Help identify abnormal USB header type - internal USB - MCE Infrared Receiver IR

[atak_all]

2 questions:
(1) What is the header type in the picture at the bottom of this post?
(2) Do you think a standard 1 x 5 internal male plug would properly fit in the header in the picture? The pins seems shorter than normal and possibly closer together but perhaps someone with experience with this header can comment.

I disassembled the Microsoft MCE Infrared Receiver (IR) that comes with the MCE Remote and have moved the circuit board inside my htpc. I would like to use an short internal USB cable (rather than snaking the standard USB cable to the outside) to connect it to the motherboard but am baffled by the type of header used on the circuit board.

I have been unable to identify the header. It is clearly not a standard USB header. I have seen the style of header/cable on a fan controller (single header to multiple 3-pin fan headers). That being said, I'm not sure I'll be able to find a preassembled cable to fit this standard in any event.

If all else fails, I'll simply use an internal (female) to external (female) USB cable (Type A female to a 1x5 female) such as the cable at http://www.frontx.com/pro/c532_012.html . The only downside being the substantial mass of extra cable in the case.

The header and plug:

Thanks for your help.

Other search terms for future users: home theater windows media center edition remote adapter receptacle proprietary

 

[mfenn]

I would probably just splice the wire that you've got together with a standard internal header cable. The wiring looks to be standard, so just match the colors, solder, heatshrink, sleeve and go.

 

[ther00kie16]

I'd go further and use any floppy cables or audio cables that you may have lying around. Those floppy cables sure come in handy with internal stuff like this. Used one for a VFD.

 

[atak_all]

While looking for possible cables I could use in my PC parts tacklebox, I came across 5-6 internal audio cables. Without trying, I cast them aside under the belief that they would not properly fit. ther00kie16's suggestion prompted a re-examination and a successful resolution.

Because the audio cables had only 3 pins/cables, I combined two to make a single row internal USB cable. The standard linear plug actually fits quite snug onto the proprietary USB header on the circuit board (as it has to since the header/circuit board are installed upside down facing the bottom of the case). Pictures are below. Thanks again for the suggestions and responses.

Coincidentally, I recently considered throwing out some of those internal audio cables. I've had them for ages (some likely dating back to a 2x cd-rom reader).


Standard internal audio cable/header - note the missing 4th cable/pin

Newly created cable attached to circuit board of Media Center IR receiver
I stripped a single pin/cable from another internal audio cable to use as the 4th pin/cable.

Cable plugged into motherboard USB header

 

[ther00kie16]

Nice to see you found a quick and cheap (free) solution. I can never bear to throw away cables. Wires are just wires after all.

On a side note, out of curiosity, anyone know what a labeled cd rom drive with 2 speed numbers may mean? It doesn't say it's a cd-r drive and I remember trying DVDs in it without success so I'm at a loss as to what the 2nd speed rating is for. I believe the speeds were something like 16x/12x.

 

[atak_all]

Multiple number labeling was very common for cd-rom readers with the introduction of CAV drives. At the early onset of CAV drives, there wasn't a standard method for marketing the read speeds of these types of drives.

The 16x/12x was likely an early marketing designation that the drive was a CAV drive.
My guess is that it implies a 16x max with a 12x avg. (a 16x max with 12x minimum is implausible given that the minimum rotation necessary to obtain 12x minimum would likely result in a read of greater than 16x on the outer edge of the cd).

Ultimately, as CLV drives disappeared from the market, companies simply dropped listing the average read speed and listed the maximum read speed.

Here's an example of a 1997 press release announcing a system that contained a cd-rom reader designated "16x/12x."
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19381605.html
(I picked out 1997 as a particular search term b/c my best recollection of when CAV was widely introduced was around 1997).

Brief overview: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/cd/perfRated-c.html