Replicating IBM SLT/MST card interconnect

Tom Stepleton stepleton at gmail.com
Thu Jul 29 07:21:27 CDT 2021


Hi cctalk,

I'm looking to replicate the 24-contact connector system that IBM used on
SLT and MST cards for many years. Has anyone done this before?

The best photos of this connector that I can find online are on this page:
http://techandtrouble.blogspot.com/2014/04/happy-50th-system360-pt5-anatomy-of-slt.html
I haven't searched Bitsavers documentation extensively for IBM
specifications, but I've seen some details around page 54 of this document:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/logic/SY22-2798-2_LogicBlocks_AutomatedLogicDiagrams_SLT,SLD,ASLT,MST_TO_Oct71.pdf

I'm interested in reproducing both polarities of this connector: plug and
socket. Also, even though the most familiar use of this connector is for
board-to-board interconnect, I'm most interested in wire-to-board
interconnect. IBM used this method for DC power connectors in its  5100,
5110, and 5120 computers. Here are images of this specific connector:
http://stepleton.com/connector/
taken as still images from a YouTube video on the IBM 5120 by Jerry Walker (
https://www.youtube.com/c/JerryWalker-JMPrecision/videos).

I've designed and built a device that monitors DC power supply voltages for
overvoltage and undervoltage excursions and cuts off all power rails if any
voltage goes out of spec. I hope to use it to protect my own IBM 5100 from
major power supply faults like the one CuriousMarc encountered with his
9825T:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-eN93L6yX8

In order to put my device between my 5100's power supply and the logic card
backplane, I need to recreate a plug and a socket so that I can fashion a
cable that goes out to my device. If anyone has created dependable modern
versions of these connectors, would you mind sharing any pointers?

Thanks for any help,
--Tom


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