Fiber vs. Copper; What do we really need?

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Fiber optics. A DeLIGHTful technology. Ooh that’s a groaner. Well, why don’t we see them around more often? Let’s find out!
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First, the previous video:
• TOSLINK: That one cons...
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[@Reczack]

Fun fact: audiophiles hate literally everything, including their own equipment and, of course, themselves.

[@photicguitarisakasucc647]

Who is this lovely wamen? Never knew I could have so much in common with an object

[@NightRogue77]

hmmmmm.... no i don’t

[@TheGrinningViking]

So like everyone else, except they don't like their equipment? 😎👍🏼

[@fjl05]

it might have been a fact but it wasnt fun at all.

[@BrianJT]

@@override367 good advice, don't get sucked in :P

[@ihaveasticknmyi]

Optical amplifiers work on a very simple principal: they make the light louder.

[@Nandru85]

I thought it made light lighter

[@ristopaasivirta9770]

Personally I think that the effort is wasted. There's only so many frames per pixel a human ear can smell.

[@wojiaobill]

How bright of you

[@ThePetaaaaa]

Nice. To be a bit more precise, it's just a diode pumped solid-state laser like your green laser pointer. However, the power source (pump diodes) are and the laser medium are a bit more separated than in your laser pointer. ;-)

[@evandavis5223]

To amplify your optical signals, what you need first are some essential oils....

[@ChatookaMusic]

"I'm sorry for calling this Ethernet cable" *casually pans over a cable with a tag that literally says "Ethernet cable"*

[@wolu9456]

But is it a Patch Cables or Crossover Cable? Just bringing awareness that there are such things. P.S. When making them for the love of god test them with a meter(it just test's for good connections). You can spend hours trying to find the problem if you mess up.

[@mycrowatt]

Who even uses crossover cables any more with auto MDI-X.

[@kevreeduk222]

@@mycrowatt Whilst Auto MDI-X is almost ubiquitous, it does remain a solely OPTIONAL element of the 1000Base-T standard. Although there appears to have been a campaign to make it part of the core standard, it was only adopted as an optional element. As such, it is possible (albeit unlikely) to encounter a situation in the wild where a crossover cable would be required, although the likelihood goes up at locations where the kit installed is from the earlier generations of kit (If my research on the matter is correct, Auto MDI-X was developed as part of a series of proposals for 100Base-T, AKA 802.11ab, so would have been less prevalent in 10/100 networking kit). Some manufacturers did incorporate Auto MDI-X into their 10/100 devices, but this was never mandatory (and remains optional).

[@InservioLetum]

We should mount a net above your head. While that's being built, the reason you saw the cable being panned over was that this was by design. That was precisely the joke.

[@ChatookaMusic]

@@InservioLetum lmao thanks for explaining, I totally wasn't just commenting on the sass he was employing, I'm glad there are smart people like you to keep idiots like me in line with *woosh* nets 😒

[@ChunkyMonkaayyy]

10 years installing carrier level telco equipment. There’s equipment that literally says “RJ45” or “Ethernet” on the copper ports so even the vendors realize it’s ok to use common terms to make things easy. I find the people who are super picky are either specialized, or have too much free time and just want to sound smart because they read something once.

[@redrocketgame]

yeah it's wack, one of my teachers who was working at a telcom technician when they were first installing networking lines in Canada calls them ethernet and rj45. no need to get super nitpicky about calling it by the cable's grade instead of what it's used for

[@glytchd]

TRUE! I was about to chime in too! I used to be a NETWORK ENGINEER in the 2000s before Virtualization kicked my ass ;) - "you cant call Cat-Ve Ethernet" is just Bogus and really SHOULD be ignored. Anyone worth their salt, will draw the distinctions When Needed! It's Perfectly FINE to use 'short hand'; Unless you're discussing something which specifically entails differences between the Categories (ex 1000base-T 'gigabit' ethernet Requires Cat-6 etc)

[@BlackmageAlexi]

@@glytchd Ok I don't know anything about networking but why would you need to specify CAT-5 or CAT-6? To me that seems like a plumber saying "you shouldn't say "tube" you should say ½-inch pipe!"

[@CodeKujo]

​@@BlackmageAlexi CAT-5 and CAT-6 differ in their ability to carry data; CAT-6 can do higher "bandwidth"--more data per second. They all have the same plug/socket, though, so if you care about how fast it goes, then it's entirely appropriate to say "at least CAT-6". In your pipe example, a manual for a lawn sprinkler pump will specify something like "threaded 1.5in schedule 40 PVC". "threaded 1.5in PVC" is roughly like saying "RJ45", and "schedule 40" is like saying Cat6. It's not perfect, but we'll go with "PVC"="ethernet" in this analogy. There are ways to do ethernet that aren't RJ45, just like not all PVC will mate with a threaded 1.5in hole. Not all networking is ethernet and not all piping is PVC.

[@dustojnikhummer]

@@CodeKujo Cat5e can do 1Gbit just fine, but I think there is a distance limit

[@Rudofaux]

YOU FOOL! That isn't a Cat5 cable, it is a Cat5E cable.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

What?! Who do I complain to?!?!

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

YOU DOUBLE FOOL! CAT 6 DOES GIGABIT! ;)

[@amshermansen]

I mean - So does 5e.

[@Keex11]

@@ballsrgrossnuglyPffff, CAT III lands aircraft automatically.

[@SianaGearz]

@@ballsrgrossnugly 100BASE-TX, the predominant 100Mbit standard, and 1000BASE-T, the predominant Gigabit standard, both share CAT5 cable specification, though CAT5E supersedes it and is preferred. They can do this because 100BASE-TX doesn't even use half the wires in the cable, plus its transmission method is simpler and less efficient, plus it barely uses half the bandwidth of those wires that it does use - essentially CAT5 was overengineered for 100BASE-TX. CAT6 is a 10Gbit standard.

[@rickperez8044]

When I built my house, I had it wired with "Cat 6". Friends asked, "Dude haven't you heard of wi-fi?" My answer: yes, that's why I'm installing cable.

[@joebonsaipoland]

Rick Perez smart man. They put cable lines to all the rooms in my house, for what, I never watch tv.

[@fsmoura]

I did exactly that too, but before answering I took one giant spit at the ground just to emphasize my disgust.

