Edge connector...

[Generale]

Hi again.
I was going to (ans still are/am) going to build one of those really simple ide interfaces for the a500. The only problem I have is getting an edge connector. I don't want to solder directly onto the mainboard.

Anyone know where I could get one?
I was going to salvage an ISA slot but realised it was way too short. I could do a cut-and-shut, but there has to be a better way!!!

P.S. Had the same prob with the user port on a C64. I put a D25 on the case, so original user port things can be plugged in, as well as my homebrews with the cheap and versatile db25 connector.

[bloodline]

How the hell are you going to build an IDE interface?!?!

[Daedalus]

@Generale
Hmmm... Well, I think ISA slots would be your best shot - cut two of them so you end up with an end at both ends of the PCB edge for the best fit, and secure together with some stripboard or something at the centre. You sure you aren't thinking of building a Zorro slot? An IDE port is quite a bit more complicated, as the Zorro signals alone aren't sufficient to communicate with an IDE drive, you'll need some sort of intelligent controller too...

[billt]

If you mean a "slot" for the left-side A500 edge connector to plug into, I've used an ISA slot for this before. You need to cut it where the spacer inthe ISA slot is to remove that, size the two ends to the proper number of contacts, and then I used liquid epoxy to glue it together and a large paperclib embedded into the epoxy on each side for strength. If you have a spare A500 or old edge connector of some sort thet's suitable size you can use that plugged into the two ends to hold things straight and lined up with edge connector metal while the epoxy cures.

I've built a few of these over the years, seems to work well. I've also made a couple Zorro-size slots this way, though you need two ISA slots for that one. Sometimes a bit of epoxy can get into the connector springs at the seam between the two ends, but if you're careful and keep an eye on those things and clean out any gunk before it's solid it should be fine.

[JimS]

I made one or two of these myself. I recomend using something like an x-acto razor saw to do the slicing. Leave the cut end a little long and sand it down to keep the pin spacing correct at the joint.
 If you're salvaging the ISA connectors off an old motherboard, one way to do it is to use a heat gun or torch on the solder side. Use vicegrips on connector, and put an old isa card in the slot to keep from crushing it. Ideally do it outside with the motherboard in a vice. :-)

You could also call up www.digikey.com and ask for a S1504-ND
:-) 10 bucks.

[Generale]

I thought a butchered ISA connector would be the best shot. thanks for that.

The hack I was going to use is called a500ide on aminet.

I had been looking for a simple interface for a while. I could have come up with interface hardware easily enough, but I don't know enough about the OS to write drivers.

It looks like someone has done it all already  :-D

IDE is one of the simplest interfaces out there. It's even easier with a 16 bit bus

[bloodline]

http://www.students.tut.fi/~leinone3/ide/

Oh yeah... Looks like IDE is little endien :-)

[Generale]

64 bit is good. Yes.

Doesn't really matter with endianness with the interface anyway. The decision is left to the person with the soldering iron.

Don't even know why I'm bothering saying this, because the topic has wandered, but the IDE interface was basically designed to attach right on to the ibm clone bus, with very little electronics in between.

Luckily the simplicity of this design allows it to be connected to just about anything imaginable. The only little annoyance is with 8 bit computers. it means you have to buffer 8 bits, because IDE has a 16 bit word.

[Floid]

billt wrote:

Sometimes a bit of epoxy can get into the connector springs at the seam between the two ends, but if you're careful and keep an eye on those things and clean out any gunk before it's solid it should be fine.

As a handy household tip, JB-Weld (both normal and 5 minute variety) is water soluble...  So for glooping up fine work like this, you can get in there with a wet toothpick and clean up any drips.  Crazy-gluing your pieces and then painting a few coats of epoxy on the outside is another fairly obvious trick -- rough up the portions the reinforcing 'patch' must adhere to, melt or drill some holes for it to grip like a rivet if you can, etc, and you'll probably get something sturdier than the original plastic itself.

[orange]

I have soldered that one from Mika Leinonen

I bought two edge connectors ("exact match") from CONRAD in Germany, They costed about 10DeutscheMarks (5euros).

that happened several years ago, but surely someone still sells them.


Maybe you could also butcher Action Replay or similar but I wouldn't do it.. :roll:

[Wol]

@Generale

Maplins (uk) sell PCI edge connectors 186 pin,(ish)

Wol.

[orange]

He needs 80-pin, IIRC..

[Generale]

Thanks for so many ideas!
All excellent!!

The suggestion of the PCI caught me off guard. True they are still available.

The contacts are spaced exactly 2x denser than isa, so it'd work. But there are the problems fitting it to the proto board which I was going to use.

Anyway, I already have heaps of pc boards to salvage from.

Ordering any more suitable or foreign parts is out of the question, because I have a pathetic budget.

Love the ideas on connecting the cut ISAs together. I would have just tried plastic glue or superglue.

I could never butcher a peripheral! If you have spares, give them to me!! or sell them on australian ebay. People are paying almost AU$200 for an a500 with powersupply and mouse right now.

[Generale]

@orange:
you say you made the interface?
how well did it work?

I have some new ata connectors with the little grip things on the ends to hold the cables in. The rest of the parts I can order. The only thing I need to make is the connector to the bus. So on monday or tuesday hopefully I'll order what I need.

One little thing that is bothering me though...
Using ISA slots etc, it would mean the board woul;d be vertically oriented, right? Does the case of the a500 cause any clearance issues with the board/components?

[orange]

well I THINK it worked. dont really remember well.
this is what I do remember: I connected 4Gb Quantum fireball HDD that was PC formatted to it. But because HDD was full of data, I couldn't format/write anything. So I just used that small program for reading drive information (cyl/sectors IIRC) and Amiga displayed: ..Quantum Fireball.. and I was happy.   :-)
(all those time lost making pcb was worth it)

but then I bought A4k and several A2k, and never had time to play with it more. I would like to, in future. All that is needed now is a good case. Also, will standard A500 PSU be enough to power HDD through that BUS?(I used external AT PSU)
I also heared something about BUS noise and that its why it wouldn't work with A1000  :-(


After all the trouble of making that thing, maybe it would be a lot better to buy the real stuff (Alfa power, IIRC). Yes, original IDE controllers for A500 are hard to find and expensiveeee, but they are probably a lot better and have an option of adding RAM. [BTW, there is a VERY complex project on aminet for adding RAM,IDE,KS to A500 by a Russian guy]
Pity noone makes IDE4A500 anymore.


PS. A500 is here not worth much more than 41 AUD..