Interesting Factoid regarding SD50/SD300 cables

[RickBullotta]

I was on the phone (yes, the phone) with Shimano tech support the other day trying to track down alternatives to the EW-AD305 adapter, and I learned that the adapter is a "dumb" one - no electronics at all in it. It's simply a physical connector to deal with the different sizes of cables. I had also assumed that there were different communication speeds, etc..nope, said the Shimano rep. This makes the whole situation even more nuts - there's no reason that Shimano couldn't easily manufacture these since "chips" don't come into play, and there's also no reason that they couldn't provide cable(s) for the PCE02 that have an SD300 connector instead of an SD50. Not sure who's driving the bus there, but they should probably be fired.

 

[Studley]

Yes it is bizarre. AD305 have been incredibly hard to find in AUS, local stores have had them on order for almost a year now with none showing up. To compound the issue - Shimano restrict EU and US stores shipping to Australia....

I got a one of each cable (SD50 and SD300) and soldered them. There is only 2 wires. Covered in waterproofing gel and heat shrink and its still going strong 10 months later!