@hchavers@IndifferentDude@narfcake Yes the connectors are just the common ‘RCA’ type but for component video you needed 5 if you include 2 for audio, The video was 3 cables hence the pretty colors. It could do early ‘high definition’ like 720p or 1080i (but not 1080p).
For a long time I used component cables to distribute satellite TV signal to multiple TVs in my house. Some went through walls but never finished the project, so much was just strung down hallways. But it was worth it to be able to walk around to different rooms and have the same signal playing everywhere — something you can’t easily do in today’s streaming world. I bought an 8-output component video distribution amp and was using 5 of the 8 outputs. Yeah, lots of pretty cables.
@hchavers@narfcake Ha!! That pic reminds me of when I was in TV repair; had several calls of missing Red, Green or Blue. Turns out the issue was a pet had been behind the TV and dislodged a connector. EZ $80 house call!
@hchavers@IndifferentDude RCA is the name of the physical connector standard, likely because RCA had a hand in developing it. The standard is used for composite video (1 yellow, plus red & white for audio), component video (red, green, & blue for video, red & white for audio), and digital coaxial audio/video, as well as audio connections between stereo components and sometimes amplifier to speakers. The connector is used for many, many things, even today.
Banana plugboard. Yes, I know, some meters still have banana plugs on the meter ends of the cables, but they used to be found in so many other places as well.
@werehatrack They’re still the standard for bench power supplies.
Our standard procedure in the lab is still to hook up an ammeter in series with the power supply as an independent check of current draw.
@zinimusprime My truck, which is not even that old, only has that for audio input. Better than my older Jeeps which don’t even have that.
I’m about to go on a trip and luckily have older Apple devices and a Kindle Fire that still have a 3.5mm. Mostly for listening to audiobooks. Yes I know there are bluetooth receivers that plug in to 3.5mm and I’ve bought a few but honestly a good ol’ wire is much less hassle.
@dave I recently ran across one of those at a local thrift store. Ultimately decided that the $3.98 was better spent wasted on another catshirt I didn’t need, though.
I’ll reconsider if it’s still there when it’s marked down.
As an IT professional, I hate pretty much all cables. SCSI cables were the worst though. I’m trying to think if there’s any that I like, probably USB C. Meaning I’m not nostalgic for any cable.
@pakopako@werehatrack
/image IBM 029 card punch
Had one at my high school!
And a Data General minicomputer with actual core memory.
EDIT I didn’t dress like that though.
@pakopako@pmarin I remember those. My brother spent way too many hours at one, back in the early '60s when he worked in the “computing center” at the University of Miami. They had a 1620 that they were so proud of…
@806D2701@werehatrack I remember back in the 80’s when SASI/SCSI was a new thing. A fellow SW engineer was assigned to the driver development/maintenance. At first, he became known as Sassy Bob, which he leaned into. But when that transitioned to Scuzzy Bob, he was not so amused.
I’m an IT professional and a hobbyist studio tech.
I am not nostalgic for any cable and neither is anyone else in their right mind. Physical cables are a necessary evil until we can figure out how to make everything digital and wireless.
My better half says RS-232 with DB-9 connectors
I miss my SCSI cables and their required terminators…
@curtise i like my cables SCSI!
@curtise Totally hated those.
None of them.
Mini-USB to charge my Sansa
@heartny also for the Garmin gps’s
“frustrated by” comes to mind more than “nostalgic for”
Though the 1987 debut of the IBM PS/2 failed in maintaining IBM’s dominance, both its VGA and PS/2 keyboard + mouse ports remain in use to this day.
@narfcake I love my Keytronics keyboard with a PS/2 connector.
@narfcake And then there was “OS/2 for PS/2; Half an operating system for half a computer.”
COMPONENT CABLES!!
They are so colorful!! 
@IndifferentDude AKA RCA
@hchavers meh, RCA sounds like an old radio; Component is more Fancy Schmancy!!
@hchavers Also, as an FYI, RCA Audio is just Red & White; RCA Composite includes Yellow for Video.
@hchavers @IndifferentDude
@hchavers @IndifferentDude @narfcake Yes the connectors are just the common ‘RCA’ type but for component video you needed 5 if you include 2 for audio, The video was 3 cables hence the pretty colors. It could do early ‘high definition’ like 720p or 1080i (but not 1080p).
For a long time I used component cables to distribute satellite TV signal to multiple TVs in my house. Some went through walls but never finished the project, so much was just strung down hallways. But it was worth it to be able to walk around to different rooms and have the same signal playing everywhere — something you can’t easily do in today’s streaming world. I bought an 8-output component video distribution amp and was using 5 of the 8 outputs. Yeah, lots of pretty cables.
@hchavers @narfcake Ha!!
That pic reminds me of when I was in TV repair; had several calls of missing Red, Green or Blue. Turns out the issue was a pet had been behind the TV and dislodged a connector. EZ $80 house call! 
@hchavers @IndifferentDude RCA is the name of the physical connector standard, likely because RCA had a hand in developing it. The standard is used for composite video (1 yellow, plus red & white for audio), component video (red, green, & blue for video, red & white for audio), and digital coaxial audio/video, as well as audio connections between stereo components and sometimes amplifier to speakers. The connector is used for many, many things, even today.
@IndifferentDude All the pretty colors. DEI
@blaineg ISWYDT.
Thick-net and the crimping tool. Also the Coax RG6 and the crimping tool. And finally BNC and the crimping tool.
@hchavers Nostalgic, or still shuddering at the thought of?
