[sdiy] DIP header/ribbon cable assemblies

[Steve Lenham]

On 04/06/2020 21:12, gm wrote:
> Hello-
> I have to make about ten ribbon cable connectors with .6" 28 pin DIP 
> headers on either end.
> I've tried using and IDC crimping tool with less than stellar results.
> Is there a device or technique for doing this that can give reliable 
> results?
> Thanks.
> ~GMM

You don't specify what is unsatisfactory with the results from the crimp 
tool, so we don't know what needs to be improved upon, but I've always 
had acceptable results from a very basic technique: I put the pins of 
the DIP header into two stacked pieces of stripboard (US: perfboard) to 
protect them, then crimp the resulting sandwich in a small bench vice 
(US: vise) as if it were a normal IDC socket. Squeeze it up just a 
little, double-check that the ribbon is at right-angles, then finish the 
job.

I'd love a proper bench press to do this, but they do not do anything 
very different - they just help a bit more with the alignment of the 
parts. I can't justify one for the little use it would get, but the 
Thomas & Betts/Ansley ones are worth looking out for.

Cheers,

Steve L.
Benden Sound Technology