[@RyanMorey1]

I love daydreaming about the amazing networking installation I'll one day have in the house I'll never be able to afford

[@rickperez8044]

@@RyanMorey1 Don't sweat it, my dreamhouse belongs to my ex now. It was a short-lived dream.

[@Sinjinator]

Well I ran coax AND cat5 cables throughout my house; called it "the pipeline". But that was almost 30 years ago! Now I don't even have to use them anymore.

[@Bloodray19]

I just found this channel yesterday. Watched a couple of videos. These carry a very very interesting overall aura, the host guy is loveable and dedicated, the quality is superb. I just wanted to thank you for producing these kind of videos

[@DougSalad]

Yeah, Alec kicks ass and we love him.

[@arivandiver7580]

I really do like these videos. It's him talking about something he's either passionate or at least interested in, in a way that is informational for a viewer who's never watched his videos before, AND in a way that really scratches that 'tism itch the way other informational channels don't

[@AdmiralQuality]

Yeah he's good. I'm definitely addicted.

[@dunar1005]

his videos feel like a wholesome 90 tv show talking about future technology

[@rikkir6229]

I've worked in Optical Fiber production for a very large, very well known glass company for going on 5 years, and still learned some very understandable points concerning dispersion and distortion. Points that were explained to me, but never as well as you've explained here. Great video!

[@pinheadlarry1019]

Wouldn't happen to work for Corning would you? Because if so I do too

[@jessihawkins9116]

what company? Is it Corning? Just say so 😩

[@eviltux65]

Unwatchable

[@jessihawkins9116]

it was Corning wasn’t it

[@SgtAbramovich]

"I know! I'm going to make a new standard!" Said 30 different technicians around the globe, roughly at the same time.

[@Jimorian]

As usual, there's an XKCD for that: xkcd.com/927/

[@BillAnt]

One can have the greatest tech idea, in the real world it all comes down to ease of usability, and most importantly COST. Sure, fiber is fast and wonderful, but special connectors are required along with relatively expensive light transceivers, oh and it lacks power delivery. That's not to say that fiber is bad, in fact it's great for long (hundreds of miles) of data delivery, just not so much in the consumer market.

[@BillAnt]

@cloridan Beauchamps < I hear ya, and I'm sure it would work great in a lab, but in the real world usb 3.0 is much more durable with its cheap copper including power, and it's plenty fast. Sometimes the best solutions lose out due to being "too good" or tech-politics. ;)

[@Gshadin]

you could make a religion out of this

[@BillAnt]

@@Gshadin < I subscribe to the USB Religion. lol

[@Wertercat]

You forgot the most important part of switching to USB3: MAKING THE PORT BLUE

[@williamreid6255]

wertercatt YASS

[@EdwardMillen]

Or green, if you're Razer 🤷‍♂️

[@ronnycook3569]

It's because blue is faster, like Blu-Ray. It used to be that we thought black electronics, like red cars, were faster. Those were simpler days.

[@mrbisshie]

What color will USB 4.0 ports be?!

[@353Tensa353]

@@mrbisshie rainbow cause all your data is at the end of it already

[@laurencenoble3629]

I work in live events / theatre and have to say that having one type of cable for everything would be a nightmare. Especially with reversible ends. There's definitely something to be said for knowing exactly what a cable is for just by looking at it

[@firereverie]

I don't know, some times it's lots of fun to have a stage hand jam a powercon cord into a speakon jack and hook a passive driver into mains current.

[@namibjDerEchte]

Use different colored connectors?

[@thunder____]

@@namibjDerEchte Color-coded connectors would work in situations where everyone working on setup and teardown is trained in and familiar with the color-coding system. That is to say it is not practical in many real-world situations, where a traveling act hires help from the local union, help that won't be familiar with the particulars of your system so you need to make everything as simple as possible. If a piece of equipment only has XLR connectors, there's no risk of an untrained stage hand connecting a power amp output to it and blowing it up, for example.

[@__Andrew_]

ABSOLUTELY !!

[@FLECOM]

what? they already do? lighting? ArtNET is ethernet? pretty much required for the huge DMX universes that are being used for things like LED walls... audio? AVB/Dante/MADI/AES50 (take your pick) all ethernet? actually pretty neat, ethernet stage boxes, ethernet mixer, ethernet to the amps, only thing still analog is from amps to speakers

[@noiseismylife]

The content on this channel is absolutely exceptional. I can't get over how well presented and written all episodes are. My wife, who normally shies away from engaging in my incessant tech related banter, really enjoyed it. That's saying something about the quality of the writing. Amazing

[@ergosteur]

"To put it simply.... It's complicated." I nearly spit out my coffee lol.

[@wlan246]

Short answer, no. Long answer: noooooooooooooooooo.

[@iwinrar5207]

The case often lol

[@OneEightZero180]

This should be the motto of this channel :D

[@TravisTev]

Man, I didn't even notice that pun.

[@nthgth]

🤣🤣 I love this channel

[@soupsandwch]

“Just by calling a specific number and having your computer screech at another one...” I like this description of dial-up

[@imark7777777]

@@fsmoura or are they meeting?

[@joeconti2396]

I mean really that's what it was. It was one computer yelling at another until the other yelled back. Then they both got along in the end and boom. Internet.

[@GashimahironChl]

One computer yelling, and another one patiently waiting for it's turn to yell, specifically, and then the pc who yelled would also patiently listen until the other one finished. This is why when the machines finally take over the planet, and potentially put out brains in jars, i'll be a satisfied brain-in-a-jar!

[@Kapin05]

The acting at 2:56 is just brilliant, half-expected a third interruption myself lmao

[@shawn576]

With respect to the ground loop thing at the beginning, we get around that in automation systems by only grounding the panel side. Cat5 going to the panel has a grounded metal rj45, but cat5 to the device side has an ungrounded plastic rj45. When dealing with systems that use a lot of power (100A at 480V), there's no practical or cost effective way to remove ground imbalances

[@andrewchapman2039]

Practical and common use of fiber optic in the consumer market you've glossed over entirely. Those real neat lamps.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Have you seen the ones that slowly color shift? Wow! The future is cool.

[@Mrch33ky]

oh hell yes!

[@TheGrinningViking]

Fiber optic winter holiday trees as well. Everyone loves generic winter holiday 👍🏼

[@DaimyoD0]

Look up "space whip" if you wanna see a bunch of hippies turn playing with fiber optic toys into an artform lol. It is considered a novelty in the "flow arts" community but it is still widely considered to "look pretty sick."

