12 Mar
2008
12 Mar
'08
4:19 p.m.
Usually, when I need a template for a DB25, DE9, or whatever,
I just dig in the junk box for an old PC-type serial bracket.
You know, from back in the day when the serial ports were
in one of the blank spots for empty card slots, instead of
being on the motherboard itself?
AS they still are on all the PCs here....
When I needed to cut a D-connector hole in a plastic blanking panel, with
the ocnnector mounted from the back (so it had to be pretty neat), I did
use a 'spare' PC beacket. I clamped it to the panel I wanted to make the
hole in, and drilled the connector mounting holes. Then fixed the 2 parts
together through said hoels and used the bracket to guide a drill bit
round the areal I wanted to cut out (the metal is so much harder than the
plstic that this worked very well). And then just filed it round, again
it was obvious when I was trying to file the metal.
What was I doing? Mounting a DC37 socket in the second drive bay of a
single-drive Amstrad PPC640 laptop. That way I could use said laptop to
run the Microtest system, used to align floppy drives.
-tony