On Mon, 6 Dec 2004, Philip Pemberton wrote:
> The only problem I found is that it's totally useless for dark-coloured
> panels (or really anything that isn't metallic or white), because the
> inks aren't particularly opaque. That and you can't print white lettering
> onto the transparency :-/
In this case, print your graphics in an outlined, bubble manner - so lines
become long, thin empty boxes. Paint in the gap in the center with Tipp-Ex
(whiteout). Turn it over: nice, neat white lines! :D
alex/melt
On Dec 6 2004, 0:59, Philip Pemberton wrote:
> In message <10412051910.ZM6157(a)mindy.dunnington.u-net.com>
> Pete Turnbull <pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com> wrote:
> > Spraymount. And the really strong stuff is called Hobbymount.
>
> Hm. I'll have to see if I can find that anywhere - all I managed to
find was
> the blue-can Spraymount and the red-can Photomount.
I think I got it either in Office World or from CPC.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
On Dec 5 2004, 18:50, Philip Pemberton wrote:
> In message <41B34E1E.4B26208C(a)rain.org>
> Marvin Johnston <marvin(a)rain.org> wrote:
>
> > Something that I have started using to help give projects a more
> > "professional" look is clear adhesive label stock for the
case/cover.
>
> [ snippety snip ]
>
> I personally use inkjet transparencies. Print a mirrored version of
the
> layout onto the back (matted) side of the transparency. Spray the
> transparency (or the case if there's a square display cutout) with 3M
> PhotoMount adhesive, wait 15 seconds (IIRC), then stick the
transparency to
> the panel. Cut off any excess plastic and you're done.
Exactly what I did when I made spare unit plugs for an RL02, several
years ago (except I used laser transparencies).
> As far as drilling is concerned, use the non-permanent version of
Photomount
> (can't remember what it's called, though)
Spraymount. And the really strong stuff is called Hobbymount.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
On Dec 5 2004, 17:48, Scott Stevens wrote:
> On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 13:01:29 -0500, Pat wrote:
>
> >On Sunday 05 December 2004 06:43, Pete Turnbull wrote:
> >> Better than hacking RJ45s would be to hack RJ11 (6P/6C) plugs.
> >> They're very common, about a quarter of the price of MMJs, and
there
> >> are low-cost crimp tools available.
> >
> >Agreed, the only difference between an RJ12/RJ11 and MMJ is the tab
> >location, which can be easily sliced off (though that usually makes
for
> >a loose fitting connector).
> >
> >> For anyone in the UK who needs *a few*, I believe I still have a
box
> >> of adapter cables for Emulex terminal servers. These are short
> >> (about 8-10 inches) flat cables with an MMJ on one end and an RJ45
on
> >> the other. You can have a few for the cost of postage.
> >
> >And if anyone in the US wants one, I can do up to, say, 25ft
MMJ->MMJ or
> >MMJ->RJ(12/45) cables for $5 + shipping. I had a few takers last
time
> >I did this, and they seemed to be happy with my handiwork. : )
> >
>
> If you made something like this, would the RJ-45 end plug into one of
> the serial adaptors that I got from the back of a rackmount US
> Robotics modem box? It's one of those plugs that adapts from RJ-45
> jack to a DB-25 male plug.
Pat can tell you how his cables are wired, but the easiest way,
especially with flat cable, is pin-to-opposite-pin (ie, bearing in mind
that an MMJ has 6 pins and an RJ45 has 8, it goes MMJ-1 to RJ45-7,
...., MMJ-6 to RJ45-2). This happens to be the way DEC made most of
their MMJ cables. DEC also used a standard signal arrangement, with
the two centre pins being ground, the two next to those being Rx and
Tx, and the outermost two being the handshakes. That meant a
null-modem was just a question of plugging in the cable between console
port and terminal.
The reason I mention this is that *some* RJ45-DE9/DB25 adapters and
*some* serial-on-RJ45 ports use a similar convention; Suns and Cisco
kit tend to do so, and some terminal servers, but not all. Take a look
at the YOST page: http://yost.com/Computers/RJ45-serial/ and also at
Celeste Stokely's serial port pages:
http://www.stokely.com/unix.serial.port.resources/A-B-Ycablepinout.html
There is one other quite common method, though; we use it at York, and
I've seen it in several other places. Based on the assumption that we
only need Rx and Tx, no handshaking, we wire Tx to RJ45-1, Rx to
RJ45-3, and ground to RJ45-2 and RJ45-6. Why? Because 1+2 and 3+6 are
twisted pairs in Cat5 and they are the pins used by Ethernet cables, so
it means we can use standard Ethernet Cat5 cables for straight-through
connections, and standard Ethernet crossover cables as, well,
crossovers (I couldn't really call them null-modem as they don't carry
handshake signals).
