192 I/O to Dsm71 Tdif cable question

[SurroundNewbie]

Hi.

To connect a 192 I/O to a Tascam DSM7.1, is all that is needed a standard DB25 TDIF Dubbing/Transfer cable?

Digi's Tdif cable is $150. Tascam's PW88DM is $15.The DSM will live in the same rack as the 192, so the run is very short. Is there any reason to buy Digi?

TIA,

SN

[schmidy@bitter_zen]

A standard TDIF cable into Slot 1 (Console) is all you need.

[Richard Fairbanks]

Any standard TDIF cable is fine, but not a straight computer cable! You can make a down and dirty TDIF cable quickly. Get a 25 conductor flat ribbon cable and two male D25 ribbon connectors (Radio Shack will do). Put a connector on each end but flip one of the connectors so that it is "upside down". Whereas a regular cable would connect pin 1 to pin 1, 2 to 2 and so on, a TDIF cable connects pin 1 to pin 13, pin 14 to pin 25, and so on. This makes sense when you look at the numbering of the connector pins. I have used one of these for years. I say it is down and dirty because it is not shielded and so spews digital noise everywhere. This is often no problem whatsoever, but I would not want to use it in a permanent installation for that reason. It will not take much physical abuse but a short run in a semi-permanent rack would be fine.

[SurroundNewbie]

Thanks!