It’s time to relinquish my title as DB-19 king of the world and share some of my supply with other members of the vintage computing community, whether they’re repairing old machines, designing new devices, or even selling products that compete with BMOW. Yes, you heard that correctly. Nobody should need to resort to work-arounds like 3D-printing substitute DB-19’s when there already exists a supply of first quality, all-metal, professionally manufactured parts. So here we go!

Why do I have the world’s largest stockpile of DB-19 connectors? If you’ve never heard of the D-SUB DB-19, it’s a simple 19-pin connector that was common in Apple II, Macintosh, Atari, and NeXT computers from the 1980s. It later fell out of popularity, and manufacturers stopped making them in the 1990s. After the millenium when retrocomputing grew more popular, everybody snatched up the remaining supplies of DB-19s to use in their vintage computing projects, until there were none left.

In 2016 I gained some internet fame by commissioning an Asian factory to set up a new production line and manufacture brand new DB-19 connectors for the first time in the 21st century. Making it happen was a crazy adventure, but I had little alternative, because sales of the BMOW Floppy Emu disk emulator were taking off, and required a DB-19 in every device sold. Before long, I had unintentionally turned myself into the largest holder of DB-19 connectors anywhere, which I jealously guarded like a dragon sitting on its pile of gold. From time to time I got requests from other members of the vintage computer community asking to buy some of my hoard, but I usually said no. Sorry! I needed to ensure my own supply for BMOW.

Now it’s 2025, times are different, and I would prefer to see some of my stash reach other hands and other makers of vintage computer equipment. I’m selling the DB-19’s in large lots of 1000 pieces each, beginning with an eBay auction to help determine the level of interest and demand. The starting bid on the auction is equivalent to $0.44 each, which is an extreme bargain compared to the prices that they’ve sold for elsewhere in the last decade, if you could find them at all. I won’t be selling them individually or in small lots, but maybe somebody else will want to buy them in bulk and then flip them in small quantities for a nice profit. And if you have dreams for some massive number of DB-19 connectors, more than the lot that I’ve listed, talk to me.

The connectors offered for sale here were newly manufactured in 2024 for Big Mess o’ Wires, and are the same DB-19’s sold with the BMOW Floppy Emu and other BMOW products. They are DB-19 male, with solder cup terminals, sometimes called DB-19P. They are professionally manufactured by a D-SUB factory and have an all-metal shell. This is the connector itself (without shroud or other wires), and they can be used for making cables, or can also be edge-mounted on a 1.2mm or 1.6mm thick PCB as BMOW does. A footprint file for edge-mounting is available upon request. They are packaged in plastic trays of 50 pieces each, with 20 trays (1000 pieces) per box.

Interested? The eBay auction listing is here. Auction ends on Tuesday, July 8. Thanks for your interest!