A whale of an adaptor

[undamned]

Here's some photo's of a converter a friend of mine asked me to make a bit ago.  He wanted a converter cable and I recommended making it a converter box so he could use his own standard cables (SCART/VGA).  I told him I'd find a nice project case for the electronics, but little did he know, ud had something up his sleeve, heh.

SCART into the top (I'm only using the signals for RGBs, +5V, GND, and stereo audio) and high density DB15 out for my friend's arcade monitor interface.  The switch is a 3PDT, one way passes the sync signal straight though, the other redirects the sync signal through the 1881 sync seperator and applies +5V to the 1881 and the LED indicator.  I have some dremel guides one of my co-workers made for me which made cutting the custom holes a cinch.







-ud

[ken_cinder]

I had "Cool" and "WTF" running through my mind at the same time.

What might I ask does the whale do normally, looks like theres buttons on it's back.

[Link83]

Thats great!....weird...but great 

Actually, I am intrigued as to where you managed to get the 'hex sockets' for the VGA socket from? and how are they fixed - are they glued in place or is there a bolt in the back holding them on?

I only ask as I am trying to put a proper VGA socket on my Dreamcast VGA mod and but I can only find VGA sockets without the 'hex sockets', which means you cant screw the VGA cable in place  and I am currently using M3 bolts and nuts to hold the VGA socket in place.

Also impressed with your hole cutting techique, any chance you could show us these 'custom guides' your friend made? Is he interested in making anymore? 

[undamned]

What might I ask does the whale do normally, looks like theres buttons on it's back.

One button makes the mouth chomp, the other button launches these plastic "water bursts" out the blow-hole, and the third feature is it has two little wheels on the bottom so that when you push it across the table/floor it's little fins flap (awesome, I know).

Actually, I am intrigued as to where you managed to get the 'hex sockets' for the VGA socket from? and how are they fixed - are they glued in place or is there a bolt in the back holding them on?

I've got a bunch lying around from old PC cards.  Just dig around for an old VGA card, steal the hex nuts and hack the VGA connector off of the PCB and solder straight to that.

Also impressed with your hole cutting techique, any chance you could show us these 'custom guides' your friend made? Is he interested in making anymore? 

I'm not going to trouble my friend to service other people's projects, but I may do a write up on the topic.  We'll see
-ud

[ken_cinder]

I haven't seen a VGA connector that doesn't have holes in the tabs on the sides.

As for the "hex nuts" they're the same nuts used for motherboard stand-offs etc, easily found at any store that carries electronics parts etc.

[Drakon]

I have no idea what purpose it serves but I love it

[Link83]

I haven't seen a VGA connector that doesn't have holes in the tabs on the sides.

As for the "hex nuts" they're the same nuts used for motherboard stand-offs etc, easily found at any store that carries electronics parts etc.

Yeah, I can only find VGA connectors with the holes and tabs, and I dont seem to be able to find any of those Hex nuts in the UK (Despite emailing numerous electronic retailers)  although I know what you mean why you say they are used as motherboard stand-offs.

May I ask how you are supposed to fix them to the VGA socket? Do you glue them to the front? or do you screw a short bolt through the back to secure the socket and the hex nuts, leaving half the nut empty for the VGA plugs screws?

Im only curious as I imagine gluing them on would make them quite weak, and if you screw them on (I dont know what size bolt I would need - M3?) I would think that screwing in the VGA plug could cause them to 'unscrew' themselves and so make it impossible to remove the VGA plug as they would be spinning in the hole? (Unless you put super glue on the bolt then screw it in to the hex nut - so it cant be removed?)

I have also heard that there are bolts you can get that have hex nut heads? Does anybody know where you can get these from?

I hope that makes sense, and sorry for slightly hi-jacking your thread Undamned.

[ken_cinder]

They're just like these, and you screw them through the holes in the tabs on the connector.

Then you just affix a nut on the other side of the tab and tighten to keep it from turning with whatever you screw into it.
You just have to buy ones of the right length and diameter for your job.

[Link83]

Thanks  I have had another look around and finally managed to find the correct hex nut bolts for a VGA socket in a kit here:-
http://catalog.tycoelectronics.com/TE/bin/TE.Connect?C=1&M=BYPN&TCPN=5745563-3&RQPN=5745563-3

I think they are the right ones  They seem to do a few different kits which have different shaped nuts, different screw lengths, and different thread sizes, so I hope that ones right as I ordered a free sample to be sure  .

They only thing I wasnt positive about was if VGA plugs used 4-40 sized male bolts? In the UK we dont use imperial measurements anymore, its all metric and bolts are usually given codes like M3, M4 etc so I wasnt entirely sure.

[ken_cinder]

Well you want to buy a longer one if the material between your connector and the nut is thick. I've just used standoffs in the past, as I haven't used them on anything very thick so they were long enough.

I'm pretty sure those are all metric. 4-40 is a 4mm diameter thread with a 40 degree thread pitch.
The rest of the measurements are for length of the threaded section and the entire bolt, and are also in metric.

So really all you need to know, is the diameter of the hole in your connector tabs, pick a length long enough to fit your material and put em together. Since the bolt comes with washers and nut, you don't need to account for anything but that hole size.

Funny thing is, on that same site, none of their connectors list the size of those. They only state they have threaded inserts.

M4 would be just 4 btw, same thing. M4 on it's own doesn't tell you the most important thing of all though, which is that thread pitch. You can buy an M4 bolt, but if it's thread pitch doesn't match an M4 nut, it won't work.

[MKL]

That's some incorrect info, IJTF_Cinder.

The standard for D-Sub screw locks (this is the correct name) is 4-40UNC (unified coarse), even in metric countries. #4 doesn't mean 4mm thread diameter but corresponds to 0.112" (~ 2.8mm) and 40 doesn't indicate a degree but the number of threads per inch (TPI).

