Options for solderless connections

[Explodey]

Hi folks, I'm new to the EEVBlog -- someone from Gearslutz suggested I try this forum for my electronics questions.

So I've been tinkering with this reel to real head stack, and as you can see from the picture, you can connect to the heads by using this blue connector port. Unfortunately, if you look closely, you can see that the pins are actually not pins, but rather, little flat metal strips, so standard jumpers won't connect to them.  I would love to be able to connect without clipping the wires, but I can't find anything that connects to these flat contacts.

I suspect it would probably be a pipe dream to try to find the female counterpart to this connector port, but perhaps there are breadboard kids that might have jumpers with the female counterpart to the individual contacts?  Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Messtechniker]

If these pins are 2.8 mm wide the you might use 2.8 mm flat pin connectors.
But I suspect these pins are a bit smaller.

[Assafl]

For permanent installations I'd find the mating connector for reliability.

For tinkering I assume that the female pins from regular headers (like the ones used on Arduino cards) will fit. You have to pry the pin out from the header  (they looks like gold plated pincers), and probably put some insulation (so they don't short) - maybe shrink will work - or maybe it'll be too tight.

As a very temporary connection. And keep the volume down so when the connections rattle you won't blow out those expensive PMC drivers.

[ajb]

Are the pins the same thickness as standard header pins but wider, or are they the same width but thinner?  The best thing might be to try to find a connector family that has similarly shaped pins, and buy the corresponding female contacts.  Failing that, a connector family that matches the pin width, if not the thickness, would probably do.

[jpanhalt]

I would be less concerned about the shape of the pins than getting the right number and spacing.   A DB15 connector is similar, but of course, only has 15 pins.   Is the 6th pin in the center row needed?

Dimensions would be needed to advise about cobbling something together.   Pin-to-pin center distance, row-to-row center distance (might be same as pin-to-pin) are needed.   Pin maximum width would help.  Some connectors will take square, round or blade pins.

[cstratton]

Not sure if the sizing is right (your might be smaller/finer pitch) but JST style crimp connectors are a wider flatter blade than the square post Molex or so-called "DuPont" style.

If you cover them in individual heatshrink you get some flexibility on spacing that you don't have with molded housings.

[X]

Looks like you need something like this but in a 20-pin version.

I doubt all 20 pins are connected here. You could even wire directly to the tape heads if you can work out which wire goes where.
For the reel tape experts out there: why do some of these have two erase heads?

[densmith123]

Are there any clues on the blue connector?  I had a similar situation once and I was able to find a small symbol and number on the connector.  After an exhaustive search, I found the company and then the correct mating connector.  I'm sure there is an exact mate for that connector somewhere.  If you find any markings, post them.  Don't forget to unscrew it and check under the flange.

Hope it works out!

[Explodey]

Thanks for your replies everyone. If it helps, I used to this measuring device at my local fab lab, and the pins are 1.5mm wide and 0.6mm thick. There's lots of Arduino stuff laying around here, but none of it fits these pins.

For what I'm doing, I really just need to connect individual jumpers to these pins. I think I could probably find what I need if I just knew the right search term to use. All the search terms I've tried have turned out to be way off. Thanks for your help.

[Richard Crowley]

That was a semi-custom connector back several decades ago. Even then it would have been difficult to source. Here in 2017 it is both semi-custom and long out of production.  So, your chances of finding a mating connector range between slim and none.  If you want to connect temporarily to the pins your most likely choice is simply small "alligator clips".  If you want something more permanent, you will likely need to replace the custom connector with something more generic (like a "D-Sub" connector).

There ARE terminals that may fit those pins  something like TE Connectivity 60900-4. 

The good news is that they are only 3.5 cents each.  The bad news is that the minimum order is 10,000 units.
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualkey0virtualkey60900-4
Clearly, economically unfeasible.

As you correctly observe, the pins are actually rectangular "blades" and not the conventional round or square profile as found everywhere else in electronics.  So it is unlikely that anything "Arduino-related" will fit these blade-pins.

[TomS_]

Try DigiKey, at least on their UK website they are offering them in single quantities.

https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detail/en/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/60900-4/A105484CT-ND/3465667

[Explodey]

Try DigiKey...

Perfect, thanks TomS!  They arrived last night, and they work perfectly!