Ethernet connector on Sun 4/110

[Rich Winkel UMC Math Department]

We have two 4/110's, and both were originally shipped with defective
thicknet sockets.  The symptom was that the connector was very sensitive
to even slight movements; you had to fiddle with it to get it working, and
then hope no one moved the cpu or cable.  In both cases I shut down the
cpu and connected an ohmmeter between pins 1 and 13 (the power supply
lines for the tranceiver) and noticed that the resistance alternated
between infinity and around 900 ohms when I flexed some paperclip probes
inserted into it.

I swapped one cpu board for a new one and found the connection to be much
more reliable.  The connection was maintained even when the plug was at a
substantial angle to the connector.  (I'm about to swap the other cpu) Has
anyone else noticed this problem?  Is it a design defect?

Rich Winkel