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Connector's for Swappable panels?

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patrickl:

--- Quote from: coasterlvr on November 21, 2008, 02:47:52 am ---I use DB25 cables and have a lot of different button/joystick combos.  I just buy 6ft cables and cut them in half and attach the wires direct.  1 or 2 females and a bunch of males connected to my different panels.  They have always worked great and you usually can find those cables pretty cheap on ebay. (4-5 bucks each)

--- End quote ---
Indeed if you buy fully wired cables then you don't have to solder any wires onto the connectors at all. Just cut the cable in half and you have two wirred connectors. Not sure how easy it is to find those though. Maybe a parallel printer cable or something?

TheShanMan:
Problem there is, those wires are so fine they don't crimp well, so you'd have to solder them to the terminals on the buttons and joysticks IMO. I didn't want to do that. Plus then you have delicate wires that could break at the solder joint. If you have swappable panels, then that probably means the underside of the panels gets exposed to potential abuse so you want to make sure it is durable.

coasterlvr:

--- Quote from: TheShanMan on November 21, 2008, 08:53:29 am ---Problem there is, those wires are so fine they don't crimp well, so you'd have to solder them to the terminals on the buttons and joysticks IMO. I didn't want to do that. Plus then you have delicate wires that could break at the solder joint. If you have swappable panels, then that probably means the underside of the panels gets exposed to potential abuse so you want to make sure it is durable.

--- End quote ---

I've never had a problem, but I understand the thought.  I've also been in the Car Audio world for over 20 years and crimping is a way of life so I'm used to doing it well.  I've had some panels for probably close to 8-9 years, almost when MAME first started and haven't had any problems with the crimps.  I do take real care to make sure the wires do not get tugged on and are very secure including the db25 connector.

I've recently made a few more panels and got a bunch of cables on ebay for $5 bucks each.  One cable can be cut and used for 2 panels so it works out great and cheap.

TheShanMan:
You can crimp 28 gauge wire in regular terminals? I'm impressed!

um3k:

--- Quote from: TheShanMan on November 21, 2008, 11:52:44 am ---You can crimp 28 gauge wire in regular terminals? I'm impressed!

--- End quote ---
Just fold it over once and it will get to a good enough thickness to crimp easily.

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