> From: "Antonio Carlini" <arcarlini@iee.org>
> To: <port-vax@NetBSD.org>
> Subject: RE: Found DEC branded AU, need specs
> Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 20:24:25 -0000
> 
> > There is a frequent confusion in terminology, since both the 
> > original 10Base-5 coax and the AUI cable are "thick wires", 
> > as distinguished from RG58 10Base-2 coax, which is a "thin wire".
> 
> True. But if you've ever had to do anything with thickwire (other
> than just look at it!) then you'd never confuse it with an AUI
> cable :-) That said, AUI cables come in at least two girths, one
> for the longer lengths and a thinner one (about thinwire diameter
> and much easier to work with) for those shorter lengths (1,3,5m??)
> typically used within a single rack. All the thicker AUI cables
> I remember working with were blue, all the thinner ones were a
> cream colour (slightly lighter than the typical thinwire colour).

Ah, yes.  But most of the confusion comes from people who never
saw a 10Base-5 coax because it was hidden in the attic, and only
saw the AUI cable that went to their local DELNI.  Distribution
to workstations was by thick blue AUI cables or the more flexible
tan AUI station cables.

When the cost of individual 10Base-2 transceivers dropped below
the cost of AUI station cables, the next generation of Ethernet
distribution was done by thin RG58 coax cable, and obviously what
it replaced in the user's view must have been "thick wire".

I think we are in violent agreement.

    carl



> The simple distiction, of course, is that an AUI cable is the only
> one you might mistakenly try to use as a VGA cable :-)
> 
> Antonio
>  
> -- 
> 
> ---------------
> Antonio Carlini             arcarlini@iee.org
>  
> 
>