Amiga 1200 edge connector pursuit

[amiman99]

Like @emufan and others said, get 2 PCI connectors, cut them up and join then at the "key".
It should cost few $ per each PCI connector plus some labor.

[dirkies]

indeed, checking on the web, these sockets average around $2 each, so $4+labor per socket
Interesting idea, but you'll need to setup a circular blade saw with right offsets to cut off hundreds of these sockets to perfection!

And seems this has been already done before, for a NES hack, see:
http://diytronics.blogspot.be/2013_07_01_archive.html

So I think I would favor this, better have a $4 plug than a $20-30 one doing the exact same thing.

[majsta]

This is not an option because two reasons, first it does not look professional and 2nd think about how much time it takes to do this for probably 1000 cards.

[amiman99]

Originally Posted by majsta

This is not an option because two reasons, first it does not look professional and 2nd think about how much time it takes to do this for probably 1000 cards.

Can you outsource making these to some one else, another Amigan? Can you LASER cut plastic???

[dirkies]

All depends of course about the price difference. II'm sure a lot would not mind saving 20€ or so if it was a twin plug instead of a single one.
I still wonder if Jens would consider it. He'll still make more money supplying them (a few euros pure net profit per socket sold) than what he would make with dwindling ACA12XX sales. Because this magnificent piece of hardware for sure shakes up the whole Amiga accelerator retro market !

[Daedalus]

Well, if you do it right it won't look unprofessional. I genuinely didn't notice the Mediator was like that until I desoldered it. It's very cleanly cut with what looks to be a fine saw of some sort since there's a fine-grained machining pattern along the cut edges.

[majsta]

Some amiga shops who have connectors rejected me, just like they are afraid to accept that this will change lot of things and it will. Some others wanted to talk and we will see what will happen regarding that. As I see it Vampire 1200 will be so great that if we say to the ppl that they will need to manually solder all of the wires from trapdoor connector I just know that ppl will be happy to do it. Having connector or not won't stop complete concept. I just want to make it look good and professional.

[amigasith]

Originally Posted by majsta

I just want to make it look good and professional.

There is a saying here in Germany - "do it right or don't do it at all". +1 from me, majsta

[amiman99]

You don't need to solder any wires, the connectors are right angles and thru-hole. Solder the connector directly to the PCB, should be pretty solid.

[majsta]

@amiman99 hah man tell me where to find connectors and I ll solder them within a minute.

[Mr.Flibble]

I'd be happy to chip in some funds in order to help secure some connectors for you Majsta, as I'm sure a bunch of others would be?

Edit: I've lobbed a quote into one of the sites, just to see what happens..

[amiman99]

Originally Posted by majsta

@amiman99 hah man tell me where to find connectors and I ll solder them within a minute.

In the post #10 @Daedalus found left and Right angle PCI connectors you could potentially cut and use, if other options are not available.

[kipper2k]

I have done a little testing tonight and my diamond tipped Tile cutter does an awesome job of trimming connectors so i will be buying some connectors which are plentiful and see how it goes. It makes a very smooth cut and with a jig set up to make it square and the correct length i am pretty sure i have a workable solution once i run out of the real connectors.

Buying the proper tooled connectors from Sullins is still an option, but the last one due to the high price.

[Mr.Flibble]

How much did Sullins want per unit? Was there a price break at different quantities?

[voyager]

If you cut the connectors maybe you can use a stl printer and make a surrounding for it so it keeps the connector together and look nice.

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by Mr.Flibble

How much did Sullins want per unit? Was there a price break at different quantities?

With tooling fees, customs, shipping and all the other little addons, the connector would probably hit $27 - $30 USD each and that is for a minimum order of approx 250, this cost would obviously be passed on to the user but if we can find an alternate solution then we will go with that. I am confident we will find a much better option, i will find out Wed/Thur

[Locutus]

I realize that its a lot of money upfront. But in those quantities and the intended product price and production size that is not actually that unreasonable.

It sucks ofcourse.

[Mr.Flibble]

Best of luck Kipper, but I wouldn't mind paying a premium for one if it makes the difference between having the board with the best solution, or not...

[dirkies]

it makes the connector one of the most expensive parts of the accelerator, hopefully there will be a better solution. Let's wait for next week. If not we can always do a crowdfunding for such connectors! (jk)

[rodpulsar]

Just for information :

I myself made one DIY connector last year, using two PCI riser cables bought on the web. I carefully cut them with a dremel, and joined them around the A1200 connector space.

Pics here (it's in french but nm) :
http://www.amigaimpact.org/forums/to...ion-cpu-a1200/

It worked. The idea was to be able to fold my card inside the Amiga, in a specific desktop case.

BUT it couldn't last too long. It couldn't bear any movement of my miggy, each time I opened it, or moved it or put my hands inside my miggy, I was scared of moving the whole thing, and sometimes it moved. Then I had a black screen at boot, no boot at all, or sometimes strange behavior.

Instead of finding a way to consolidate the system, I thought a long time about it and gave up : too much risk.

As Majsta says, I really think that this type of connector needs to be something professional. If you SELL something to an end user, you must sell the confidence in the product too.

Just my 2cp