[@joshmiller5422]

Some manufacturers used to use it for interior illumination in cars.

[@andreib302]

The fact that there is a Part 2 shows why i love this channel

[@obsidian9998]

Agreed.

[@invalid2985]

he actually cares enough to go back and wrap up some things that he forgot in the main video, which most people wouldn't care enough to go back, but he does!

[@BradleyBishop]

If you think about where he was a few short years ago, he's really coming into his stride. The videos are better, funnier, and more entertaining. He reminds me, and I think he'll get this, of the old, "The Secret Life of Machines" series. (www.secretlifeofmachines.com/) - if you haven't seen that series, go watch it. Either way, great videos!

[@jameswyatt1304]

Well, they're *part* of why I love this channel...

[@StarkRG]

Just wait 'til part 3

[@icanrunat3200mhz]

Backwards compatibility with your "UniLINK™" connector could be achieved in the same fashion as the micro-USB 3 connector. Simply build extra connections for the next-gen around the original ones, still ensuring that the older style could plug in to a smaller portion of the larger next-gen jack and still operate seamlessly at the lower bandwidth.

[@I4get42]

Hello :-) I teach networking, and this is the best description of multimode vs single mode fiber that I've seen.

[@nthgth]

I deal with single and multimode fiber at work (telecom) and, aside from knowing they're incompatible and you need to use the right one, never really knew why until this video.

[@jimnms]

Power Over Optical Fiber, or POOF. It sounds magical.

[@KevinLyda]

I'm imagining teeny-tiny solar panels.

[@KriLL325783]

Actually it's using micro solar sails arranged in a circle around an axle, making it spin and generate power in copper coils. What do you mean that's a water wheel?

[@encycl07pedia-]

Power over optical pipes... Sounds like shit.

[@nacoran]

Glassy polymers? There are transparent materials that are also electrical conductors, but they tend to be brittle, but they are working on that problem. newatlas.com/transparent-conductive-polymer/53983/

[@filminginportland1654]

MeanJim lol Would be amazing if physics worked that way, but alas it doesn’t.

[@baganatube]

I think a USB rant video would be quite enjoyable to watch.

[@grizzly6699]

Hear hear

[@sogero2]

DO EEET!

[@juri14111996]

its called display link and its only usable for office applications, watching video dosn't work.

[@mattiviljanen8109]

Ah, the USB rebranding. I just use USB 2, USB ⌊3⌋ and USB-C in speech.

[@juri14111996]

@@mattiviljanen8109 usb 2 and are standarts, C is just a Connector. some usb c just carry 5V at max 500ma, no data, other usb carry 100w (20v@5A) and 40gb/s of data.

[@BryceSchroeder]

"Single mode fiber is very finicky to deal with" --- You're giving me flashbacks to my PhD thesis work :|

[@MrJef06]

Finicky, yet as far as I know most FTTH installations use them here in France (patch cables with SC/UPC or SC/APC connectors). Not sure if things are different elsewhere.

[@coreyoilar6260]

Props to you my man, you make very informative videos. I've been an a/v engineer all my life and I learn something new each time I watch one of your videos! :)

[@MrRadar]

You should do a video on the history of Ethernet, from its origins as the networking protocol for the Xerox Alto, to an IEEE standard, the various cables it used, Attachment Unit Interfaces, "vampire taps", hubs vs switches, etc. It's a whole fascinating world of obsolete technology.

[@ragingbombast]

I miss vamp taps. I mean, they were horrible and I'd rather kill myself than actually set up a network with it now, but they're neat.

[@deefdragon]

and it would cover the cat 5/6/7/8 (8 technically exist) cables and how those are all then part of the Ethernet family. It could also covor RJ45 vs 8p8c etc.

[@mattiviljanen8109]

I so look forward to token ring explanation drawing with collisions and every party shouting and it's a mess and that's why want to see it!

[@deadsi]

Maybe the ppl that made the brave little toaster should make a sequel about it instead

[@NathanaelDuke]

I would watch this with my eyes glued to the screen, lol. I love old network standards, especially how physical issues like end of cable reflection had to be solved with terminators and stuff like that. ^_^

[@andykillsu]

Oh boy I sure do like my USB C 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports! What a great name!

[@rGunti]

andykillsu USB 4 all the way!

[@Roxor128]

Let's hope USB4 is better at naming things!

[@jacoblabach4970]

@@Roxor128 you mean USB 4.0 Gen 3 as opposed to USB 4.0 Gen 1, USB 4.0 Gen 2 and USB 4.0 Gen 2x2

[@BRUXXUS]

I *only* use USC and USD. USB is for savages.

[@ApemanMonkey]

@@Roxor128 the first release will not get it right, but the making convention will finally be rectified in USB 4.1-C 2x2 HiSpeed: The Reckoning.

[@electronicjack729]

19:42 very brave to tell your audience "you're not normal". Love it!

[@punditgi]

This is perhaps my favorite techie channel. Brilliant, informative, and highly entertaining! 🤩

[@KurosakiYukigo]

*THE HI-FI GODS JUDGE THEE FROM THEIR VINYL THRONE*

[@MysteryMii]

*AND THEIR 96K/24-BIT CUSHION*

[@CaveyMoth]

@@MysteryMii Um, excuse me. My Schiit can render 32bit 192khz.

[@Fearnil]

@@CaveyMoth BLASPHEMY!

[@emini6]

The human ears cannot listen no more than 20FPS (20 KHz)

[@CaveyMoth]

@@Fearnil But I usually run my setup at 24bit/44.1khz, because that's what the music I listen to is encoded in. Gotta keep everything bit perfect.

[@Zhixalom]

"To put it simply: it's complicated!" - It should be a bumper sticker, on a coffee mug or a T-shirt or something... Seriously, I would buy that T-shirt.

[@sixstringedthing]

Pretty sure every engineer in the world would want that shirt. :)

[@donadams5503]

I'm an engineer, I want the coffee mug asap.

[@IanPattisonOakville]

I like to say, "It's not hard. It's extremely complicated, but it's not hard."

