dublevay
Newbie level 3
Hi All,
First post here - it's good to find a traditional web-based group to post upon.
For about six months now, I have been attempting to recreate an old add-in board for a computer called the Dragon 64 - a British computer from the early 1980s. I have permission to replicate the board from the original director of the manufacturing company - but I am coming up against hardware reliability issues.
The board itself is relatively complex - but circuit-wise I am comfortable that everything is sound. I am now on PCB revision 2.2, after numerous mistakes! Where my issue lies is in getting a reliable connection onto the main computer motherboard. As you will see from this link, the board itself is full of ICs - part of the attraction is the retro feel of the board - but more difficult, is the position of the connection onto the motherboard. The connecting area of the board is right at one end - where it says "Dragon 64 SAM Socket". That means quite a shear force on the connectors, even when I add stand-offs at the other end of the board (it's difficult to get it precisely right).
I have tried using M-M SIL connectors, with DIL sockets then making the connection to the board. They are unreliable. I have tried M-F SIL connectors, with M-M connectors and then DIL sockets - but it is still unreliable. What I am really looking for is a reliable connection - even if that means that the DIL socket on the motherboard needs replacing with something more suitable. I have thought about using wire-wrap DIL sockets, but they are too bulky for the DIL socket on the motherboard - and would basically wreck it.
Any suggestions please? Right now, the only thing I have found are some much longer SIL connectors from Harwin - and I am awaiting some samples.
Many Thanks
John
First post here - it's good to find a traditional web-based group to post upon.
For about six months now, I have been attempting to recreate an old add-in board for a computer called the Dragon 64 - a British computer from the early 1980s. I have permission to replicate the board from the original director of the manufacturing company - but I am coming up against hardware reliability issues.
The board itself is relatively complex - but circuit-wise I am comfortable that everything is sound. I am now on PCB revision 2.2, after numerous mistakes! Where my issue lies is in getting a reliable connection onto the main computer motherboard. As you will see from this link, the board itself is full of ICs - part of the attraction is the retro feel of the board - but more difficult, is the position of the connection onto the motherboard. The connecting area of the board is right at one end - where it says "Dragon 64 SAM Socket". That means quite a shear force on the connectors, even when I add stand-offs at the other end of the board (it's difficult to get it precisely right).
I have tried using M-M SIL connectors, with DIL sockets then making the connection to the board. They are unreliable. I have tried M-F SIL connectors, with M-M connectors and then DIL sockets - but it is still unreliable. What I am really looking for is a reliable connection - even if that means that the DIL socket on the motherboard needs replacing with something more suitable. I have thought about using wire-wrap DIL sockets, but they are too bulky for the DIL socket on the motherboard - and would basically wreck it.
Any suggestions please? Right now, the only thing I have found are some much longer SIL connectors from Harwin - and I am awaiting some samples.
Many Thanks
John