The XM1541 multitask cable transform from X1541 cable

You should follow these instructions if you already have an X1541 cable and you want to transform it.

Important notes

You definitely need Schottky-diodes for this cable, the usual 1N4148 diodes don't work with most motherboards.

Construction

You need the following parts to build this cable:

Four Schottky-diodes (e.g. 1N5819 or BAT85)

Step 1. Unsolder the wires from pins 5 (DATA) and 6 (RESET) of the DIN plug and resolder them the opposite way.

Step 2. Unsolder all wires, except for the GND, from the parallel plug and resolder them to the other pins. These include the following changes:

From	To
1, Strobe	13, SelectIn
14, AutoFeed	12, PaperEnd
17, Select	11, Busy
16, Init	10, Ack
18-25, GND	leave it

Step 3. Build the diode bridges between the appropriate pins of the parallel plug. These include the following connections:

Parallel plug	Parallel plug
13, SelectIn	1, Strobe
12, PaperEnd	14, AutoFeed
11, Busy	17, Select
10, Ack	16, Init

The cathodes should be pointing towards the pins in the right column of the table.

Circuit diagram:

[XM1541 multitask cable]

The original connections of the X1541 cable are shown in grey. Connections to cut off are shown with red stripes. You can find the description of all parts used on the diagrams at the legend page.

Source: The Joe Forster-STA homepage

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