Also, M4 isn't just 4mm as the M qualifies it as ISO metric which couldn't be confused with other standards, so it's a very specific designation. BTW, an M4 screw not only is the incorrect standard for screw locks but it's so big it wouldn't even fit through the holes of a D-Sub connector.

[Link83]

Thanks very much for the replies everyone 

The only thing I dont understand is what size the hole is in standard VGA sockets? I tested one with both an M3 and M4 bolt, the M3 bolts fits but leaves a small gap. The M4 bolts appears to be too big (as MKL said they would be) Although they are quite close - could it just be the M4's thread spacing is different?

MKL also said 4-40 is actually smaller than M3 diameter wise - meaning there would be even more of a gap around the bolt in the VGA sockets hole - I take it there isnt a a kit with the exact size bolt to fit standard VGA socket holes? The only bolt diameter choices are 4-40, M3 and 2-56 (Apparently the female hex socket is always 4-40)

Your can see all the choices available on page 59 of this pdf:-
http://ecommas.tycoelectronics.com/commerce/DocumentDelivery/DDEController?Action=showdoc&DocId=Catalog+Section%7F82068_AMPLIMITE_Cable_Connectors%7F0108%7Fpdf%7FEnglish%7FENG_CS_82068_AMPLIMITE_Cable_Connectors_0108.pdf
Please note its 3.83MB

One other thing, in the pdf it also says "One or two flat washers may be required for panel thicknesses less than .060 [1.52]. Female screwlocks are not recommended for panel thicknesses greater than .060 [1.52]."
Now two questions arise a)Are the washers strictly necessary/required? Or could I not use any? and b) Why are these sets not recommended for panel thicknesses over.060? (I'm sure the Dreamcast casing is thicker than that)

Lastly I came across this page whilst searching for more info that I though some people might find useful:-
http://euler9.tripod.com/bolt-database/23.html

back on topic, Undamned have you given this adaptor to your friend yet, and if so what did they say? 

.....sorry again for taking this thread so of course!

[ken_cinder]

The internet is full of incorrect information, I read that on more than one page. Oh well.

[MKL]

yeah it happens a lot, no offense meant.

Thanks very much for the replies everyone 

The only thing I dont understand is what size the hole is in standard VGA sockets? I tested one with both an M3 and M4 bolt, the M3 bolts fits but leaves a small gap. The M4 bolts appears to be too big (as MKL said they would be) Although they are quite close - could it just be the M4's thread spacing is different?

MKL also said 4-40 is actually smaller than M3 diameter wise - meaning there would be even more of a gap around the bolt in the VGA sockets hole - I take it there isnt a a kit with the exact size bolt to fit standard VGA socket holes? The only bolt diameter choices are 4-40, M3 and 2-56 (Apparently the female hex socket is always 4-40)

The holes in the D-Sub frame can be either threaded (4-40UNC) or unthreaded, in which case the diameter is 3.05mm which is normal since the thread diameter of 4-40 is slightly less than that (~ 2.8mm). A little gap (0.2mm!) is only normal, not sure why it bugs you that much.

Your can see all the choices available on page 59 of this pdf:-
http://ecommas.tycoelectronics.com/commerce/DocumentDelivery/DDEController?Action=showdoc&DocId=Catalog+Section%7F82068_AMPLIMITE_Cable_Connectors%7F0108%7Fpdf%7FEnglish%7FENG_CS_82068_AMPLIMITE_Cable_Connectors_0108.pdf
Please note its 3.83MB

One other thing, in the pdf it also says "One or two flat washers may be required for panel thicknesses less than .060 [1.52]. Female screwlocks are not recommended for panel thicknesses greater than .060 [1.52]."
Now two questions arise a)Are the washers strictly necessary/required? Or could I not use any? and b) Why are these sets not recommended for panel thicknesses over.060? (I'm sure the Dreamcast casing is thicker than that)

D-sub connectors are supposed to be rear mounted. You see so many front mounted ones in home made projects partly because cutting a good d-sub hole is too difficult for most people (a front mounted connector will cover a badly cut hole) and partly because people often need to mount them on thick (~ 2mm) plastic panels (consoles cases, project boxes).
Rear mounting on a thick panel and screw locks don't go together well as the screw locks (which can only be front mounted of course) will stick out more than the rear mounted connector, preventing the connector on the cable from plugging all the way into the panel mounted connector.
On the other hand, if a panel is particularly thin (sheet metal) a rear mounted connector might stick out more than the screw locks. In this case you can use flat washers to raise the screw locks a little.
And lastly we have lock (or spring) washers behind the panel, in between the rear mounted D-sub frame and the nuts and these are always a must, only cheapass modders use just a nut to secure screws.

Bottom line, if you're going to mount a D-sub connector on a ~2mm panel (like a plastic one) and want to use screw locks, you need to front mount it. And keep in mind that with thick panels the screw locks (the threaded part) need to be longer than usual.

[ken_cinder]

Or if you own a dremel, you simply shave out a "trench" in the plastic, so that you can still rear mount it.
This of course requires that you are working with something that you can dremel from the inside, and you are patient enough that you don't ruin it by going too deep!

[undamned]

D-sub connectors are supposed to be rear mounted. You see so many front mounted ones in home made projects partly because cutting a good d-sub hole is too difficult for most people (a front mounted connector will cover a badly cut hole) and partly because people often need to mount them on thick (~ 2mm) plastic panels (consoles cases, project boxes).

The thing that stinks about front mounted connectors is that once they are soldered in, your whole wire harness is "bound" to your case.  If you ever want to re-work your electronics outside of the case, you have to unsolder your connectors before doing so (a pain).
-ud