| Hacking the Olympus D-360L |
This page shows how I rolled my own cable for the D-360L to download images to my Newton MessagePad 2100.
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If you choose to make your own cable DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK! You may end up voiding your warranty, damaging your Newton or camera, or cause interference with televisions, cell phones, or air traffic control! I am not responsible for any damage you cause by making your own cable. |
The D-360L comes supplied with a cable to connect to a PC serial port. Of course Macintosh owners are discriminated against, and we must mail in a coupon and wait 8 to 10 weeks to receive a Mac serial adapter.
I sent in my coupon the day after Christmas 2000. I'm impatient and couldn't wait two more weeks so here's what I did.
Using a multimeter to trace the pinouts of the PC cable is as follows:
I took a Mini DIN-8 cable and cut it in half to the desired length. Use an old Mac serial or printer cable. Strip off the outer insulation and pull back the braid and foil sheath. The inside of my cable was as follows - use a meter to check yours:
| Pin | Color |
| 1 | Black |
| 2 | Brown |
| 3 | Red |
| 4 | Orange |
| 5 | Yellow |
| 6 | Green |
| 7 | Blue |
| 8 | Purple |
Strip the insulation from pins 3, 4, 5, and 8. Cut the remaining wires back out of the way,
The plug that goes into the camera is a 3/32" sub-mini stereo plug. I used Radio Shack 274-244, $1.99.
The terminals inside the plug are difficult to solder. Use a fine tip iron (I used a 15W iron with a needle tip) and be sure to tin the leads and terminals first. Use a minimum amount of solder, and don't apply too much heat or you'll melt the plastic inside the connector. I ended up using two connectors as "practice" before I got it right.
Once the soldering is complete, use your meter to verify that you have the proper connections and no short circuits between any of the terminals.
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Screw on the strain relief and use some electrical tape to cover the shielding braid.