Special Offer: FireWire cable (6pin to 6pin) 10 metres £59 each These cables have been developed in conjunction with Molex to work with Firewire devices including all Phase One Digital Backs.

Important information:

1 - 10M cables are not certified to work as they are outside the IEEE1394 standard. However under optimal conditions good quality cables will usually work reliably.

2 - Always uncoil your cable carefully & lay it out on the floor before using it.

3 - Avoid kinking & twisting of the cable as this deforms the wires which impede the ability of the cable to transfer data.

4 - Do no stand on firewire cables as this also damages the wiring.

5 - Try to avoid repetetive plugging & unplugging of firewire leads. The connector blocks are the most fragile part of the cable. This causes wear to the connector of the Phase One back & can lead to connection problems.

6 - Ensure that firewire cables are pushed firmly into the connector on the Phase One back. This often requires a degree of force to achive.

7 - 10m Molex (black) cables are all individually tested at DTEK prior to despatch.

8 - We provide a 60 day return to base warranty for 10m Molex cables only.

9 - We provide a 1 year return to base warranty for all 4.5m cables.

10 - Firewire cables that are damaged through use cannot be returned for exchange or credit.

What is Firewire?

FireWire is Apple's branded name for a high-speed data serial bus they developed. Also known as IEEE-1394, this digital interface technology can move data up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps). A more recent version of this standard, FireWire 800, is capable of speeds up to 800 Mbps. Common uses for FireWire include data transfers with external hard drives, DV camcorders, webcams, and Apple's own iPod digital music player. Up to 63 FireWire devices can be connected and recognized at once. Sony has branded this technology as iLink, which also adheres to the IEEE-1394 standard.

FireWire is fully autoconfigurable. Devices are placed on a peer-to-peer chain, communicate with each other and, roughly speaking, mind their own business in accordance with others. As long as you comply with higher protocol requirements (such as mounting and unmounting drives) and provide sufficient power to the chain, you can theoretically expand it to no end without suffering a meltdown.

FireWire can operate over ultra-long distances—up to 100 meters—opening up possibilities that are unheard of with other technologies. While that may not seem immediately useful, think how nice it would be to finally put these hissing and roaring drives in an insulated closet?

FireWire also provides plenty of power to the devices connected to it: up to 45W of power, more than other ports. What does this mean? This means fewer power bricks that can catch fire, fewer cables to manage, devices that charge and sync at the same time, and, as the power is significant, this means you can enjoy all this without cutting down on disk speeds, status lights, or even on-device screens. In other words, you don't have to choose between portability and features, which other interfaces usually require. Most self-powered drives, the iPod, the iSight, and dozens of other convenient little machines would not exist if it weren't for the power of FireWire.

Last but not least, FireWire has been designed to be efficient, no matter how many devices there are on a chain. While other interfaces degrade quickly in performance, FireWire will continue to move data along, unperturbed by all the traffic happening on the link. For example, FireWire can write and read to memory without getting the CPU in your Mac or PC involved, meaning it draws surprisingly few resources.

Of course, all the elements we outlined are theoretical. As we all know, FireWire setups are not 100 percent perfect in real life. And faulty cables, buggy firmwares, poorly designed chipsets, cable-eating dogs, and kicking feet have brought more than one carefully crafted chain to its knees. Nevertheless, the technology is here and it has been refined over many years to form a truly exceptional standard that can benefit to home users as well as high-end professionals.