VGA cable connector misery...

[Koldov]

Apart from the obvious replies of 'why are you still using VGA?'...

 

Does anyone have any ideas of something I can do to tell the teachers which way up they need to put the damn thing?

 

 

Obviously going to need to be long lasting (so stickers are out) and highly visible (so permanent marker is out - most have the dark blue connectors).

 

I'm at the end of my tether and feel I'm going to say something inappropriate to the next teacher that walks in through the door saying that for some 'unknown reason' their projector isn't working...

 

Most of the classrooms have a fly lead that I can swap over, but at some point those little pins are going to get stuck deep in the laptop connector...

 

/rant

[synaesthesia]

First thing a couple of lines with a permanent marker on one end of the VGA and again on where it's plugging in.

[gumbygaz]

Have the laptops got HDMI sockets, could you use a HDMI to VGA dongle so they're plugging that in and less chance of damaging the VGA pins then?

[3s-gtech]

Tipp Ex on cable and connector, matching up to up. Dab on the laptop port.

[thebatman]

Get every member of staff one of the following:

We have used TipEx on the cable before now saying "TOP" (all of our laptops at the time had the VGA port the same way round)

Lasted about a year.

[mikeprice]

My first reaction was - they already have the information they need assuming you are not dealing with blind people - they just need to look at the thing

 

but then I thought - hang on - I once had to deal with a teacher who managed to put a USB-Printer cable in the wrong way round - by which I mean she put the PC end of it into the printer socket - which is only really possible with 'the big hammer' (we know this because we tried with a dead cable and a dead printer) - but she did it several times

 

so - although I can see why this could happen - if they are so unthinking (not dumb - they are adults with proper qualification - but just not thinking) that they do this then it will need to be something serious

 

I would go with Tipex - as big as possible - with bright pen on top of it - that is what I used in my last school for such things

[Andrew_C]

Tippex is good. I might go for two big triangles pointing at each other; sort of >< style.

[strawberry]

red and green electrical tape.

and a bill to the head for the cost of short fly leads to protect the ones in situ.

[mikes]

red and green electrical tape.

and a bill to the head for the cost of short fly leads to protect the ones in situ.

 

Make it known that replacements will cost each dept £20 and I bet they'll last twice as long

[SamanthaD]

red and green electrical tape.

and a bill to the head for the cost of short fly leads to protect the ones in situ.

Great for the colour blind

 

Do your laptops have any compatibility for a dock? USB-C? Can't get that the wrong way around!

 

Oh hang on...

 

[psydii]

Regarding docks: teachers still unplug them and walk off with bits and pieces.