Interfacing swappable Control Panels..

[mahuti]

I'd like to see a picture of his setup. I'm not getting it in my head.

New control panels;.... setting up new control panels is a BREEZE. And cheap too. Since all I have to use it screws with washers. The positioning is easy. Each contact is a hair over 1/2". I have a template piece of paper that I just mark the correct spot on the control panel, and start putting screws in.  The control panel is the simplest part.

Flexibility; Right now I the stainless steel that I'm using is pretty flexible. I have only had one trouble spot, but that's due to another issue unrelated to tension (basically damage from manhandling).

Matching up perfect; The reason I chose large strips of metal and wide screwheads is so I could be off pretty far in my measurements, and still be able to have everything match up. I don't have any mounting mechanism on my panel right now, and even with it sliding back and forth with almost a 1/2" of total travel, the contacts still work. If I used some premade solution (at least what I've found) I wouldn't have the luxury of being sloppy in my measurements.

[GGKoul]

Mahuti

I'm going to test this setup over the weekend.  So I'll report my feedback.

Thanks!
-GGKoul

[mahuti]

Well, I'm officially fully leafed. I unhooked my connector today after I finally wired the ground in this method. With all of the screws on the back of the panel, it's starting to look 'punk'

I'll be continuing playing with this setup this weekend. I'll get my trackball & spinner hooked up. I just need to make sure the 5v is  set off by itself so there's no shorting.

I think I might add the nerf bits, or some sort of foam behind the leafs. Not because I'm having problems, but to see what kind of resistance I get from that.

[GGKoul]

Where did you purchase your stainless strips?  As I went to home depot and couldnt find anything that was flexable.  So I bought a couple of 1/2 & 3/4 inch furniture brackets which are bent at 90 degrees and very stiff.  

Also, I assume you wired your ground to one screw on the panel then matched that ground screw to a ground contact.  Correct?

Have you tried wiring your trackball/spinner using this method?

Any other thoughts or suggestions regarding this method?  As I'm planning on trying this over the weekend.

Thanks!
-GGkoul

[mahuti]

I bought the stainless strips at a hobby store. (Pearl art & craft) in their engraving / embossing / leafing section.

I set one matched screw on a ground.

I haven't wired up the trackball spinner this way yet. They will work, I'm sure, but I plan to do it soon to find out.

I'll post pics today of what I have so far.

[Demon-Seed]

Hey guys
I am just learning about this technique can someone explain it to me in "Jim" terms? ehehe so you have your cp and you wire a button to a screw? then you have the ipac wired to another piece of wood with steel to make a connector??? please advise and please please expalin in JIM (idot) proof terms.. ehheh

thanks I would really appreciate it. more photos etc as well explaining would help.. thanks in advance
Jim

[GGKoul]

The way the wiring works is. Instead of direct wiring the joysticks to the IPAC.  You wire the joysticks to a screw on the control panel.  And you wire to the IPAC to a contact on the base of panel.  When the screw on the control panel touches the contact on the base.  I will close the circuit and make that wire "live".  

[mahuti]

The screw & leaf just replaces any other type of connection (like a DB 25 connector, or direct wiring job. All it does is make the connection in a way that requires 'zero insertion force'. I think the earlier pictures & diagram make the point pretty well.

BTW, I got your email, I just haven't had time to respond with detailed info. I've been working like crazy the last few days.

[Demon-Seed]

Hey

ok so does it matter which type of steel or surface is used?

[J_K_M_A_N]

What do you think of this? It may help with the tension. If you used fairly stiff copper or whatever metal you want to use that is conductive, could you bend it like the really CRAPPY picture I attached to give it some tension? Also, I like the idea of using a terminal strip and maybe copper on both sides that is somewhat flexable. Man I wish I had photoshop skills!

J_K_M_A_N

[mahuti]

Most terminal strips have recessed screwheads. They won't work for what I'm trying to do. Maybe someone could think of a good way to use them.

