Thread: SOLID ribbons?

you might want to look into a d-sub connector... they sell them at radio shack and some places online... basically, it is a single or double header of pins that you can solder onto a circuit board... then the connector uses a crimp connection and you can use it with .100 spaced ribbon cable. here is one place that sells them:
http://www.jdr.com/interact/item.asp?itemno=gr-ids10
also, maybe something like this http://www.jdr.com/interact/item.asp?itemno=gr-idm20
if you get these, there are "pin headers" that you will need to buy to attach them to. this also give you the option of expanding, if you buy a header and plug that has more connections then you need.

i had a lot of the same problems soldering small wire... i tried using cat5 wires and they broke many times while making a custom vga cable... i cant imagine what soldering a ribbon cable wire would be like. also, they were breaking off right at the end of the insulation like your wires are!!!

be aware... jdr totally rapes you on shipping and handling, so if you can find the stuff elsewhere i recommend going there!!!

hopefully this will be of help to you. sorry if it isnt!!

~mike

I didn't think there were any solid ribbons out there. But it would be nice if there were. Those connectors look like they might be a step in the right direction. I'll take a closer look at those.

Originally posted by CrazyLittle
Instead of ribbon cable, people just took solid-core CAT5 and crimped it down using ribbon-cable connectors. Maybe that will do what you want it to.

That certainly sounds like a possibility. I've got skads of that stuff laying around here from when I buillt my Cat5 O' Nine Tails. *winks*

Cat5 O' Nine Tails

if i had time this weekend, i would snap some pics of my vga cable... i used the crimp connectrors i listed in my last post with cat5 cable. it was a little hard to get the wires to hold in place before i could crimp them down, but it turned out great. if you do get one of those d-sub connectors, you CANT put each wire in individually, you have to press them into the connector at the same time.

i.e. i tried putting one wire in and pressing it down NOT using the top pressure piece of the connector... that resulted in bending the little prongs that the wires fit between... to get it to work i had to carefully slip the wires into the connector while i was holding the top clip against the little prongs... if you lighten up the pressure you can slip a wire into place and hopefully none of the other ones will fall out of place...

now that i think about it, you should be able to put in 1 wire, press the pressure cap down completely, securing the wire, then remove the cap, and do the same for the next wires, that way the prongs dont get bent, cuz they are held in place by little guides in the cap...

this probably sounds like the most confusing thing in the world without actually seeing the connector, but keep it in mind so you dont ruin 1, 2, 10 of these things... it will get frustrating!!

~mike