If you need only a few connections but mechanical stability, flex=

resistance, good strain relief, etc. -- look at some of the=
 circular
connectors out there like Amp's (Tyco) CPC line. Hirose and=
 Conxall
make some good connectors too. They are small like mini-DIN's,=
 but have
a mechanical twist lock mating system and good strain relief=
 built into
them. You can then use whatever cable is appropriate for the=
 signals
you're dealing with. Mini-DIN's always worry me in anything but a=

static installation since they are just a pressure fit and any=
 cable
forces will be transferred to the connector body and pins=
 directly.

The Amp CPC connectors are plastic body parts, the Hirose parts=
 use
higher quality metal casings (I've used these in hi-rel medical
devices) and the Conxall parts are plastic and can be sealed for=
 rugged
(waterproof) use. None of them are too expensive and they are all=

reasonably easy to use. PC mounting can be tricky though -- they=
 are
really panel mount connectors but a bit of ingenuity on the=
 packaging
side can make them work out OK. You might also consider a small
intermediate PC board that uses a simple (cheap) Molex style
connector/cable to get your signals from your PC board to the=
 panel
mounted circular connector.

Isn't packaging a design fun? ;-)

Matt Pobursky
Maximum Performance Systems

On Fri, 26 Jul 2002 17:01:49 -0700, Brendan Moran wrote:=
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Hash: SHA1

>If you want "like a standard external interconnect cable for a
>computer. Eg. parallel, serial", why not get one of them?

Too many pins, too bulky, and too expensive. =A0I need an 8-pin=
 cable or
a 6-pin cable. =A0Ribbon cable is just fine for the job, but not=
 that
plastic junk that you find in floppy drives.

It needs to be small as well, because it has to interface on a=
 PCB that
fits inside a very small container. =A0Hmm... Now that I think=
 about it,
an 8-pin miniDIN might do the job quite nicely, thanks!

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