[@JeremiahFernandez]

when anyone asks anything about your job

[@seriouscat2231]

@@IanPattisonOakville, thanks. I have caught myself a few times now saying the exact opposite about theological and metaphysical concepts. "It's hard. It's not that complicated. But it's hard."

[@JasonWatsonDr]

It's awesome to have interesting detail delivered in such a witty way. You're doing a great job. (Must take a lot of time to produce these at such high quality).

[@John-McAfee]

Quality content Alec, I really appreciate how much you pay close attention to detail.

[@YOUTY209]

As an enthusiast, I am very offended that not all tech is developed specifically for me.

[@vitalsignscritical]

Yeah if it was developed for the enthusiasts it would be the best it could be.

[@YOUTY209]

I do, on other platforms my name is Kitten Jesus.

[@worstuserever]

As an enthusiast, I'm not offended that tech isn't developed specifically for me. I am offended that it isn't all developed specifically *by* me.

[@Sinjinator]

Damn casual consumer majority... *grumble grumble splice splice*

[@lobsterbark]

@@vitalsignscritical It would also be needlessly expensive and probably have strange quirks.

[@Andrew-ep4kw]

"stupid physics making everything more difficult" - the lament of every designer, engineer and architect :-)

[@1FatLittleMonkey]

And physicist.

[@billysgeo]

Designer and architect yeah... the engineer is the one that has to bring the bad news to them!

[@broklond]

and chemists

[@nuwang2381]

And highschool students

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

@@billysgeo Basically the emotional Vs. the logical.

[@ItsIntelligentDesign]

6:40 I was half expecting him to put Multi-modal Reflection Sorting on that list as a joke

[@MattSeremet]

Such a good one. IDK how many times I've retwatched this. The theatrics throughout and the snark at the end, magnifique!

[@duane8620]

"Wait, it's called *Power over Ethernet* ? Interesting." Haha, love this channel!!

[@DigitalBenny]

It was such a passive aggressive jab 😏😂

[@waqasahmed939]

I thought it was quite funny too. I guess, he didn't however mention that the 802.3bt standard can in theory allow us to send 95W of power through a single cable, but the network switches that do that atm, are insanely expensive and it also requires you to have 802.3bt capable devices on the other end It'd be interesting given that in theory, you could have a network switch and then convert to USB C for the last few devices, and do away with physical plugs for every laptop, TV, monitor etc... Though you would probably need more wall ports / switch ports. But, hey it's definitely a far neater and safer way to power up stuff without overloading your mains sockets

[@daveb5041]

*I like to piss off audiophools by replacing my fiberoptic with rusty coat hangers soldered together (using plumbers flux and a blow torch) to hook up the digital out and marvel at the sound quality* shh its the same

[@BillAnt]

LOL... you could also use one inch copper water pipes to carry the sound acoustically. xD

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@BillAnt That would reduce your edge effect in the conductors...

[@BillAnt]

@MonkeyJedi99 < The pun is on the "pipe", actually carrying the sound acoustically instead of the signal. ;)

[@FroggyMosh]

@@BillAnt When mounting the equipment be sure to account for duty cycles though. Account for pressure and contortion through heating and cooling. If supported inadequately and mounted too rigidly, built up torsion in the pipes'll rip the screws right out of your walls one day. Oh, I might be thinking of my bedroom radiator. But the same rules may well apply in the realms of audio too.

[@flowinsounds]

i'm just imagining the look of an audiophile setup with proper audio pipes made of braised copper. It has to be done.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

I greatly appreciate my toslink. Especially since my equipment is of various generations.

[@llmwall7]

I like your sense of humor. Plus there's an absolutely incredible amount of information in these videos. Thanks for your effort. I’d probably watch you talk about almost anything.

[@sonycans]

At my parent's home in Malaysia, I used a fibre optic link between the houses. The reason is that there are strong electrical storms and between the home office and the house a lightning can strike the ground or a nearby tree, the currect enters the cable and damages the equipment at both locations. The fibre optical cable acts as an opto-isolator against lightning strikes.

[@vchip77]

My dad was one of the engineers for Corning’s Thunderbolt project and it failed exactly why you said: no consumer needed that much bandwidth and therefore wouldn’t pay the exorbitant price for a Corning branded product. I’ve been to the plant where the manufacturing equipment for those cables sits collecting dust, just waiting for the consumer to adopt fiber optic cable

[@ashishpatel350]

Who knows maybe with external ssds people may want more bandwidth.

[@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc]

Wow! Thanks for the inside scoop on that, Daniel. That's a shame it didn't work out for them - Corning certainly makes some amazing glass.

[@mor4y]

Ya'know that external SSD idea is a interesting one.... if the M2 or whatever they're called versions were used, not sata ones. I wonder if a PCI-e to corning's thunderbolt bridge could be made 🤔

[@maiklorenz9348]

@@mor4y i see no reason why not, espacally as you need "only" PCI-e 1x and not the extremly bulky exorbitant bandwith x16 used for graphics cards to run m2, which as you already implizitly said is just plain PCI-e, which in fact is just PCI, but faster. So the encoding is not that hard, and the bandwith is so exorbitant, just becouse of high clock speed as this Standard is only used for ver, short distances, like only on Motherboards,which are usually not bigger that ATX standard. But you would need power to run your SSD, so at least you need 5v 500ma or Something,no problem for Thunderbold, but for optic fibre only ot could be, althought if this cable supports thunderbold Standard, it will already has a copper wire to provide the power needed, so you can use this to power a little decoder encoder device at each end of your cable, to translate between the thunderbold bus protocol and the PCI-e bus protocol, wich should be done easy by a litte Microcontroller. But you ran into another problem here, you have many physical wires in PCI-e for doing stuff like check if a divice is even plugged in into the port, as well as many tx and dx channels, you all need to translate to some sort of code, you send over your faster fibre thunderbold to get this read correct on the other end. But its nothing unsolvable, and in fact that would give you the opportunity to put an m2 ultra fast SSD outside of a pc or Laptop, or even 100m away. And as soon as any manufacturer supports it directly this coul just be used like usb3 is for HDD and "non nvme/non m2" SSD today. With Thunderbold or usb-c, becouse it is in fact the same protocol, just different jacks and speeds. So that means, as soon as someone develop a port for this you could use super ultra unbelivable fast SSDs, just by plug and play as if your using a usb Stick. And will likely couse Manufakturers to just take this adapter, put in an m2 SSD and sell it as super fast pen drive. Amazing, i hope someone builds this, this would mean you could move data so freaking fast and easy and cheap, couse you will not need any wires... Just the plain adapter and ram it into your pc, and there you go. This also would make it possible to have your SSDs mounted into a pc as HDDs are and gets rid of the need to screw this things directly on the Mainboard, wich in fact limits it to 2 or 3 per Mainboard, compared to about 5 HDD you could place in an average pc case so you by then are just Limited by the cpu itself, which is getting faster and faster each Generation, and having more Channels supporting such high bandwith connectors. To sum it up, i think Yes. Possible.