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
On Dec 5 2004, 11:16, Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
> Scott Stevens wrote:
> > 4. What is the console on this hardware? It has the three serial
> > ports on RJ-type connectors, and from what I gather this is a
TTY-only
> > machine, no framebuffer, etc.
>
> I made a connector for my DECStation 3100 by grinding bits off an
RJ45
> connector until it fitted. Brutal but effective. Prepare to lose a
few
> RJ45s in the process - you'd be better with your own crimping tool
and a
> bag of plugs.
>
> Better still would be the proper DEC connector, but I couldn't find
any
> of those.
You can still get them from Farnell in the UK (and presumably in the
States etc) and CPC in the UK. Since I'm sitting here with the Farnell
cat open for Ethan, I looked them up.
Stewart P/No 937-SP-3066R-OST for stranded round cable is Farnell
429-788
Stewart P/No 937-SP-3066-OST for stranded flat/oval cable is Farnell
429-790
Stewart P/No 940-SP-3066R-OST for solid round cable is Farnell 429-843
Stewart P/No 940-SP-3066-OST for solid flat/oval cable is Farnell
429-855
The catalogue numbers are for packs of ten, and they cost UKP4 or so
per pack (quite expensive nowadays).
Of course, the real problem is getting the crimp tool. MMJ tools tend
to be expensive, although if you have one of those multipurpose
crimping pliers with interchangeable dies for blue/red/yellow insulated
connectors, BNCs, RJ45, RJ11, etc you can get MMJ dies for about UKP12.
Better than hacking RJ45s would be to hack RJ11 (6P/6C) plugs. They're
very common, about a quarter of the price of MMJs, and there are
low-cost crimp tools available.
For anyone in the UK who needs *a few*, I believe I still have a box of
adapter cables for Emulex terminal servers. These are short (about
8-10 inches) flat cables with an MMJ on one end and an RJ45 on the
other. You can have a few for the cost of postage.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks(a)gmail.com> noted:
> On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 11:26:47 GMT, Pete Turnbull
> <pete(a)dunnington.u-net.com> wrote:
>> So does the genuine Veroboard cutter. It's just a stub drill mounted
>> in a blue plastic handle, and its only advantage is that it's easier
>> to
>> hold. There's quite a good picture at
>> http://www.zen22142.zen.co.uk/Prac/vero_circ/vero.htm
>
> Ah... I was under the impression that the cutting edge had a
> substantially different angle fro a drill (like describing a 180
> degree arc between the cutting surfaces rather than, say, 150
> degrees).
>
> I guess this picture...
>
> http://www.zen22142.zen.co.uk/Prac/vero_circ/8.jpg
>
> .... really shows the divot one gets from the real tool.
>
> I might just have to just use the drill press for this task (taking
> advantage of the stop to keep from drilling _though_ the resin board
> ;-)
>
> The tool looks handy for more than a few cuts, though. I wouldn't
> want to try just holding a bit bare-handed - lots of hand cramps and
> slips probably.
>
>
[...]
> Thanks for the website tip... nice pix.
>
> -ethan
In the past I used a vector pad cutter (a great tool for doing
breadballs) to cut the traces on Vero/Vector boards. The cutter has a
guide pin to guide an annular cutter. Generally used to isolate a pad
on a blank PC board, but works great for cutting the traces on
protoboard. Since it is a mill-like cutter, it does not generate a
divit like a drill bit.
A while back after being deprived of access to this tool (read
downsized...), I decided to pick one up for myself. The part is listed
in Digi-key under the Vector Board section. However, the sticker shock
was extreme. As an alternate, I found that they make mills of similar
design for cutting various sizes of o-ring grooves and are priced
within reach.
As a cheap alternate, a simple end mill of the right diameter in a
drill press should do the job admirably.
CRC
Does anyone know where I can locate a genuine tool for severing the
traces on veroboard? I know I can make do with a drill bit, but that
puts a tapered hole in the resin board underneath.
One thing that's cheaper in NZ is, strangely enough, veroboard. The
few pieces I found in the States were priced much higher than
protoboards used to be at Rat Shack (when you could find them). I
occasionally run into a project from a UK experimenter, and have
wanted to do their designs without doing 100% point-to-point. I'll
probably bring home a couple of panels so I have a chance to do that
(for my own stuff, I'll probably always do point-to-point).
-ethan
