mounting pots easily

[smitch]

Hey,

Ive seen pics of people pots that look to be mounted into a pcb or veroboard.

Is there an easy way, rather than a single wire to each pot connection?

Thanks in advance

Mitch

[TK.]

Hi Mitch,

no, there is no easier way. But so long as you are using ribbon cables (known from computers), it isn't much effort, since these cables are very easy to solder.

Here an example:

Although this wiring looks chaotic (since it has been made very quickly), it still works without failure.

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[smitch]

Thanks alot you are a legend

[jerash]

no, there is no easier way. But so long as you are using ribbon cables (known from computers), it isn't much effort, since these cables are very easy to solder.

You say they are easy to solder, but i have much difficulties to strip these cables  :-/ (i hope "strip" is the good english word). I mean i can't solder them wile the plastic protection is still in place.

You get the picture ?

if you have a tip for this, i take it  ;)

thanks, jerash.

[TK.]

Hi,

ok - here an illustrated guide:

first cut the cable ends with a cutter:

the cable ends should be tinned to ensure proper junctions:

also the connectors should be tinned:

now you can solder the cables to the connectors very easily without additional tin:

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[jerash]

i couldn't hope a better reply, thanks thorsten  ;D

but...where is your third arm so you can take these pictures while soldering  :o

take care, Raf

[TK.]

oops, so these photos documented that I'm a person with 6 hands and 2 heads after all? No, I've used the self timer of my camera ;-)

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[Guest cjlargear]

Or you could design a customized pcb board and mount the pots in it.

I did design one myself and when finishing with the core board i'm gonna mount the pots into the selfmade board which then i can mount it easily on the case.

As for the core ... the easiest way to mount the cables is to pass them through the holes and with the iron solder the copper side carefully.it worked with my jdm programmer.

By the way,TK when it try to program the PIC it says "Program Failed at Code Address 000000H" What might be the problem ???

[nebula]

For past projects I have custom-etched PC boards for pots, switches and LEDs and the results have always been good.  Internally, it makes for a really professional looking project. Even though you may spend a lot of time designing the board (refer to the thread about the simple laser print method of transferring resist to circuit boards in the 'tips and tricks forum'), I like to do it because it makes it a lot easier to do mods to your project down the road, because your case is not full of spaghetti getting in your way everywhere.  

The other nice thing is that if you make a slight drilling error on your front panel it will be invisible, because the knobs will cover it up!

The disadvantage is that your finished project will probably be a little less rugged.

When I eventually get around to building an 8x16 rotary MB64 I will probably put the pots on the same board as the AIN module, that way the entire front panel can be linked back to the core with just a small ribbon.

[TK.]

By the way,TK when it try to program the PIC it says "Program Failed at Code Address 000000H" What might be the problem ???

see the troubleshooting board, there are a lot of articles about this problem and how it has been solved (mostly it's a wiring or software configuration problem)

Best Regards, Thorsten.