It's embarrassing that it's easier to get things made in China than in the US.<p>I had some 5/16" paper tape manufactured for use in antique Teletype machines. I tried several US paper tape manufacturers. One quoted me $10 a roll, but made a good roll. One sent me a roll with rough edges that jammed in the machine. Most were uninterested, even for a large order. The US companies were really hard to communicate with, too. Getting emails answered was tough. Phone calls usually went to voicemail. I finally had 1000 rolls made in Fujian, China for $1/roll. They worked fine. Much better customer communication, too.<p>Some of the decline in US manufacturing comes from this sort of thing.
There's a similar issue going on with the square DIN plug used for power connectors on the Commodore 128 and TED series (C16, Plus/4) computers. Someone found a place in China with old stock and has been buying them. One person is building new power supplies and machining their own connectors.
Heh, I've had a similar project on my back burner for a long time having to do with reusable Keurig filters. There are a ton of them on the market, and they all have the same fundamental design flaw: they are <i>just</i> a filter, without the surrounding housing with a small hole designed to hold pressure. So they all make weak coffee (and a huge mess). I would happily sink some money into the design and manufacture of a filter that actually worked. I think it could even be a money-maker, though I'm mainly interested in it for my own personal use. But I have no clue where to even begin looking for someone who could make such a thing. If anyone here has a clue I'd appreciate hearing about it.
> For the moment at least, I have nearly the entire world’s supply of DB-19 connectors, stacked in my living room. I think I’m going to fill the bathtub and swim in them.<p>And 2 years later, all the stock on Ebay is still from North America/Europe. I'm a bit surprised.
Yes, this has been here before. Back then I replied that, when confronted with the same problem, I simply took a hacksaw to a DB-25 and had a working connector within a minute. Not as fancy, maybe, but just as functional...
So what’s the follow up? Is OP still happy with their parts? Are they available for purchase at 1/10th the price on AliExpress now? Did they recoup their investment?