[@Anvilshock]

Since when has "no consumer needed" and "exorbitant price" ever been a reason for an Apple-device customer?

[@ayanotanabe5220]

I love your mini skits lol. And as always your ending music is very pleasing which is a graceful retro finale vibe to put the final touch to your consistent dry humor lol.

[@europria]

Awesome video, I really appreciate the time you put into preparing and how you present it understandable and interesting. 👏

[@PedanticNo1]

The production quality, humor, and general structure opf your videos continues to improve. Rock on.

[@aaron74]

Improve? That suggests he was at one time bad. I just think he keeps going from awesome to "awesomer" with each new release.

[@amicloud_yt]

@@aaron74 I think maybe a better term would be "develop". It feels like he is having more fun with it as time goes on and I think it's great. It's like more of his personality is shining through if that makes sense?

[@hokkypro]

Agreed, love his videos they just become better and better!

[@hudde814]

@Joe Kinchicken "Everyone loves fat guy technodweeb" I'll have you know that they do in fact lo- "The only reason I'm a subscriber" Not gonna lie, you had us in the first half.

[@PedanticNo1]

@Joe Kinchicken as a gay guy, I didn't realize that he is gay. I just assumed he is a bit more effeminate. Now I like this channel even more! In-group bias FTW.

[@ScorpioHighlander]

"To put it simply, it's complicated." My new favourite answer to any question I can't or can't be bothered to answer. XD

[@BillAnt]

That's what I say about my ex too. xD

[@jettguymer2125]

Love the sarcasm in your earlier videos. You are correctly capturing how the haters on forums sound in my head. Stop changing for the haters.

[@pokemonmtg2468]

These videos make my day. I love your sense of humor so much.

[@kmemz]

When talking about modal dispersion, and TIR, you missed two points. One, is that if there are any bends in the cable, TIR applies anyway; that's the only reason that you can get light on the other end, even if your cable is coiled several times over. The other, is that almost all modal dispersion is almost completely remedied by using lasers in place of LEDs, alongside using higher quality fiber strands with less imperfections. As well as using single mode fiber cabling in multi-mode systems.You did mention that lasers make fiber faster, but you didn't provide the why, even though you explained the how beforehand. Another thing to consider, is that fiber doesn't handle kinking very well. You can staple a CAT5e cable to a wall, and crush it into a kink, or bend it 180° to where unbending gives it a permanent bulge, and it will still have a chance of functioning, even if not ideal. But Fiber will break instantly, immediately, and almost irreparably the moment it gets in any of these tough situations, unless the sleeving is reinforced. And sleeve reinforcements only help with some of the problems. It's probably impossible to fully cover every aspect properly, without making a heavily edited three hour document with multiple takes for each section.

[@TechnologyConnections]

Thank you for this extra info, and *especially* thank you for the last sentence.

[@johnnylavoie]

The modal dispersion example he provide is only a simplification. It's a complicated subject. You shouldn't crush with a staple or kink your cat cables... same as for hdmi. There is a minimum 1inch bend radius on your Cat5e that you should use. And use insulated staples. Fiber optics is less fragile than you think, and will be able to take a lot of beating, if you select the proper fiber for the job and are not at the limits for the usable length. If you expect physical abuse, you should get armored cables, be it fibers, CAT or power.

[@kmemz]

@@johnnylavoie I work with the stuff, I know how sturdy the stuff is, I spent two years learning about it along with pretty much every other aspect about hardware, software and security. What you said was valid, but I'm just trying to provide extreme examples where copper can, just barely, prevail. I've had coworkers use fiber cabling like whips as a joke without damaging them, and I've had coworkers look at them wrong and break them. But while abusing copper in the same ways is a bane to copper cables as well, they are far more resilient to complete signal loss when thrown in the same situations. Not to mention that terminating the end of a copper CAT5e cable with an RJ45 8P8C is much easier than working with .55/.65μm multi-, and especially .45μm single-mode fiber, and requires zero toxic adhesives regardless of the type of end you use on it. Jeez, this is the most active comment I've had in a while.

[@smokeduv]

Curiously though, CAT5 cables have been made more and more complicated and more delicate because of interference and many other things

[@blackhatfreak]

@@kmemz nerd

[@LMacNeill]

Those beginning "silly" parts were actually hilarious! And what will they call power over optical fiber? POOF? As in POOF, it's magic? 😂

[@SreenikethanI]

hehehe "POOF" is a nice name

[@ian_b]

Its a nice name but unfortunately at least in the UK, "poof" is a (these days, somewhat old fashioned) term of abuse for gay people so probably not.

[@sageosaka]

+1 for POOF

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

@@ian_b Yeah but if you wanna go even more old fashioned, it's the name of the little foot stool in front of your couch when you watch top of the pops on sundey guvna!

[@dan_loup]

The high power laser ones could be called JBC (James Bond Cutter).

[@Left-handed-liberal]

OMG now i have to go back and watch ALL the ends of ALL vids with the captions on. Wow. Thanks man.

[@LangstoniusRex]

I really love how you addressed the pedantic feedback. Hats off

[@ianowens1905]

“Because, ya know, plus 5 agility” Leave me alone, it looks cool! 😭😭😭

[@yuusegawa]

... well, I use mine to type in the dark

[@dominiccasts]

@@yuusegawa I use mine to distinguish which layer is currently active

[@Bacteriophagebs]

The RGB fad has annoyed me because it made it harder to find inexpensive, _single-color,_ lit keyboards. All the cheap keyboards are just static RGB, now. Sure, the good ones have single-color options, but I don't want to pay for the option to make my keyboard act like a cheaper one. I just want my keys lit up with a nice, dim red that won't distract me but is visible even in pitch-blackness, dammit!