MOLEX 2010693000 1M CDFP TO 4X100GE QSFP28 DAC FAN OUT
@ybmuG
@ybmuG Isn’t that the one you just barely got? You can’t properly be nostalgic for it if it’s sitting right there…
@ybmuG Oops, you’re not the one that got the cable, you’re just the one who looked it up first.
Okay, you’re allowed to be nostalgic about it.
I also weep nostalgic for my SCSI cables, if only because it was fun to say.
(I still have some in a bin in my garage!)
4-Wire Telephone cables!!
/image 4-Wire Telephone cables
SCSI and GPIB/HPIB. Both were fast and devices could be daisy chained. I still get to use GPIB at work now and then.
/image s-video
You will never get my box of random assorted cables that will make me an eBay billionaire one day.
@thismyusername only ONE box of random assorted cables? Well, That’s a good start I guess…
@pmarin @thismyusername I started hauling them to e-waste a while back, and haven’t regretted it yet.
Was going to say RCA but I still use those every day for audio AND video…so I chose VGA instead.
@PooltoyWolf I don’t think servers will ever escape VGA.
IDE (Parallel ATA)
/image IDE-cable
@Bloodshedder My childhood!
@Bloodshedder they made those in round braided form at one point.
Amiga DB23 video cable. VGA wasn’t invented yet.
@blaineg AND, the monitor had an RCA composite connection so you could connect a VCR
@blaineg @ybmuG Explain VCR to the younger crowd.
@blaineg @phendrick the thing under the TV that blinks 12:00
@phendrick @ybmuG
What you use instead of 8mm or 16mm film reels.
@blaineg @phendrick @ybmuG It’s always 12:00 somewhere…
@blaineg @phendrick @ybmuG I tossed out a bunch of rusted slide projectors from a public school last year.
Banana plugboard. Yes, I know, some meters still have banana plugs on the meter ends of the cables, but they used to be found in so many other places as well.
@werehatrack They’re still the standard for bench power supplies.
Our standard procedure in the lab is still to hook up an ammeter in series with the power supply as an independent check of current draw.
Western Union
@macromeh
/youtube western union, five americans
Just had to post that, since the subject is nostalgia.
3.5mm - I know it’s not dead yet, but it’s essentially in hospice…
@zinimusprime My truck, which is not even that old, only has that for audio input. Better than my older Jeeps which don’t even have that.
I’m about to go on a trip and luckily have older Apple devices and a Kindle Fire that still have a 3.5mm. Mostly for listening to audiobooks. Yes I know there are bluetooth receivers that plug in to 3.5mm and I’ve bought a few but honestly a good ol’ wire is much less hassle.
@pmarin @zinimusprime
Modular Synths have entered the chat.
/giphy eurorack
@pmarin I agree, I love cables for good audio quality over wireless any day.
/image RF Switch box adapter. (Atari, Intellivision, ColecoVision)
@dave I recently ran across one of those at a local thrift store. Ultimately decided that the $3.98 was better
spentwasted on another catshirt I didn’t need, though.I’ll reconsider if it’s still there when it’s marked down.
@dave The oddball Atari 5200 auto switchbox/power supply connector:
Lose it, and you’re dead. The only way to get power in and video out.
@dave I still have a few of these, heh.
@dave I tossed about four of those (the game/antenna VHF switch) into the ewaste last year, at least two of which had never been used.
As an IT professional, I hate pretty much all cables. SCSI cables were the worst though. I’m trying to think if there’s any that I like, probably USB C. Meaning I’m not nostalgic for any cable.
/image analog computer patch panel
This was one kind of Banana Plugboard mentioned by @werehatrack
The orange patch cables in this case made up the « program ».
@pmarin @werehatrack
No banana for scale?
@pmarin @werehatrack This reminds me: “always number your punch cards”.
@pakopako @werehatrack
/image IBM 029 card punch
Had one at my high school!
And a Data General minicomputer with actual core memory.
EDIT I didn’t dress like that though.
@pakopako @pmarin I remember those. My brother spent way too many hours at one, back in the early '60s when he worked in the “computing center” at the University of Miami. They had a 1620 that they were so proud of…
I miss the SCSI interface on my old PC. In hindsight, I don’t think it was noticably better than SATA, but scuzzy sure is a fun word to say.
Scuzzy. Scuzzy scuzzy scuzzy.
@806D2701 I knew one person Back In The Day who insisted it was “sexy” instead of “scuzzy”.
@806D2701 @werehatrack I remember back in the 80’s when SASI/SCSI was a new thing. A fellow SW engineer was assigned to the driver development/maintenance. At first, he became known as Sassy Bob, which he leaned into. But when that transitioned to Scuzzy Bob, he was not so amused.
I’m an IT professional and a hobbyist studio tech.
I am not nostalgic for any cable and neither is anyone else in their right mind. Physical cables are a necessary evil until we can figure out how to make everything digital and wireless.
@Catburd Wake me up when you discover how to make your CEO phish proof
@pakopako If you can find me a cable that fixes that problem, sure.
@Catburd @pakopako A thin coax around the neck with an appropriate tensioner usually does the trick.
@Catburd @pakopako @werehatrack Sounds like a BOFH technique.
IEEE-1394 aka Firewire
Still keep a port on my computers for an old digital tape camcorder.
I seriously miss 9 pin serial cables and 15 pin Digital Audio. Brings back nostalgia of pre-PS2(IBM) port PC gaming.
@pakopako I don’t have to miss 9 pin serial, they’re all over the place here.