Elektor Formant Modular

i wanted to say hi and express my relief in finding this group.

i thought i would jump in with a question. ive accumulated a few formant modules and ordered a power supply for them (from curetronics). i noticed that some of the modules have a 31 pin connnector on the back of the card, whereas some of the (older?) modules only have a few pins attached to the back.

im thinking to do away with these connectors, and just solder to the proper pins to power the module / connect it others.  does anyone else have experience with or opinions on this?

thanks

Hi zombie_tron

The connectors seem unnecessary extra work at first glance. It all depends on what you plan to do with the modules.
Building a cabinet with connectors to accomodate different modules is an investment that pays itself back many times as soon as you want to modify or repair a module.  To be able to just pull out a module and slide it back in is a wonderful experience :-D

As I am an avid experimenter, I built an extension cable, basically two connectors with a long flatcable in between. This allowed me to work on a module outside of the cabinet while it was operating.

I do have other equipment without connectors, just quickly soldered together. But when these need repair (and eventually they all do) it is a lot of hassle.

 Gerard


>i wanted to say hi and express my relief in finding this group.
>
>i thought i would jump in with a question. ive accumulated a few formant modules and ordered a power supply for them (from curetronics). i noticed that some of the modules have a 31 pin connnector on the back of the card, whereas some of the (older?) modules only have a few pins attached to the back.
>
>im thinking to do away with these connectors, and just solder to the proper pins to power the module / connect it others.  does anyone else have experience with or opinions on this?
>
>thanks
>
>
>
>------------------------------------
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

-- 
______________________ _
Gerard Bik grafische vormgeving
Van Aerssenstraat 263
2582 JM  Den Haag
070 3554081

gerard - thanks for the quick answer. 

i like the idea of having one or 2 connectors attached to the power bus to be able to try out or work on modules. 

ill probably head over to www.segor.de in berlin to see if i can find the right connectors/cables/adapters.

brendan

--- In ElektorFormant@yahoogroups.com, Gerard Bik <gbik@...> wrote:

>
> Hi zombie_tron
> 
> The connectors seem unnecessary extra work at first glance. It all depends on what you plan to do with the modules.
> Building a cabinet with connectors to accomodate different modules is an investment that pays itself back many times as soon as you want to modify or repair a module.  To be able to just pull out a module and slide it back in is a wonderful experience :-D
> 
> As I am an avid experimenter, I built an extension cable, basically two connectors with a long flatcable in between. This allowed me to work on a module outside of the cabinet while it was operating.
> 
> I do have other equipment without connectors, just quickly soldered together. But when these need repair (and eventually they all do) it is a lot of hassle.
> 
>  Gerard
> 
> 
> >i wanted to say hi and express my relief in finding this group.
> >
> >i thought i would jump in with a question. ive accumulated a few formant modules and ordered a power supply for them (from curetronics). i noticed that some of the modules have a 31 pin connnector on the back of the card, whereas some of the (older?) modules only have a few pins attached to the back.
> >
> >im thinking to do away with these connectors, and just solder to the proper pins to power the module / connect it others.  does anyone else have experience with or opinions on this?
> >
> >thanks
> >
> >
> >
> >------------------------------------
> >
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> 
> -- 
> ______________________ _
> Gerard Bik grafische vormgeving
> Van Aerssenstraat 263
> 2582 JM  Den Haag
> 070 3554081
>

--- In ElektorFormant@yahoogroups.com, Terry Garrett <terry.garrett76@...> wrote:
> Hope you can get the DIN sockets as they seem not to be generally unavailable today.
> 
>                     

terry, thanks - its one of the nice things about living in germany; they have some great electronics stores and they all still love their "DIN" standard sizes.  i already found some stores who said they stock them. and if its good enough for telecom technicians.. 

_brendan

Yea. But even if you don't have a store nearby, there's always someone like www.reichelt.de, who also deliver to other contries - in Europe :) - and also still offer the DIN connector series.

Tarek

--- In ElektorFormant@yahoogroups.com, "zombie_tron" <zombie_tron@...> wrote:

>
> --- In ElektorFormant@yahoogroups.com, Terry Garrett <terry.garrett76@> wrote:
> > Hope you can get the DIN sockets as they seem not to be generally unavailable today.
> > 
> >                     
> 
> terry, thanks - its one of the nice things about living in germany; they have some great electronics stores and they all still love their "DIN" standard sizes.  i already found some stores who said they stock them. and if its good enough for telecom technicians.. 
> 
> _brendan
>