[@yuusegawa]

@@Bacteriophagebs www.newegg.com/tecware-phantom-outemu-brown-black/p/32N-006N-00005?Item=9SIASA0CXY3350 This is the one I got, and it does exactly that at quite a good price

[@matthewmiller6068]

IT person...we call it "ethernet cable" or "network cable" too. It's easier than getting into the debate of hand me the cat5/cat5e/cat6/whatever cable.

[@MrIzzy5466]

My brother: "I don't care what it's called, hand me the Goddamn cable."

[@matthewmiller6068]

@@MrIzzy5466 I feel like we also just say "thing" or "whatyacallit" a lot too. Which is fine, we all know what we mean.

[@morgfarm1]

I'm guilty of calling it an RJ45 connector at the end of my Network cable. Network Cable is just more generalized. Cat5e is still common. Cat 6 is common. Cat 7 is meh, Cat 8, Supposedly, is basically next last I looked, but that was last year, so what do I know? It has the right number of pins and the right number of wires, how many twists does it have in the pairs is the largest and most notable difference in the Cat specs the last time I checked.

[@encycl07pedia-]

CompSci major: I call them noodles.

[@BlakeJay]

If you say hand "me the Ethernet cable", I'm handing you the closest Ethernet cable ASAP. If you say "hand me the Cat5e cable" I'm going to be squinting at the sheath to find the class before handing it off.

[@Chris_at_Home]

Great class. I worked in fiber communications starting with multi mode in 1994 at a copper mine in Indonesia. I worked fiber and microwave along the Alaska Pipeline for 15 years. I wired my new home a few years ago and I looked at consumer grade FOC and ended up running 3;runs of HDMI from the devices and to a central point.

[@StopChangingUsernamesYouTube]

8:38 This phrase perfectly sums up why I love this channel.

[@atkinsondp]

Every tech developers meeting starts the same way. 1: assume consumers are morons 2: what's for lunch

[@Zellonous]

Most of them are.

[@leverloos]

99.9% of them are though.

[@kargaroc386]

@Luke Bilston What about those ominous ellipses huh?

[@sammiches2555]

Most consumers are dumb. That's why they need everything so simple.

[@stevesedio1656]

Actually, we assume consumers are brilliant. How else can they come up with such innovative ways to break things...

[@lexscarlet]

"delivering... 'must watch' television programming..." You can almost HEAR the air quotes.

[@lideadhead]

I really enjoy your videos. Educational with a dynamic flair.

[@qaldiga]

Even for cases where isolation is critical, there are pretty good ways of doing it with copper, including the use of balanced cables in the audio world.

[@gasdive]

There's only one solution to ground loop and clock jitter. Sheet music!

[@CaveyMoth]

People always call my music sheet.

[@jk9554]

are you insane? With the "human element" playing it, the "clock jitter" is the worst! (OK, some call it "groove", but what do I know? :p)

[@dragonfireproductions790]

It does bring benefits to get BACH to basic :) works like a canon in the old age. It's really nice to note

[@Sypaka]

Or make music using the ground loop and clock jitter noises and call it "Glitch". Waaaait a sec...

[@user-zq6pj5jo8j]

@@Sypaka That's a new kind of Electronica Techno music...heheh

[@ceebee]

"Why not create some kind of composite cable? .... no, not that kind" Genuinely made me chuckle.

[@emerson-biggons7078]

I've literally watched this video 3 times. I love this channel

[@pinheadlarry1019]

I actually work for Corning and get to make those fiberoptic cables, and you did a pretty good job explaining it

[@David-vw5hf]

Tell Corning to stop putting 10 foot fiber patch cables on DAMN REELS. THEY DONT NEED AN ENTIRE REEL.

[@wrong2h8]

I laughed too hard at this... "Having one computer screech at another one and you're connected to the internet." I died...

[@Bacteriophagebs]

Then we started listening to the screeches ourselves and called it "dubstep."

[@msherretz]

Wifi is also literally multiple computers screeching at each other in RF, and waiting for any two of them to understand what they're saying.

[@scythal]

@@msherretz So you're saying Wifi is just the very same screeching but inaudible to us humans?

[@msherretz]

@@scythal exactly!

[@scythal]

@@msherretz And I believe fiber-optic internet is the same screeching but in the form of light (also a certain wavelength) too!

[@HungryGuyStories]

Well, if TOS Link is okay, we should move up to TNG Link or even DS9 Link.

[@Phobos_Anomaly]

It even comes with built in LCARS for any video applications!

[@Ruiluth]

No, that path leads to VOY Link, ENT Link, and DSC Link. Probably better to leave well enough alone.

[@usseal922]

Well, KelvinLink sure has a great optical bandwidth with all the lens flares

[@leopold7562]

@@Ruiluth At least VOY link allows us to go much further than we ever thought possible, I guess.

[@brianmiller1077]

DS9 Link took a while to get going, but it's great by version 3 or 4.

[@Mindseas]

I'm a little slow in catching up on all these great videos of yours, but this one was just hilariously fantastic!

[@Codingale]

I like how you mentioned the Fiber USB cable and I remember seeing a video recently about that exact cable's successor that he used just recently that was otherwise secret. I can't recall what video it was but they're still going and improving fiber cables. Maybe one day it'll be more commonplace after all.

[@richardjohnson8197]

I love this channel, he has a way of explaining technical information for the masses that doesn't have the "dumbing down" feel. Educational & enjoyable.

[@BrendarthGaming]

I think it's usually because if he can't explain it well he admits it hurts his brain and doesn't even really try to explain in depth.

[@rpocc]

You’re seem to be god damn right about it: a perfect balance between geekiness and understandability of the material to anybody with a basic mid school education.

[@rpocc]

@@BrendarthGaming Actually highlighting essential principles from technical specifications, patent and articles, and rephrasing that in a simple manner is a true art. This guy could write books based just on his scenarios

[@user-dj1hy6zc6q]

That Power over Ethernet (POE) revelation at the end was good. I am glad that I watched it all of the way to the end. You are entertaining.

[@feha92]

I suspect it is called PoE because CAT cables are built to support the standard just as they are built to support the ethernet standard. Seems simpler for people to use that than "power over cat Xy" where the numbers change depending on each cable, and a good analog is how there are many car models, but the transit is called "moving by car", and if you send power(banks) its called "shipping by car" rather than "shipping by volvo5". Or in other words: its called that way because while not totally logical or accurate, it is simply the way humans thinks of stuff when they label them. Because we are cute creatures like that.

