What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
Mini-USB is a great balance of size and strength. The micro-usb is great because it's tiny, but it's not very strong. I know that I have bent micro connectors by accident. USB-C is awesome because it's reversible, faster, and can deliver more power, but it's still pretty thin. It's fine, but I can see a reason to want a stronger connector.
For just a little more space, the mini is way more rigid in the vertical direction! If I tilt my Leopold FC660C backwards onto the cable, I'm definitely not worried about snapping off the mini-usb connector.
USB-B is even better, but it's massive.
Unlike everyone else here who is incorrectly assuming that micro is less durable than mini, I have official specs for you. http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/devclass_docs/CabConn20.pdf
Go to page 6, and it shows under durability: 5000 cycles for Mini “B” 10,000 cycles for Micro series
The reason why all of your micro cables break is because micro is designed to have the cable bear the brunt of the stress (which is why it has those two hooks), not the port. That's why it's so much more durable.
tl;dr: I'm also not buying this because it's 2016 and mini USB has been deprecated since shortly after Stonehenge was built.
As I cited, micro is far more durable than mini. The micro CABLE is less durable than mini, by design. One of the parts has to bear the stress, and I'd rather my $2 Monoprice cable break than the port on my $400 keyboard.
In general (not a rule!), board mounted connectors are the strongest part of the mechanical linkage. As the connectors get bigger (Like USB-B), the connector is so strong that usually the FR4, the solder pads, or the actual wire connections in the cable will break before that chuck of metal called USB-B starts to yield. I have bent the pins on a smd micro-usb, I've bent the housing on a micro-usb cable, but I've never bent the housing on a smd micro-usb.
@shadowdude77777, I definitely agree - I'd much rather have my cable break :)
There's a spec document called "Universal Serial Bus Micro-USB Cables and Connectors Specification to the USB 2.0 Specification, Revision 1.01" (what a mouthful!) that specs: insertion and extraction force, peel strength (150 N !), and wretching force for the micro-usb connector. Wretching force is what I'm talking about! "The plug can be damaged, but in such a way that the receptacle does not sustain damage: 25 - 50N"
Sadly, I can't find a similar spec for mini-usb. If you see one, let me know! I found this interesting explanation of the history behind mini-usb and micro-usb: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/18552/why-was-mini-usb-deprecated-in-favor-of-micro-usb
I'd like to also note that my opinion on mini-usb being stronger than micro-usb is purely anecdotal and may be influenced by what sorts of gadgets use which connector. Really my only mini plugs are on keyboards, external harddrives, and music production equipment, most of which don't get moved around often. On the other hand, I have way more devices with micro-usb and most get moved often!
"my opinion on mini-usb being stronger than micro-usb is purely anecdotal" Agree. My experience shows the same. This is why I'm so surprised that people are still using miniUSB in new projects.
Well, this is just a property of micro-USB that was put into its design. It is really significantly more reliable compared to mini-USB or USB-A/B.
"I don't think I've ever seen or broken a USB mini connector" I have one. And even still keep old Asus P750 smarthone with quite loose connector :)