Source of new Spectrum edge connectors?

[Firefox]

Is there a good source for new ZX Spectrum edge connectors? I assume there must be, because there seems to be quite a cottage industry going cranking out new DivMMCs and the like.

Apologies if this is obvious, but after quite a bit of searching around I've not found an answer.

[PeterJ]

https://ebay.us/NkRUD4

These are from Retro Computer Shack

[1024MAK]

Edge-connectors are also available from the larger electronic suppliers. You want 0.1” pitch.

For use on Sinclair computers, all of them require cutting down and a locating pin adding.

There are various ways of forming a locating pin. In no particular order...

• Pull out the appropriate contacts with thin long nose pliers. Drill a hole from the top to the bottom of the plastic. Then using a hot soldering iron, drive a nail through the hole. Finally use a small hobby size cutting disk to cut the unwanted part of the nail off flush with the plastic.
• Bend the appropriate contacts together and then solder.
• Find a suitable size piece of plastic (bits of old cassette cases are apparently suitable), or a piece of PCB or matrix board (strip board) cut to size. You want a tight engineering fit. Pull out the appropriate contacts with thin long nose pliers. Then carefully glue the plastic/PCB in place.

Mark

[Firefox]

Blimey, you used to be able to get them ready-made and new from Maplin and RS and the like...

Well, many thanks for the pointers!

[1024MAK]

Well, various people will do the hard work for you...

https://www.tindie.com/products/TRC/zx- ... -connector

https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/detai ... ctor-24180

https://www.bytedelight.com/?product=ed ... um-a-brand

http://www.divide.cz/index.php

Etc...

Mark

[Firefox]

Well, various people will do the hard work for you...

Now then, I really like the look of this one:

http://www.divide.cz/index.php?y=ZX_ExpBoard_3.en


That's perfect for experimenting with the Spectrum's expansion port. 0.1" pin headers are widely available for next to nothing, and having more than one port would make it easy to hook up a logic analyser to see what's going on.

Many thanks for the tip!

[zx64]

How do you solder them? Space between pins rows is 5mm, and PCB is usually only 1.6mm thick

[shock__]

Bend them down slightly and then do surface mount style soldering with larger blobs.

[1024MAK]

Yeah, I would describe it as more than slightly bent.

If you were a manufacturer and were ordering tens of thousands, the female edge-connector receptacles can be ordered from the manufacturers with either short straight PCB legs/leads, designed to be mounted vertically on a PCB in through holes. Or with longer legs/leads that are bent for mounting horizontally edge ways to a PCB.

Most of the female edge-connector receptacles that are available to us are actually the type intended for vertical use. So you have to bend all the legs/leads so that the bit of the leg/lead touches the PCB pad (preferably at a low angle).

Mark

[zx64]

Thanks guys I will bend them.

[Shaos]

Well, various people will do the hard work for you...

https://www.tindie.com/products/TRC/zx- ... -connector

I "retired" my edge connector as a product to sell (yes, T.R.C. is my store) after my old bunch of cheap connectors ended (I sold like 200+ of them as part of ZX-fixer, other peripherals or individually) now I have enough more expensive connectors to work with, but I don't think it makes enough sense to sell them individually like for $3/each retail price - it's ridiculously expensive. Or not? What do you guys think?
BTW I can teach anybody how to make ZX-edge connectors reliably if somebody interested