Broken pins in 400 data socket.

[Mulbin]

Hi all,

 

I've had a missing pin for ages in the data port at the side of my Atari 400 (where the disk drive or cassette plugs in) and it still worked...but now another has dropped off through wear and it no longer functions!

 

Is there;

 

A. An off the shelf replacement for these sockets.

B. A tutorial in making and soldering new pins.

 

I really don't want to spend the next year looking for a donor computer!

[Rybags]

The pins I'm reasonably sure are likely some sort of stainless steel, which in itself can be somewhat resistant to being soldered.

 

In every application I've seen (computer, perpipheral) they go through a 90 degree angle behind the plug then are attached to the motherboard.

A possible fix I can think of (assuming the break took place somewhere after the bend could be to find some donor pins and trim to size then just solder onto the stub that remains.

Then maybe reinforce the whole thing with a bit of hot-snot silicone glue.

[xrbrevin]

theyre probably made of stainless to resist bending.

i would suggest looking into PCB pin headers as they are designed to be 'handled' to some extent.

if you can find a similar gauge one, maybe it can be trimmed/formed to fit?

[+Mr Robot]

The pins are .040 with .025 square tails, designed to withstand 25lb of axial force.

 

If you can find a supplier of a pair of pins that will work (there are two lengths before the bend) there would be 3D printed sockets available by the end of the week! Here's the relevant snippet from the SIO specs

 

[Mulbin]

Just now, Mr Robot said:

there would be 3D printed sockets available by the end of the week!

 

 

I have a 3D printer too, I'll keep en eye out for the right gauge pins!

[+Mr Robot]

You can buy sockets from Best but last I checked there was a limit per customer. It's also common to replace the connector with a DB15 but you'd still need some db15 to sio adapter thing. Maybe fit a db15 to a lotharek sio 4way breakout 

[Kyle22]

I believe that the DB15 only complicates the matter. Look around. SIO sockets are out there, and soon will be printed when the pins are found.

:)

 

[Mulbin]

I’ve just bought a dead 1010 on eBay for £9 which has 2 good sockets on it! 

 

 

[Almost Rice]

My off the shelf replacement was paper clip.  cut into shape of 90 degree bend and put it back in place and solder the in just the pin that broke.  Fast and I didnt need to get a replacement SIO port.

[+toddtmw]

On 9/25/2019 at 10:02 AM, Mr Robot said:

The pins are .040 with .025 square tails, designed to withstand 25lb of axial force.

 

If you can find a supplier of a pair of pins that will work (there are two lengths before the bend) there would be 3D printed sockets available by the end of the week! Here's the relevant snippet from the SIO specs

 

I’ve designed a socket, but cannot find pins, so haven’t posted it. Do you have an idea on where to get pins?

[xrbrevin]

from you local stationers by all accounts! 😀

i know you can get some heavier duty paperclips, hopefully theyre up to the task

[+Mr Robot]

48 minutes ago, toddtmw said:

Do you have an idea on where to get pins?

If I did I'd be making sockets myself!

 

[_The Doctor__]

it would appear steve at atarimax has his own pins and they are solid ...  clearly there is a way to obtain suitable pins...

[Kyle22]

5 hours ago, Almost Rice said:

My off the shelf replacement was paper clip.  cut into shape of 90 degree bend and put it back in place and solder the in just the pin that broke.  Fast and I didnt need to get a replacement SIO port.

 

A paper clip will NOT stand up to the many plug / unplug cycles. This is a TERRIBLE idea.

We must find proper solutions.

:)

 

[Jeffrey Worley]

On 9/27/2019 at 11:14 PM, Kyle22 said:

 

A paper clip will NOT stand up to the many plug / unplug cycles. This is a TERRIBLE idea.

We must find proper solutions.

 

As horrible as it seems, a large type paperclip does make useable pins.  I never put one in a male jack before, merely headed wires with bits of paperclip to plug into a female sio cable without having to cannibalize the cable to get what I wanted.  I think it is probably ok in the mid-run, but a fix like that in the actual 400's socket isn't the best bet.  I'd replace the sio connector with one from something less crucial, swap the  two.  I'm kinda curious how you got the pin to stay in the socket firmly.  Did you clip out the old broken pin and run it through and solder it down to the remaining pin inside the machine?  Remove the pin from the socket entirely and replace it with a paperclip?  I'd wipe the clip down with some wd40 to keep it from rusting....

 

Jeff

Edited October 3, 2019 by Technoid Mutant

[Kyle22]

Plugging in straight, by hand, individually is VERY different from a pin in an SIO connector mounted on a board. There must be a 90 degree bend, and there is where you lose all the strength. If you use a paperclip as a pin it will most likely get pushed back into the SIO connector and the 90 degree angle will be reduced by bending.

 

[+bob1200xl]

Why not buy one from Best?

 

If you can't find a SIO connector at all, I have a couple of extras.

 

Bob