Ribbon Cable: Anyone Use It?

[sta63bmx]

Wild curiosity.  I have a Tubescreamer that has a drive boost pot and a level boost pot (both footswitched in and out with a single 3PDT), in addition to a switch for the clipping diodes and one to switch between two resistors in the input network.  With five pots and two switches and all that in the white Toadworks box, it's kinda crowded, and some ribbon cable is what I'm planning on to help clean up the wiring.  That should take care of everything except the input and output jacks, power jack, regular footswitch, and a few wires running to the extra footswitch from the board.  Any comments/suggestions on using it?  Just curious.

[rockgardenlove]

No, but its a good idea.  Only issue is that in many cases pre-planned PCB's won't work well with it.

[formerMember1]

personally, i feel it will be less as strong as the way it is wired now.

Everytime i came into contact with ribbon cable, it snapped off the pcb very very easily... it doesn't seem that strong to me...

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Most of the units I build, have two PCBs, one for the jacks and power supply, the other has the main circuit and the pots.They connect by 16 way ribbon cable. Alternate strands grounded. With IDE connectors plugged into box headers.
Works a treat. NEVER had a failure. Hundreds in use.

[Skreddy]

Most of the units I build, have two PCBs, one for the jacks and power supply, the other has the main circuit and the pots.They connect by 16 way ribbon cable. Alternate strands grounded. With IDE connectors plugged into box headers.
Works a treat. NEVER had a failure. Hundreds in use.

Awesome.  I've been considering going that route for a few months now.  I've been thinking of the board-mounted 3pdt, ins and outs, and dc jack.  I'd probably solder them after mounting the hardware rather than pre-assembling.  And using ribbon to hook up the main pcb.  Glad that idea is already working for someone; that's encouraging. 

[rockgardenlove]

It could really help with mounting all the components on PCB too...I know I'd rather put the pots on a PCB and hook them up with ribbon, that'd be really fast.

[Skreddy]

It could really help with mounting all the components on PCB too...I know I'd rather put the pots on a PCB and hook them up with ribbon, that'd be really fast.

er use board-mounted pots.    One less thing to worry about: mounting your PCB.

[sta63bmx]

Yeah, one downside to using regular cable with no connectors is NO STRAIN RELIEF.  I tried to solder as fast as possible to keep solder from wicking up into the wire and making it break.  I'm really thinking about mounting more stuff on PCB.  Thanks for the pCB pots and ribbon cable idea.  I wound up with a lot of 2 and 3 wire "ribbons" here and there instead of one BIG cable, but the thin little wires were at least together and they tucked away nicely.  I'll get some pictures up.  I kind of wound up with a "nest" of cables, which was not as neat as I wanted.  But I couldn't have used solid-core wire like I usually do.  I generally use 22 AWG solidcore wire cause it's what I have on hand.  It doesn't "nest" very well. lol  SOlid core is prone to breaking, too, if you nick it while stripping.

I am proud of this pedal.  I'll put it up in the thread when I get some more pictures tonight.

[formerMember1]

 

generally use 22 AWG solidcore wire cause it's what I have on hand.  It doesn't "nest" very well. lol  SOlid core is prone to breaking, too, if you nick it while stripping.

I think solid core is easy to make neat in a pedal, and stranded is harder. 

Get the partly bonded 22AWG wire off smallbear, it is fantastic!!!

[moosapotamus]

Most of the units I build, have two PCBs, one for the jacks and power supply, the other has the main circuit and the pots.They connect by 16 way ribbon cable. Alternate strands grounded. With IDE connectors plugged into box headers.
Works a treat. NEVER had a failure. Hundreds in use.

Who supplies these ribbon cables and connectors? I've looked for something similar a number of times with no luck.

Thanks
~ Charlie

[sta63bmx]

I get the ribbon cable here at school since we use it in lots of junk.    This is the kind of cable.

http://www.mouser.com/?handler=data.listcategory&Ne=240&N=60215

But we buy it by the foot...I dunno what's up with those prices.  If you're interested in trying out the ribbon cable, I can send you some in exchange for some widgets or something.  If the pieces aren't long, I can probably just throw them in a bubble mailer. 

Let me look for links to pictures...eh.

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE HALL OF JUSTICE!

Connectors (on cable)
-------------------------

You can get pimp Scotch Flex connectors that just push together and they have little blades that connect to the wires.  Looking...I'm striking out.  But here.

http://www.ece.uiuc.edu/ecestores/scotch.html

These are the ones available from 3M.  Look at Newark.

Newark InOne Part No.: 94F7977

Manufacturer: 3M

Manufacturer Part No.: 4610-6051

They are made by 3M and they are "insulation displacement crimp" or IDC connectors.  Do you know how long this search took?  Newark's search engine is like a null hypothesis of sorts.  These connectors are expensive, but you just squeeze them together and pow, you have a connector on a cable.  THey're so pimp.

Connectors (on board)
--------------------------

Berg connectors or "headers", kinda like hard drive pin things.  You can get these in a strip and break them off to fit.

http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?PName?Name=609-2219-ND&Site=US

Search for "berg" and then it should be under "headers and receptacles" at Digikey.

Cable
------

"rainbow flat cable" by Belden.

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/626/799.pdf

The downside is that they only sell 100' spools, enough to build pedals for every man, woman, child, lawn gnome, and pink flamingo in the continental United States of America.  If your local college has an electrical engineering department, they gotta have this on hand.  Old hard drive cables work, too.  This stuff says 28AWG, I thought mine was 22.  I used the 22 setting to strip it.  Maybe it was 28AWG.  I can get you pieces of this.  Digikey or somewhere else should have this, but I'll be damned if a search brings it up.

These are pretty cool, even though they're expensive.  There were a few big spools of twisted-pair flat wire like this and I didn't pick them up.  Someone else took them, probably straight to the recycling yard!  I salvage a lot of stuff at our school.

[spudulike]

I  have 10 metres of rainbow 50-way I want to sell (pref trade) - see post on the Sale/Trade section.

[brett]

Hi.
Rainbow in lots of 3 makes for neat pot wiring.  Either soldered to gold pins or via a 3 pin 0.1" SIL.
Gidday Moosa
cheers

[moosapotamus]

I  have 10 metres of rainbow 50-way I want to sell (pref trade) - see post on the Sale/Trade section.

Thanks for the heads-up, spud. But, I'm in USA, not UK.

~ Charlie

[Also Wik]

I used a bunch of rainbow ribbon cable for my TS-808 project. It works pretty well with GGG or TonePad boards. However, with the wire being so thin, I had alot of trouble with them snapping off at solder joints. My TS-808 no longer has an indicator light due to that! well.. and my laziness...

[Peter Snowberg]

I've used zillions of IDC connectors over the years and the only failures I've ever had came from not using a real IDC press to make the crimps.

The press was expensive (~$200 US), but it was worth every penny in the long run.

IDC cable is not made for use as general hookup wire and it will make brittle connections if used in that way.

[sta63bmx]

You mean my bench vise isn't a real IDC press?   BTDT got the tshirt!

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I don't have a 'real' IDC clamp either, I use something called an "IDC Crimping Tool" $ 30Aust from Altronics.
Note that Digikey (and others) have short lengths of ribbon with 16 pin DIP plugs at each end ready made. But it's cheaper  to roll your own, and the "box headers" are easier to use.