While looking for a fuse this morning I found the connector again. Six pins, a metal shell, a threaded coupling. There is a short length of cable still attached and a label with the last two letters rubbed away.
It came from a test box that never went anywhere interesting. I kept it because the mating action felt right: enough resistance to tell you something was happening, then a positive stop. It is a ridiculous reason to keep a connector. It is also the reason I have three drawers.
When people talk about reliable hardware, the conversation tends to start with the expensive component. I tend to start at the places one thing meets another. Is the cable carrying a load it was never supposed to carry? Can you actually reach the locking ring after the neighbouring box is installed? Will the person on the late shift know which way up it goes?
A drawing can answer some of that. A mock-up answers different questions. A pair of cold hands answers a few more. None of these is a substitute for a test specification, but they can tell you what the specification forgot to ask.
I have no evidence that this particular connector saved a project, prevented a failure, or taught an entire team anything. It is just an object I enjoyed using. That seems reason enough for a Saturday note.
The fuse was in the next drawer. The connector went back in this one.
Saved on this device.
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