When people order a uIEC unit, some ask if an IEC (disk serial) cable is included or available. After looking in my stash, I did find a batch of Commodore cables, but two things concerned me. First, I have a number of actual drive units with no cables, and I wanted to ensure that each drive in my possession sported a cable in case it is later sold or traded. Second, when my stock is depleted, I will have nothing to offer.
While searching for other items, I came across a few suppliers who offer newly manufactured cables and could do custom lengths. At that point, I contacted Joseph Palumbo of JP PBM (Products by Mail), as he had expressed a need for additional IEC cables months before. As well, I recalled that Gideon Zweijtzer (of 1541 Ultimate fame) was looking for short (12″) IEC cables for the 1541U-II currently in production. I contacted Gideon and asked if he was interested in a purchase. Both Joe and Gideon were interested in moving forward, so I recently ordered 1300 cables of each size (standard 4 foot length and 1541U/uIEC preferred 12″ length). I can only imagine the number of boxes it will take to ship them here, but we will soon be offering black molded IEC cables in both lengths in the store, and Gideon will be receiving a large order to supply 1541U-II buyers.
I’ve received samples of the cable, and tested them. The cable is shielded, offers molded connectors on both ends, and offers 28 AWG stranded wire with an Aluminum Foil shield in addition to the bare shielding wire spiraling around the signal wires. The cabling is reasonably flexible (not quite a flexible as the original OEM cables, but not stiff) and 5.5mm in diameter. They should look right at home in a Commodore 8-bit setup.