[@alphaxion]

@@feha92 PoE exists in layer 2 and uses the L2 protocol Ethernet to negotiate with the switch and tell it what class of device it is and what sort of power it requires with the help of additional protocols such as CDP, if you're using Cisco kit. The cable is just the layer 1 component.

[@alvallac2171]

@@feha92 *power (banks) *it's called (contraction of "it is/has") it's = possessive pronoun *humans think

[@feha92]

@@alvallac2171 All store entries has it written as powerbank, as a new conjoined word to describe the object, rather than two separate nouns. Do you really expect me to use "'" for its, dont, etc. in a youtube comment (although I might do it for you're)? Yeah, 'think' shouldnt have an s there, you are correct.

[@Carewolf]

@@feha92 CAT cables?? The cables are TP, cat is short for category, that is a specification of how mucht that specific TP cable can carry.

[@PipeDreamerJacques]

This is your best video yet. Loved all the humor.

[@chriswithall2518]

Another GREAT webcast: great simple ground loop explanation. I'm stealling UniLink :) love the scarcasm as well.

[@c.a.7844]

I accidentally left closed captions on and I'm so glad I did; "Unexpectedly smooth jazz" - lol.

[@bizzzzzzle]

C. A. Not unexpected if you watch this channel lol

[@ki5aok]

@@bizzzzzzle Apparently it was unexpected for KZbin.

[@thundercamel]

Incomprehensibly smooth jazz

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

I really love your background. Each square/cube is its own visual, aesthetic, and geeky world, all joined beautifully together by a neutral black grid.

[@JonnyD3ath]

He did a video on it before, go have a watch!

[@JonnyD3ath]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp3Fc2doerp8i7c

[@mattandsarahaschan]

Ive been a subscriber for years, and have probably seen this video a few times over those years. But now, Im in school, getting my Computer Networking degree, so the bits about angering the IT gods with the specific names of which CAT they are gave me a chuckle that i dont think i got before.

[@mrbfros454]

I think I learned a lot but this video assumes I know way more about cables then I do. Great video and very well done. It challenges me to ask more questions and understand my digital world far better then I do!

[@nnelg8139]

"I was mad at 1+ for ditching [the headphone jack], but today I rarely miss it." I hear you say through my wired headphone.

[@Ck87JF]

I heard him say it on my OnePlus 6t over my Bluetooth headphones, though I could have plugged the headphones' wire into the USB C adapter and then heard it via a wired connection.

[@Andreeexp]

And I'm using my older phone because I lost my 3.5mm jack adapter few days ago D:

[@Roxor128]

The only wireless headphones I use are an RF set around the house, so I can keep listening when I get up from the computer (though they are the better part of 20 years old by now and are rather slow to start up, probably due to old capacitors). For going out, wired all the way. Insurance against them falling out and getting lost.

[@Ck87JF]

@@Andreeexp I've been having weird issues with my 6t receiving calls. I went back to my OnePlus 3t and realized it was trying to take my calls. Tried to fix it and broke the 3t by deleting something I shouldn't have. Whoops. :P

[@Ck87JF]

@@Roxor128 Bluetooth range has gotten insane, especially with higher quality stuff. I leave my phone in my bedroom and take laundry downstairs, go to the kitchen, check the mail at the front door, even go to the car to get something from it. Sometimes audio skips a beat, especially toward the car as it goes to the extremes of its range, but it's pretty great. As to the getting lost comment, I'm not a fan of the "truly wireless" earbuds with absolutely no connection to anything, except friction-hold against your ears. I'm the weirdo with the giant Sennhaiser cans on my head.

[@Cruznick06]

My god this is one of my favorite episodes just from your "YoU'vE AnGeReD tHe ____ GoDs" bits. Thank you. Your videos are so informative also entertaining.

[@gltovar]

yeah, instant thumbs up click from me

[@AndreasTriller]

Wow. I came across your channel as a (non native english-speaking) slightly nerdy guy wanting to be entertained and learn a thing or two. Perfect match. You talk fast and have a huge information density, but it's always still entertaining at the same time. You my friend, create pieces of art.

[@mattcollins4550]

As an audio engineer, I can say this was excellent! Great video.

[@Hashtag_Laser]

“Just by calling a specific phone number and having your computer screech at another one, you’re online!” -. - he knows...•. •’

[@ulischmidt03]

I am pretty sure that is just the internet today

[@ZaHandle]

And that’s how 56k was born

[@HyperVectra]

@@ZaHandle 9600 baud

[@LifeWithMatthew]

5:52 - "Well not so fast (pauses to laugh at his own joke)" I seriously love your presentation style!

[@Herfinnur]

The internet has hardened me greatly, but this genuinely kept me chuckling and smiling the whole way through

[@skyclaw]

There’s also the physical portion of the MIDI standard. Since a MIDI connection is asymmetric, you can just put an opto-isolator at one end (iirc the receiving end) and use copper for the actual connection. Galvanic isolation without the need for expensive optical fibre.

[@WalnutSpice]

You know how to really piss of audiophiles? "Why Type 1 Ferric Cassette with Dolby NR was peak audio; A Thread"

[@dieseldiesel9292]

Guess I'm not an audiophile because I don't understand this comment.

[@deanchur]

Be thankful for that, oDieselz. I understood Walnut Spice but I also like listening to music and not just the gear it's played on.

[@Nandru85]

Ferric? REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@Nandru85]

@@dieseldiesel9292 Type 1 cassettes were the cheapest anf crappiest cassettes made, their sound quality was average at best

[@seijiamasawa2320]

That's rich lmao

[@adamsfusion]

As a professional on thunder and lightning, you fool, your studio is entirely enclosed and wouldn't be subject to such random weather patterns.

[@WingMaster562]

The hi-fi and IT gods can will it.

[@HassanSelim0]

Are you also a professional on very very frightening me?

[@JonasDAtlas]

@@HassanSelim0 This is exactly what I was looking for.

[@charleswilson101]

I've nearly finished watching all your videos.Please make another hundred. In fact, please make a video about everything, either in one go or over the next few decades.I may not still be around,but I'd like my children and grand children to benefit and learn from you. Hopefully there will be University degrees Technology Connections soon as well. Stay the way you are. Don't change!! Wilson Scullion.81 year old physics graduate.

