[sdiy] Covers / shroud for unused header pins?

[cheater cheater]

this isn't very new, a lot of hardware had a vinyl cover screwed down
to the pcb, but it's usually to prevent spills. usually used in
keyboards (both musical and computer). i guess for them a pcb was
better because they wanted to create a cheap backplate because they
know people will be putting that thing without a skiff right on the
table, and probably shorting it out. so including that pcb is probably
cheaper than having thousands of returns where PEBKAC shorted out his
synth and then went on to say "he doesn't know what happened, it just
stopped working".

On Fri, Sep 13, 2024 at 10:52 AM jslee via Synth-diy
<synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
>
> On Sat, 7 Sep 2024, at 05:12, James R. Coplin wrote:
>
> Basically, the cabinet has two of these installed for LED control.
>
> https://www.ultimarc.com/output/led-and-output-controllers/pacled64/
>
>
> If it were my project I would be awfully tempted to either
>
> * if open source hardware, modify the pacled64 design to use not-shit connectors, or
>
> * make a “lid” board that bolts down to spacers on the mounting holes, with slots for cabling to pass through and attach to the pin headers. You could 3d-print some snugly-fitting plugs for the slots — then you’d have protection from shorting to the whole board rather than merely the connectors
>
> * or make a “lid” board that bolts down to spacers on the mounting holes, with not-shit connectors on the top side and SMD (so no pads on top to accidentally short to) mating connectors underneath
>
> Either way, a mechanically-secured cover for the pins.
>
> When I read your post I immediately started thinking about automotive wiring. There has got to be a better way to manage this mess. Is there an internal panel that you could mount a bulkhead connector on? And then create separate looms for the “front panel” and “brains” sides. It seems there is a “keeping everything immobile” problem here and this is one approach to it.
>
> As someone else said, crimping isn’t hard. The not-shit crimping tools and connectors can be expensive, but think about how much nicer it might be for the next guy  ;-)
>
> Deutsch DTM? Would they be too bulky for your wire count? Yes I know they’re expensive
>
> When I received my System80 880 drum machine (Eurorack module) some years back I was astonished to find that the designer had created a “rear panel” PCB for it that had no circuitry but instead had (a) a slot for the Eurorack power connector, and (b) clearly identified holes for all of the trimpots. Really a significant step beyond every other module in my system.
>
> John
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