USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible

Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by danieldk on Tuesday October 10, 2023 @02:48AM (#37829198)

Most of this is just cheap design on part of the ergomech community. It's not that hard to add some protection. E.g. some keyboards use a Schottky diode on VCC for reverse polarity protection and ESD protection diodes to protect the data lines:

https://github.com/zsa/docs/blob/master/Ergodox%20V5-L.pdf

Of course the design requirements of USB would be different, since you'd always plug/yank the cable on a machine that is on, rather than protect against doing this accidentally sometime. Given that, it probably made more sense to completely avoid the issue.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by crote on Tuesday October 10, 2023 @05:58AM (#37830193)

It's more an issue of ESD protection being kinda tricky on DIY boards due to the need to stick with THT parts. When you're building a $200-$300 keeb, a $0.05 diode doesn't really all that much price-wise.

ESD protection diodes also don't really solve the problem. They are intended for short-duration high-voltage low-current spikes, not long-duration low-voltage high-current ones. Definitely better than nothing, though!

[ Parent | on HN ]