QuadZIF - 4xSID Socket Tester Rig

[Wilba]

Do you find testing 500 SIDs a slow process?

Tired of waiting those 8 seconds every time you need to reboot your MB-SID just to test one SID?

Then we have the solution for you!

QuadZIF - 4xSID Socket Tester Rig

QuadZIF lets you insert four SIDs into ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) sockets, specially designed to prevent damage and bending to pristine SIDs straight out of the tube. Each SID is independently connected to a SID socket on the MB-6582 PCB, thus allowing individual control of each SID , making it easy to test the oscillators and filters of each SID on its own.

See how the connector goes straight into four SID slots on the MB-6582 PCB.

Just look at that remarkable construction! What a cunning combination of 100mil spacing veroboard, SIL header pins and 28-pin IC sockets! How convenient that Wilba spaced those SID sockets on the PCB at multiples of 100mil, as if he could see into the future and anticipate your future needs in SID testing optimization!

At the other end, four 28-pin ZIF sockets are connected to the ribbon cable, and common wires between each SID pair are connected to minimize the number of wires in the ribbon cable. Two 22nF 1% Polyester capacitors are soldered directly to the ZIF socket pins to further minimize wires in the ribbon cable.

Just look at that craftsmanship! Only the best Kynar Insulated, Silver Plated, Solid Copper Conductor Wire Wrap Wire is used!

How much would you expect to pay for a custom-built 4xSID socket tester rig? $1000? $2000?

Call now and you can own your very own QuadZIF for just 12 easy payments of $39.99 plus postage and handling.

If you’re not completely satisfied with the illusion of testing SIDs four times faster, we’ll give you your money back!

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

;D

[stryd_one]

He’s CrAzY!!!

[DenDer]

:o :o :o :o

[Smithy]

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

;D

OMG, the excitement is unbearable!

Wilba this deserves to be in The Midibox Hall Of Hame, coming soon to a sid dealer near you.

That niggas crazy!

[_tilted]

If you’re not completely satisfied with the illusion of testing SIDs four times faster, we’ll give you your money back!

Illusion, nothing!

You must be saving upwards of 24 seconds per group of 4 sids!

Seriously though, my calculations suggest you’d save about 50 minutes per batch of 500 sids.

Top work. Hermes Conrad would be proud.. 

[stryd_one]

Seriously though, my calculations suggest you’d save about 50 minutes per batch of 500 sids.

Aaaaand how long does it take to make yourself a quadzif?

Just don’t tell Hermes.

[Sasha]

Just 4 SIDs at the time? I would buy it if it was at least 16. So disappointed  :-\

Now seriously, that Wire Wrap work is superb. I`m proud of you!  ;D

How is the insulation stripped? Just with soldering iron?

[Wilba]

Wire Wrap wire is magic.

I’ve used it for years, my first veroboard projects were done with it, many years ago. The “Kynar” insulation is very heat-tolerant, it won’t melt like ribbon cable insulation, so you only need to strip 1mm or 2mm. My “method” is to take the end of the roll of wire, strip it, solder it into a joint, then measure and cut the exact length required and then strip the other end. The first solder joint is enough to hold the wire while you strip it, so it very easy to make short lengths and exact lengths you require to make it bend the way you want. You can also strip it entirely and “lay tracks” by soldering it to pads, this way you can easily create power/ground rails and then solder shorter lengths at any point along it. In addition, it’s so thin that you can thread multiple wires through one hole of veroboard, so you can keep wires out of the way on the solder side of the board by having them lay on the top side. It’s solid copper core, so it can hold a bend, and generally can be made to lay flat against the veroboard. It’s even silver plated and easy to solder.

“Wire wrap” is an old-school technique of prototyping electronics, involving wrapping wire around long “leads” on the underside of a board.

[nILS]

Maaan, this device is ingenious! ;D

[Sasha]

Thank you wilba. I checked that wikpedia page about wire wrapping… Didn`t know about that thechnique. 

Just look at this… sick!!

[_tilted]

Sweet!

Looks like a robot puked!

[Sasha]

Sweet!

Looks like a robot puked!

;D  ;D  ;D

[TheAncientOne]

Don’t knock it until you try it. Second hand tools can be had on ebay, and it can be done very simply.

I’m still using it - here is a paradoxical sound generator card design which I found on line, (took a lot of searching to find the EPROM image), which is ideally suited to the technique. It’s more useful  for digital, not so much if you have a lot of discrete components.

For those wondering, it’s a hardware device to do Shepard Tones. If it works reasonably, I’ll do a redesign avoiding the nearly impossible to get ZN426 D->A, and repost it.

[_tilted]

I think it is as valid as any other prototyping technique, don’t get me wrong.

But when I look at boards like the one Sasha found, I just get a little vertigo. 

Do let us know on the shepard generator. My modular (which I still haven’t started) would love one. Or 4, or 9…

[TheAncientOne]

I think it is as valid as any other prototyping technique, don’t get me wrong.

But when I look at boards like the one Sasha found, I just get a little vertigo. 

Do let us know on the shepard generator. My modular (which I still haven’t started) would love one. Or 4, or 9…

I was kidding a bit there. You are right, some wire wrap boards just need some Bolognese sauce.

The Shepard generator I’m doing here just does an octave of fixed ‘paradoxical’ tones. You’ve started me thinking about a voltage controlled one. Would have to be a driven microprocessor design to avoid a lot of complexity, but could be done. Perhaps it could be possible to phase lock a local clock oscillator to an incoming VCO signal, and drive the tone gen from that.

Nice idea. Thanks.

[CongoZombie]

It’s funny that Wire Wrap should come up as a topic- I’m about to make a Z80 based computer an have been looking for wire wrap boards and pins and stuff, but I can’t seem to find where to buy it… Anyone have any idea where I can get it from? (I’m based in the UK, so ideally somewhere here, but if not then I’ll buy from abroad)

[TheAncientOne]

A few starter addresses:

DIL sockets from Rapid

Maplin do a reasonable fibreglass square pad board:

This is the type of tool you want - follow the links for info on wire etc.

New modified wrap tool at RS

PCB Pins at RS

PCB Pins

Some of these prices are a bit of a joke - shoppoiing around will help, though because these are now seen as high end prototyping systems, costs are high - especially when you look at PLCC sockets.

I do have a lot of new old stock, rather chunky blue 16 pin sockets, and I’ll sell you some of these far cheaper than new if you just want to try out.

Scan ebay for the tools - you want 30AWG, preferably ‘modified wrap’ and the 30AWG ‘Kynar’ or ‘Tefzel’ wire. A word of warning on the power tools: if you find a ‘strip and wrap’ bit, they do NOT work on normal ‘Kynar’ wire.

I think I have a spare ‘gun’, but it’s 110 volt for safety - you need a transformer.

PM me for an email if you want to talk more about the technique.

<Edit> Just checked ebay for you. lots of power tools in the USA, but run for this one now!

OK hand wrap tool

Hope this helps

[subatomic]

y0 wilba, what gauge of wirewrap do you buy?

http://www.jonard.com/jonard-ecommerce/control/product/~product_id=11016

looks like 24, 26, 28, 30 are the options…

[Wilba]

The smallest I think - just measured the insulation diameter as 0.5mm so I guess 30 AWG.

[Wilba]

Something like this:

http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=kjdRZtHFUmnGjHsKW%252b7iDw%3d%3d

with about the same price.