[@callin8827]

13:31 this caught me off-guard 🤣 but the sass is so in-character that I wouldn't put it past you to actually end a video like that.

[@Sheepy007]

Why Toslink is superior? Easy. Toslink glows red. You know what else glows red? Terminator eyes. case closed.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

The red signal goes faster

[@gianluca.g]

@@andymerrett that's MOS, not TOS

[@renakunisaki]

@@joshmbrown42 that's for the next version of TOSlink with embedded DRM. "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't play that."

[@atlys258]

Well damn, I'm sold.

[@951258tike22]

when you said "what we in the business call 'itty bitty'" i spit my drink. i gotta learn to go into technology connections videos like i'm watching a comedy lmao

[@jekanyika]

I used to work for a telecoms company and would plan new fibre connections. This brought back some memories.

[@gabrielv.4358]

I understood in this video what is a ground issue and why it causes noise in 10 seconds, a thing that i was trying to understand my whole life... Amazing

[@deusexaethera]

21:06 - Optical amplifiers work more-or-less the same way lasers do. Incoming light strikes a material that has previously been energized, causing the material to release a new burst of photons with the same properties as the incoming photons.

[@rudde7251]

Will this clear up modal dispersion or will it just relay the problem equally without making it worse?

[@the_undead]

@@rudde7251 based off my very limited understanding of the situation, I think they would make the problem ever so slightly better but not by a whole lot

[@lightwaves1859]

@@rudde7251 as i understand it, the latter. the main goal with using optical amplification seems to be to avoid the latency brought about by having sluggish electronics involved in relaying the signal.

[@rudde7251]

@@lightwaves1859 I get the part about latency. What I don't understand is what it accomplishes. Since it's passive, it doesn't introduce new energy into the system, the light doesn't become brighter, so is it cleaning up the signal? If that's the case how? Doe it cut out signal too weak and only emit at the peak brightness?

[@Amazementss]

But when you say "USB 3.2" do you mean Gen 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, or 2x2? (USB4 will fix it, we promise)

[@BenMelluish]

Seriously, the situation with USB naming really pisses me off. Loads of smart blokes done all the hard work of getting the standards agreed upon and working and then buggered up the easy bit.

[@grizzly6699]

Simple. USB3 = 5Gbps - USB3.1 = 10Gbps - USB3.2 = 20Gbps... Why can't things be simple and uncomplicated? Because life would be boring.

[@Puremindgames]

@@grizzly6699 Or you know USB3 = 5Gbps - USB4 = 10Gbps - USB5 = 20Gbps

[@dycedargselderbrother5353]

@S A If you hate fractions, base 60 is for you.

[@arahman56]

@javier n USB4 is Thunderbolt3...mostly. The big difference being no licensing fee.

[@TexSweden]

Love all your videos, factual and still tounge in cheek!

[@jordanblodgettproductions5929]

The idea of converting HDMI to optical reminds me of the SMPTE cables we use on cameras in broadcast!

[@cragonaut]

When you summarised by saying "we simply have different connectors for different applications" this is totally true however it also fails to recognise the commercial element that goes into many of these decisions. Companies enjoy controlling standards and licensing them to others thereby being able to attract royalties and also lock their customers into 'ecosystems' and product lines. Unfortunately much of the tech decisions we see around us had as much to do with the marketing department and corporate strategists as it did the boffins in the lab. Thanks for another great video.

[@tr3vk4m]

I agree. The vast array of irritatingly specific cables is a suitable metaphor for what capitalism does to humans...

[@antiisocial]

Yep.

[@nickwallette6201]

Ain't that the truth. Codecs, too. We grew past the need for audio compression formats on optical discs after DVD, but here we are with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA. Royalty enablers and not much else.

[@gavinathling]

@@tr3vk4m And that's why the EU regulated cellphone charging cables.

[@alvallac2171]

*extract royalties

[@kruleworld]

Consumers don't want quality "I'd rather listen to that music on my phone" -Lenny, The Simpsons **plays 8 bit version of Beethoven on his phone**

[@BillAnt]

Unfortunately yes, one can have the greatest tech idea in the real world, but it all comes down to ease of usability, and most importantly COST. Sure, fiber is fast and wonderful, but special connectors are required along with relatively expensive light transceivers, oh and it lacks power delivery. Well, that's for that. lol

[@hectorj.romanp.]

Yes. That is why people stream AAA games and movies on their handheld devices, phones or tablets. After years of using a Home Theater setup I cannot withstand small screens and tiny speakers. Anything below HD and surround sound is crap for me.

[@11D4V1D]

to be fair 8-bit Beethoven is a fuckin banger

[@TheHadMatters]

@Hector, When you call it crap, you've lost track of the purpose of whatever you are watching/listening to/playing, though. It's important to be able to enjoy the abstract ideal of what the movie/music/image/game is supposed to trigger in you; much like a story in a book, where the medium is more obviously secondary. If you are no longer capable of doing that, you aren't actually consuming the medium/art; you're just consuming your hardware - which is pretty reductive. I think it's great to enjoy detail. But don't let it make you lose touch for the original value of what you are consuming. It's just "better" - that doesn't mean the other way shouldn't be "good enough". Edit: Replied to the wrong guy, I think.

[@LordRenegrade]

@@BillAnt - Fiber isn't that expensive. Multi-mode LC fiber spans actually cost less than the equivalent in copper. The SFP transceivers for fiber are also like half the cost of a copper one - ex, a knock-off Cisco GLC-SX-MM is $9, and the equivalent copper one is $18. Heck, you can upgrade to a 10G fiber SFP+ for only $24 from that same vendor. Real Cisco gear follows the exact same pattern, just multiply the price by like 50 :P Source: my home network is actually fiber-based. My main switches are connected via a pair of gigabit multimode runs. The fiber is actually a bit easier to run as it's quite thin and light. The bulk of my order for cabling was the small copper runs that go from switch to end device...

[@thecorruptedbit5585]

I love how you had all those important cable types for carrying data, and video signals, and charging devices, and among them is a GB link cable lol I guess it's kind of a serial port standard but it's kind of like placing a super soaker in an arsenal lmao

[@stevemckenzie9341]

Great video, keep up the great content