I've had an idea for a while now that I think many cab owners would like. Sometimes when you have an older cabinet, the JAMMA connector sees some wear and tear over "the years with all the grabbing and pulling on that thing".
For DB9 and D-Sub connectors, there's these kind of shells available:
My idea was for someone to "go into production" for a small run of a similar type shell but that'll fit a 56 pin JAMMA connector with one side etched "JAMMA Parts side" or something. I've searched online for an actual product like this, but alas they're nowhere to be found. It would be rather neat, yes?
It is a pretty neat idea! Its a simple idea as well, which the best solutions often are.
It is pretty expensive to have a mould made. For a low production run you could get away with an aluminium mould, which would cut the price down significantly. You'd still be looking at £4k-£8k based on moulds I've ordered this year. Having it made in China could cut the cost down more, but I have no experience ordering tooling from China so couldn't guess how much it would cost. Once the mould is made the production cost is quite low.
I think it might be better to have it machined for low production numbers. Someone like Franco could give you a better idea of the cost of this route. This is a great idea and you should maybe start making some drawings and see if you get any interest!
Devil Soundwave wrote:How would this prevent wear to the business end of the harness?
How would it reduce stress on the wire connections?
1) Easy solution already found
2) Please tell me no-one's pulling on the wires of edge connectors. They're extremely easy to disconnect with just thumb and forefinger.
But I do have one question... Edge connectors come in different sizes. I'm envisioning a tight fitting "case" around the connector, so you'd need to know exactly what size the connector is to make one to fit.
Yes, I think you'd have to make it to fit a specific brand of connector, as they are not all alike. Which means you possibly would need to replace the edge connector when you fitted one of these shells.
Devil Soundwave wrote:How would this prevent wear to the business end of the harness?
How would it reduce stress on the wire connections?
1) Easy solution already found
2) Please tell me no-one's pulling on the wires of edge connectors. They're extremely easy to disconnect with just thumb and forefinger.
But I do have one question... Edge connectors come in different sizes. I'm envisioning a tight fitting "case" around the connector, so you'd need to know exactly what size the connector is to make one to fit.
1) Quite...
2) No-one *should* be, but it still raises the question - what is the point of a case? What purpose will it actually serve?
Ideally, this "shell" would fit *any* JAMMA connector. Most have screw holes at the ends:
So, basically, a rectangular box at the correct length with oval holes to allow tiny differences in screw hole placement would suffice, with a circular opening for the harness on the other side. Doesn't have to be very fancy, really. Other uses include casings for JAMMA adapters, etc.
But generally any breakage of the connector occurs at the ends, when removing or inserting an edge at an angle? I'd have thought reinforcing the ends would be of higher priority than protecting the wires. After all, they're normally bundled tightly together, and don't give much leeway for bending in any direction.
Emph - whilst it may look nice, what benefit will this actually bring? As Cools stated, teh majority of wear on a harness end is at the board connector end. This is kinda like making a sports cup (ball protector) and leaving a hole in the front for your johnson to hang out off...
Who knew this discussion would come down to winkies?!
Looking at it I think it would really just be useful to have something to grab hold of when changing boards. Connecting a board up can be fiddly if you have a tight fit, I think we've all experienced that. As well as protecting the wiring into the connector which is prone to damage as well. As pointed out though, it does nothing to protect the business end of the connector. There will always be wear and tear on the contacts I guess.
Say you just get a "new" cabinet that you want to use right away, but the harness looks like it's been in a car accident. Slap one of these onto the connector and you don't have to install a new harness RIGHT AWAY to feel safe. *waiting for the argument that it's like slapping a band aid on a bullet wound*
Sorry, I don't really get this. I bought an extension harness to avoid damaging the harder to obtain wiring harness in my Astro cabinet. If you are at all worried about the connection and removal, any damage to the connector itself then surely and extension harness is a more sensible solution.
For one, it extends outside the cabinet and therefore I can remove the entire board before unhooking or connecting a new board. An additional handle, grip or doohickey on the end of the original connector wouldn't really assist, especially as I find in some cabinets that you need a certain amount of flexibility on that working end as the edge connector can be relatively close to the cabinet door when you are trying to use large PCBs. The last thing I would want is any more weight on that PCB connector.
Now, if you were to develop a "quick release" style edge connector that opened & closed on the PCB as to avoid wear and tear, that managed to maintain a reliable connection and couldn't accidentally clamp down on the wrong edge connection, I'd be singing it's praises!
Devil Soundwave wrote:And I trust that extension harness is doing fine work?
Indeed (take a bow mate!) thus far it's done precisely what I expected it to do, which is provide a safety cable between the original harness and the PCB, so if it gets damaged, I can just ask DS to whip up another. Job done.
