Question: IDE Pin Size

[Searcher7]

Can anyone tell me the size of IDE cable pins, and if it is possible
to get a connector for a single pin?

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

[Searcher7]

They're for 0.1" spaced pin headers, I don't recall the pin
size but it's the same as you'd find on a computer fan
header or case front panel connectors for LEDs, power switch
etc.

Cannibalizing an old PC case for it's front panel LED or
switch cable is probably the easiest/cheapest, though you
can pay a premium for something exactly like you want from
an online place like Digikey... but there's way too may
variants of connectors, it might help if you decribed
exactly what you're trying to do and with what parts you
already have.

I have a little PCB that is a MAME controller and need to connect it
to arcade game controls.

It's called the MiniPAC: http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html

And I have no idea how to strip IDE cables since my strippers only
strip as small as 20g.(the individual wires of an IDE cable are too
small anyway).

So I thought I'd try doing this one pin at a time.(I only need to use
about 1/2 dozen of those pins anyway).

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

 

[Searcher7]

I don't understand yet, you have the controller board and
you have the wiring harness, but the end of the harness
opposite the end that plugs into the controller board, needs
single pin connectors on it, or would multiple wires go to
each game control so you need multi-pin connectors in a
single or dual row pin arrangement?


So you are trying to use an IDE cable instead of the
pictured harness in the link above?

Generally IDE cables are meant to use insulation
displacement type connectors so they aren't stripped. Those
tend to have more than one pin per connector.

Are both the newer ATA66/100/133 80 conductor cables _and_
the older 40 conductor ATA33 cables both too small and by
that I mean too small to carry the current? I would think
they would suffice for logic level signals to a game
controller, no? You might seek smaller strippers or put the
split individual conductors on a surface with good traction
and roll them under a new/sharp X-Acto knife blade by
pushing the blade horizontally while exerting downward
pressure. Some practice doing this with scrap wire may be
useful before doing it to the actual cabling you use.




If insulation displacement connectors will work, although
they tend to be less reliable long-term, that would be
easiest. Otherwise, the standard crimp-on connector inserts
can be crimped onto each stripped wire then slid down into a
connector block with the # of rows and pins you need.

You mention a 1/2 dozen, so is this one pin per control or
multiple? I am wondering if you were thinking of doing it
one pin at a time because each control only uses one, or one
pin at a time for some other reason.

Here's an insulation displacement connector (IDC) with 6
pins, I did not see any with fewer pins but there are so
many connectors on Digikey's website and catalog that I may
have overlooked them.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=609-...

I've not 100% sure about the following link but it seems to
be the insulation displacement type for fewer pins, where
there is no top cover that pushes the wire down, you use a
small blunt flat tool (like a jeweler's screwdriver) to push
the wire in far enough for the contact to cut through the
insulation.http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=A309...
As with the others, they are available for several different
wire gauges so look at adjacent parts on the Digikey catalog
pages linked from these product pages.

Here is an example of a two pin crimp type connector like
used on computer case front panel LEDs and switches.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=A283...

To find these and more I simply searched for 0.1" connector
female, like this link does:http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=1442549&keyw...
BUT when picking the individual attributes in the boxes, I
didn't specify 0.1" because there are several that are 0.1"
but do not come up when 0.1" is selected... meaning a bit
more reading on the product page specs.

I did not see any single pin connectors, but as mentioned
previously digikey has so many I may have simply overlooked
them. If you had to, you could order the 2 pin versions
linked in the 2nd and 3rd link above, then using an X-Acto
knife just slice off the extra position... the plastic is
not very thick and is relatively soft, besides risking
cutting a finger it is not hard to do with a sturdy sharp
knife.

No, I don't have that harness pictured. The length of that 30 dollar
harness is too short for my purposes, so I'm forced to find a way to
make my own harness.

The connector on that PCB is compatible with an IDE cable's connector,
so I thought I'd split the wires of an IDE cable and connect them to a
terminal strip since the wires are thin and not long either, and then
wire up 18g leads from the terminal strip to the controls.

Since I don't need all of the controls(PCB connections) and only a
dozen or so connections will be needed, I thought perhaps I could get
around using an IDE cable and look for a way to wire individual pins
with the thicker 18g wire. Then I wouldn't need a terminal strip.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.