if this is serial adapter? Anyone have a multimeter handy and a diagram to the pinouts on DB9 serial?
July 8, 2006 3:40 PM
It's a keyboard cable for an IBM PC Jr, an old IBM system that used a phone jack on the end that plugs into the keyboard.
July 25, 2006 4:19 PM
It is a "Cisco Unity Express UPS Simple Signaling Cable. UPS serial interface cables that provide direct communication between UPSs and desktops, workstations, and servers." See APC (American Power Conversion Corp) web site http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=AP9840, 29.99 suggested retail. I suspect it was left over when someone did a UPS upgrade. I know we ended up with a bunch of them following our last upgrade.
September 8, 2006 8:43 PM
This is a adapter for a phone headset ie. plantronics or something like that. Its either that or jumper cables for your telephone!
September 20, 2006 11:23 AM
Im pretty sure its a conection cable to a TTY Machine. My cousin is deaf and it looks like one of her cables. EXP: http://www.soundclarity.com/productdetail.asp_Q_id_E_615