Re: 16-pin game connector plugs with ribbon cable?

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

rtk wrote:
> On Aug 13, 6:38 pm, "Michael J. Mahon" <mjma...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Any electronic parts place will have them--usually with plugs on
> > both ends, so if you get them twice as long, you get two for one.  ;-)
>
>
> I believe you, but I don't even know _what_ to search for.  So far all
> my searches come up empty.

A couple of web searches, followed by perusing on-line catalogs,
leads me to believe that these things aren't as easy to find as
they once were!  ;-

The way that I came across most of the DIP jumper cables I've seen
was by rooting through boxes of stuff at surplus places, and while
the prices are hard to beat, it usually doesn't help with a pressing
need.

So, how about making the exact cables you need by crimping DIP plugs
onto ribbon cable of your choice?

The crimping process is pretty easy if you have a jaw vise or anything
that can bring two parallel surfaces bigger than a 16-pin DIP socket
together with some force.  Just plug the male DIP plug into a DIP socket
that will be sacrificial.  Bend all the DIP socket's pins flat, and use
it as a "crimping plate" as you squeese the top onto the plug-socket
assembly with the ribbon cable properly positioned between.

Use scissors to cut the ribbon cable to the correct length, and
that's it.

Since 16-pin DIP plugs are about $0.50-$0.65 each, and 16-conductor
ribbon cable is about $35 per hundred feet (or half that for 25 feet),
the cost per cable is pretty low.

It's even lower if you have some old ribbon cable around, since you
can easily "zip" it down to the right number of conductors (but do
try to leave any "red edge wire" as an edge of the final cable, as
a guide to "pin 1").

-michael

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