Need solution for HDI-45 to DB-15 connectors for video out

Trash80toG4 said:

Installation of headers should be a snap when the connector can be used as an assembly jig.

That's what I was thinking in scaling the graphic, only the horizontal spacing would be a given?


Then we should be looking into machine pin headers with their round pins I'd think?

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Yes, I have some 0.52 round header pins on the way, but couldn’t find any 2mm pitch longer headers (probably will need ~12mm length) with round pins.

This was just to test the spacing of my HDI-45 layout in Eagle. Although I did confirm all the pins fit very snug and were making secure contact, so if someone doesn’t want to go through the expense and hassle of individual pins for all ~20 or so pins, the square pins in a traditional header would likely work great.

FYI, here's the DB15 version of the board:



The routing was a bit more complex (the VGA pins were so simply it allowed me to do it all in on layer, this one unless I missed a routing opportunity, required two layers and a couple of vias to get everything connected properly.

Trash80toG4 said:

Great stuff, but why do you have such a large horizontal offset between connectors? Such a wide spread works well enough on the 6100, but not at all on the 7100, where the cooling vents preclude such an arrangement?

The slight offset to the left in my proposed layout clears the PDS expansion slot of the 6100, but stops short of running into the 7100 cooling exhaust louvers.

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I was trying to avoid interfering with the PDS slot screws. And giving more space for the potential 3d printed cover. I also don't have a 7100 to see where the cooling vents are. Looking at my 6100, it does appear I could put it closer to the right. I'll adjust my PCB...

Trash80toG4 said:

Just re-read my post, seems kinda blunt, no criticism intended. I've got both cases handy, but haven't printed it out for fitment. I'll post a .pdf you can print out for reference, including an outline of the space available for both cases.

Offset should be plenty for PDS. May be a bit too much for the 7100.
Haven't put a ruler on them yet, going by eye, which is usually pretty accurate, but we'll see.


edit: no time for rulers or AI playtime before work, but this should give you an approximation for today.

View attachment 19529

View attachment 19530

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If you have the chance, can you get a measurement from the farthest left pins of the HDI-45 connector, to where the fan fin bump outs start? My current VGA design extends 14mm left of the leftmost pins. Wondering if the will be enough. The other option that might alleviate the need for all of this, although it would look weird, would be to align the VGA connector vertically. Seems like we have more space. With that, I suspect I could make the board a rectangle.




Something like this:




It would fit vertically in the space of the 6100 and 7100. It's going to impose a. bit on the fan bump out of the 8100, but I'm guessing many 8100 owners have video cards (this may be a bad assumption). But even on the 8100, this is workable as long as the pins for the HDI-45 connector are long enough that it can be set out from the machine a bit more.

This vertical orientation won't work for my DB-15 version, but that one is mostly to accommodate the 6100 DOS Compatible's need for a DB-15 connection. Since the 7100, that I'm aware of, was never offered with the DOS card, that potential audience is much smaller.

So I'm thinking the vertical orientation of the HD-15 connector, and then the wider, offset version for the DB-15 converter.

Trash80toG4 said:

I'll see what I can do after work tonight. We're talking about three connectors, HDI45, HD-15 and DA-15, DB only refers to the form factor of the BB-25 shell. HD-15 is three rows of pins the the 9-pin DE-9 shell. Pickin' nits here, but technically correct terminology helps much when working as a team.

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Appreciate the clarification. I always have used DB-15 vs DA-15 as what I thought was a technically incorrect but accepted usage. Good luck finding a DA-15 cable searching google. But I will be sure to use the proper connector identifier from here on out.

Trash80toG4 said:

edit: forgot, minimal jag to the left necessary to clear PDS hardware for 6100. Rectangular unit won't work.

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Ah, you are correct. I need to narrow it but may have enough room to make it more of an arrow shape.Or maybe just notch one side. Want to leave enough room for the double sided tape to give good hold.

Decided to only notch in the one side, as it gives more room for double sided tape, and also gives me enough bare PCB to punch another hole for mounting the case. Also added some white circles around the minimum pins that need to be connected to have it work and not allow for plugging in wrong.



Although I did find that the spacing does allow me to plug it in shifted to the right by one pin. Trying to keep it relatively simple as I'm hoping this is one that can be plugged in once and left in most of the time. The good news is because the ADB pins are not connected, so shifting right would still not risk shorting the 5v ADB line, even if you shorted the pins while soldering them in. I think the worst that would happen if you plugged this in shifted to the right is you'd get no video out, which would be your sign to pull the board and shift it to the left a bit.

Trash80toG4 said:

Too tired to take a better pic tonight, but this'll do for now:

View attachment 19632

Time to buckle down and take off some real measurements for the next version, here's the .pdf for printout as it stands:

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It looks like in the 6100 picture that the bottom section by the HDI-45 port is not centered on the connector. If you center it, it looks like it will overlap, or be very close to the screw hole that I need to use for securing the DOS car adapter bracket. With the hope of 3d printing a case, it feels like it would not provide sufficient clearance to have the 3d printed case around it.

I'm going to see if I can print a mock-up of the vertical mounted connector and see how it looks. Any concerns about surface area for the tape could easily be addressed with the 3d printed case.

Appreciate all the brainstorming here!

Trash80toG4 said:

Too tired to take a better pic tonight, but this'll do for now:

View attachment 19632

Time to buckle down and take off some real measurements for the next version, here's the .pdf for printout as it stands:

Click to expand...

It looks like in the 6100 picture that the bottom section by the HDI-45 port is not centered on the connector. If you center it, it looks like it will overlap, or be very close to the screw hole that I need to use for securing the DOS car adapter bracket. With the hope of 3d printing a case, it feels like it would not provide sufficient clearance to have the 3d printed case around it.

Here's the vertical oriented board I got against my 6100. I feel like any concerns over surface area could easily be addressed with the 3d printed case. If you want more, there can be a case specific to the machine to provide maximum surface ares for the area allowed. I also took a picture with a rough location on the Quadra 650, which is very similar to the 7100.



And here is the version I need to my DOS Compatibles. Obviously the wider DA-15 (formerly known as DB-15 in my posts) is going to overlap the fan fins, but the vertical one fits nicely, as expected. Since the DA-15 version is primarily for the DOS Combatible Y cable needs, and that is primarily used in the 6100, I'm not too concerned about that. Also, I don't see a good alternative other than a machine specific version (wouldn't be hard to do, but I'll leave that to some future 7100 DOS Compatible owner to decide if it is worth it).



Appreciate all the brainstorming here!

Trash80toG4 said:

My main concern with your vertical card would be lack of sufficient surface area for firmly securing the adapter with D/S tape?

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As I said, I think any concern here would be addressed with the case. It’s much easier to build multiple 3d printed options to increase / optimize surface areas for adherence to the case. Obviously, I’m not going to stop you from designing one with a horizontal connector, I just think there will be challenges with trying to be so precise with the fit, especially since you’d need to make special conditions on the case to ensure they don’t cause fit issues if the PCB is using all the space. Options are certainly great for everyone, so I am by no means saying my vertical option is the only solution.