About the metal. Copper, stainless steel, regular steel all work. Anything that conducts electricity, anything magnetic for sure. Copper & steel would probably be the best materials.

One suggestion I would make. Do not attach the screws & switches to the cabinet & control panel directly. Get 2 blocks of wood. Premeasure precisely. Predrill the holes. Prewire both of them. Attach those blocks to the CP & cabinet. If you mess up you can always redo the boards. You can also assure yourself that you have everything lined up before you install. Now that I have thought about it, I am going to go back and do that so I can get everything a little more accurate. I have thought about it a while, and I am going to rework this so that the leafs do not have any weight on them, I'm going to mount them vertically, and mount the screws vertically (more like Nannuu's original drawing.) I didn't think I could do it before with my cabinet design, but after thinking about it, I think I can make it work (and better)

[mahuti]

One more thing.

Put 2 screws in  the leafs, to keep them from twisting & cross contacting.

Put some distance between the 5 volt & other contacts (more than an inch for saftety's sake.

Also, I don't think tension is that big of an issue. BENDING is an issue. You don't need hardly any tension to the connection. You need to make sure that the leaf does not bend away... What i've found is that flexibility is good & tension is bad. I would rather allow the leafs to lightly lay across the contacts, than worry about them incorrectly bending away.

[GGKoul]

Does the leaf have to bend??

As I bought some very small 90 degree steel furniture brackets and these will not flex.  

And I was just going to screw them into the back of my panel and have the screw touch the top of the bracket.  

Anyone see a problem with this?

-GGKoul


 

[GamingGreg]

Yes, the leaf should bend and "give" a little in order to maintain good contact and not break the circuit.  

I'm also interested in seeing some pics of Searcher7's solution.  I found his earlier post here, but I still can't fully picture this in my head.  He said he has 96  1/4" contacts.  This would allow for more buttons, but the CP must need some sort of guide so that things aren't off by too much.

[mahuti]

If you use something that has 100% resistance, you will have to have a 100% steady connection. You will have to have a very accurate placing of screwheads & you will have to tinker with the height of each screwhead. If your board gets banged to hard it's possible that you might lose connection momentarily.

I went with something with very little give initially, and it did not work well. The idea is to have the contact be as consistent as possible... that's why Palm cradles, jamma harnesses, battery boxes, molex pins all have some type of flexibility in the female connections. A leaf type operation allows you to be a little less thorough in your design & construction, allows for board warp, & vibration very well without losing contact. YMMV, but I think you will run into the same problem I had... there has to be some wiggle room, or the connections will not work.

[GGKoul]

I figure if I can latch my panel down on top of the base.  There will be no connection loss.  As the top panel will have no room to move.

As I said, I will test this over the weekend and forward my results to the group.

Question, so for the 5v Trackball wiring.  You placed a larger space between the connectors?    But that wasnt required for the normal joystick connections.  Correct?

Can send you add a pic of the final result and how you wired the trackball??

-GGKoul

[mahuti]

The current 'final result' looks like the other pics. Just more connections. I'll get a pic when i can, but I"m currently working on the "mark III" version.

I didn't space out the other connections very much, because a short with them won't cause any major problems, just a wrong button signal. A short with the 5 volt could fry something.

[mahuti]

Good luck, btw.

[Searcher7]

I don't have a digital camera, but the basics of my "Quick-swap" system are not complicated.

I do however have to redesign the locking mechanism, and may use a key instead of the knob.

But getting back to the contacts. Just imagine that attached inside a control panel base is a long block of Nylon(or Delrin) with rows of slots cut into only one of it's four 3/4" sides. In each of these slots there will be a contact screwed into place. That is also where each lead is attached.

The other half of each contact is bent around(at 90 degrees) to the next side of the block which is covered by thin rubber. This is the side that makes contact with an opposite but same set-up on the control panel top which is slide into place to complete all circuits.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.