Steev Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 I have some of Smash's IDC connectors and I messed up the wiring of a ribbon cable. Now I want to take it apart and can't do it. Here's what I can do. If I assemble it without the strain relief, by prying the little tabs I can get the two other pieces apart. But once the strain relief is in, I can't separate anything. I tried putting together another IDC connector to see how it worked, but it locked up on me too. I have poked and pried. I even snapped in half a little screwdriver that you use for eyeglasses (my wife is not too happy about this one).Sorry for the dumb questions. Nobody I know does electronics. Even the people at Radio Shack said to me "nobody buys this stuff anymore. They just want cellphones." Sometimes when I go there to ask something, I ask the senior manager and then the other staff will follow him around just to see what the product is (I swear I am not making this up and it has happened several times). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echopraxia Posted May 9, 2008 Report Share Posted May 9, 2008 Radio shack will become bankrupt soon. Just like circuit city..... The easiest thing to do is to cut the cable close to the idc connector and get a fresh idc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nILS Posted May 9, 2008 Report Share Posted May 9, 2008 Once an IDC connector is "closed" it'S pretty had to open it back up. What I usually do (as I use a lot of old IDE cables in my midiboxes) is to break the top part which holds the cable in place and the slowly remove the cable. Then it's basically just a female pin header which you can solder a cable to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted May 9, 2008 Report Share Posted May 9, 2008 Err yeh that's kinda the point of strain relief...it's specially engineered to stay on and not bend until it breaks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steev Posted May 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2008 Thanks, gang - this group is great.Radio shack will become bankrupt soon. Just like circuit city..... The easiest thing to do is to cut the cable close to the idc connector and get a fresh idc.Yeah, I heard that about Radio Shack having financial problems. It's too bad because it's a great American brand. You know, when I was a kid it was a cool place. I remember they had a "Battery of the Month" club for kids which I was in. Kids could go learn about electronics things. I guess they have a little of that now but it's more like a mini Circuit City. Guess they gotta stay up with the times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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