Breakout board for MK64

[botez]

I have an MK64 encoder and am looking for an easy way to interface it without having to splice/solder a bunch of IDE ribbon cable.  

Does anyone know of a breakout board that one could purchase to make this job easier?  Anyone else that has this encoder have any ideas.

I should note that I'm not hooking up directly to the buttons/joysticks, since I have a modular cp.

Troy

[Tiger-Heli]

I have an MK64 encoder and am looking for an easy way to interface it without having to splice/solder a bunch of IDE ribbon cable.  

Does anyone know of a breakout board that one could purchase to make this job easier?  Anyone else that has this encoder have any ideas.

I should note that I'm not hooking up directly to the buttons/joysticks, since I have a modular cp.

Troy

RonM used to sell a ready made wire harness for that product - www.mk64.com/ronm  I don't know if he has any left, but it wouldn't hurt to send an E-mail.

Also, see http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac Andy Warne is using a similar connector on the minipac and selling the board for $29 without the harness and $46 with the harness.  I would bet if you E-mailed him, you could pick up the harness without the board for $17 plus shipping.  I can't say for sure that the connectors would match up, but at worst case you would probably end up with wires going to dummy inputs on the MK64.  Unfortunately, you would need two of these, though.

Beyond that, your best bet is to get a terminal strip like this http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=755&item=TS-1540&type=store

or this - http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=274-670

Get enough terminals to cover all the inputs you plan to use plus one extra (ground) - Get an IDE HD cable and cut it in half - strip the individual wire ends and place each one under the screws on one side of the terminal strip.  Attach the other side to your buttons either wiring directly or using cut DB25 or Centronics cables or molex connectors - etc.

[botez]

RonM used to sell a ready made wire harness for that product - www.mk64.com/ronm  I don't know if he has any left, but it wouldn't hurt to send an E-mail.

Also, see http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac Andy Warne is using a similar connector on the minipac and selling the board for $29 without the harness and $46 with the harness.  I would bet if you E-mailed him, you could pick up the harness without the board for $17 plus shipping.  I can't say for sure that the connectors would match up, but at worst case you would probably end up with wires going to dummy inputs on the MK64.  Unfortunately, you would need two of these, though.

Beyond that, your best bet is to get a terminal strip like this http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=755&item=TS-1540&type=store

or this - http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=274-670

Get enough terminals to cover all the inputs you plan to use plus one extra (ground) - Get an IDE HD cable and cut it in half - strip the individual wire ends and place each one under the screws on one side of the terminal strip.  Attach the other side to your buttons either wiring directly or using cut DB25 or Centronics cables or molex connectors - etc.

Thanks for the ideas.  I've already stripped the ends of two IDE ribbon cables to hook them up to terminal strips.  They just seemed so small/flimsy when I screwed them into the terminal strips that I was worried they might come loose at some point.  I'll probably go this way though, because the cost is so much less.

Troy

[Tiger-Heli]

Thanks for the ideas.  I've already stripped the ends of two IDE ribbon cables to hook them up to terminal strips.  They just seemed so small/flimsy when I screwed them into the terminal strips that I was worried they might come loose at some point.  I'll probably go this way though, because the cost is so much less.

Troy

Well, that's why I recommended the terminal strips with the exposed screw connectors.  I would strip off a fair amount of wire and twist it around the screw terminal so the screw has enough to hold onto.  I would also mount the terminal strips to something so they aren't dangling.

Beyond that, I don't think you'll have a problem, though.

[froggerman]

I understand your problem very well as I have a Mini-Pac and I don't really find the connector very easy to deal with. The cable that comes with it has all 12" wires on it so it the Mini-Pac is placed in the middle of the control panel the maximum distance from between connectors is 24". Also it is very difficult to be tidy as the wires have to go pretty much directly from the board to connector.

You can get Quick-disconnects for light guage wire, 24-26 AWG. I haven't decided on a solution yet for my panel, I am using a temporary panel at the moment. I am very interested in what you can find.