Posted by scott oberg on 6, 2000 at 6:33 PM:
In Reply to: Where to buy switchbox? posted by LeeDs72 on 4, 2000 at 2:03 PM:
You should be able to buy these at any retailer. If they don't have it in stock, they can order it for you.
Typical (stock) configurations are:
A/B or A/B/C/D (you only need A/B for 2 sets of devices)
Keyboard/Mouse or
Keyboard/monitor or
keyboard/monitor/mouse
I would get the latter, even if you don't have any particular need for the mouse yet. Eventually, you may wish to add a trackball or other analog device that emulates a mouse.
I haven't noticed a significant quality difference between brands, and I sell computer stuff for a living.
BTW- I have a 6' hacked cable for my Monitor input, + a 6' extension on that to get me to the switch box, plus the 6' run from the switchbox to the CPU. I was pleasantly surprised that I had low loss of the signal across that length and number of connections. I do, however, highly recommend using very high quality cables for this process, especially if you are planning on a long total run from the CPU to your regular computing periperals, or to the cabinet. Most off-the-shelf retail cables are often of fairly low quality, with limited shielding to prevent signal loss. A cable manufacturer in your area (there seems to be at least one good one in every major centre), can manufacture custom length and low-loss cables. While more expensive, they work significantly better at preventing loss.
I also had a custom DB15 (joystick) extension cable built to get my player 1 controls (which are a hacked old, poopy, gravis gamepad) back to the PC. Works like a schnitz.
: I am also looking to buy a manual swithchbox for my keyboards and monitors.