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Orchid Tiny Turbo 286 - Badly bent and twisted pins (FIX)

DaCiRo

Experienced Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2014
Messages
166
Location
Japan
I got a Orchid Tiny Turbo 286, dead cheap considering the prices these go by lately but with the 40 Pin connector pretty banged up. I have an Intel Inboard 386 and I always wanted to get the little Tiny 286 Orchid brother :)

I use a couple of tweezers to straighten the pins up carefully applying pressure from the base of the pins. The worst part was that some of the the pins we also twisted around 5~10 degrees to their right (Rotated bend), these took me a significant amount of time to correct and I was lucky that the base did not crack because I had to use a little more force that I wanted.

Would be interested to know of other methods/tools to straighten up bent pins. Is there any special tool to do so, specially for rotated-twisted bents?

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I have to build a cable for the processor, the card came without one. Planning to buy one of these and hook it to IDE cable. If anyone has any experience doing so (Do's and Dont's), please feel free to share. I am sure these will surely come very handy.

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FWIW, I have a set of drafting pencils ranging from 3mm to 9mm that I use. In most cases you can unscrew the tips and use them to drop down over the bent pin. You might be able to find them at Staples, etc. Also, in a pinch, you could use an old ball point pen shaft.
 
I've found that a simple manual wirewrap tool does a great job of straightening pins. Another handy tool to have is a set of needle-nose smooth-jaw pliers (never use pliers with serrated jaws to perform this task). If worse comes to worst, you can always replace the header.
 
Thanks Agent Orange, this is also a good idea. I used to have plenty of this from my school days, too bad I do not keep any of those.

Chuck, the wirewrap tool is of any specific diameter? Or are they one size-fits all.
Also...though about asking this before too; Do I really need a crimping tool to build the '40 DIP socket-to-cable' ribbon cable or is finger pressure sufficient to crimp an IDC cable?
 
The common hobbyist-grade manual wirewrap tool fits an 0.025" square post (if memory serves). You can also make your own pin-straightener if you have access to a lathe--I have a tool I made from brass rod, with the aforementioned hole bored into the end with the outer diameter turned down to fit between pins. I made it for pushing out wirewrap pins, but it works great for straightening as well.

Hand pressure isn't sufficient to crimp on an IDC item. In a pinch, a small drill-press vise (with a bit of metal or wood to protect the pins can do an acceptable job. I've seen it done with Channellocks, but that always seemed to be a bit dicey to me. You want even pressure across the entire width of the connector.
 
Would be interested to know of other methods/tools to straighten up bent pins. Is there any special tool to do so, specially for rotated-twisted bents?
My advice is that if a pin is more than say, 30 degrees, off, then do not straighten the pin in one movement. Break the straightening operation into multiple movements, with a pause between the movements. The pause that I use is between 5 and 10 seconds.

I find that that results in far fewer pin breakages.
 
For crimping IDC connectors, there's a proper tool for it, but I've always used a bench vise. Use an old deep socket you don't care about and mash.
 
For crimping IDC connectors, there's a proper tool for it, but I've always used a bench vise. Use an old deep socket you don't care about and mash.

Yes, I always found that this worked better than the press tool. Also, make sure that the ribbon cable is VERY straight. If you get it crooked, you'll either have shorting between the pins, or you'll end up with a non-existent connection on one or more of them.
 
I suspect a large wooden handscrew clamp may do as well, just keep the jaws parallel. If you do woodworking, you probably have at least a dozen of these:

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Thanks guys, all great suggestions.
I guess these will all work nicely with female ends, but I can't figure out how to use some of these tools to crimp male ends (without smashing the pins). Same for the 40 dip socket-to-ribbon above
 
For the 40-pin connector, I would try a pair of flat pliers and squeeze in the middle of the pins.

I have learned the hard way that crimping works best when you do it all at once, but this should be a quick and dirty way to manage it.
 
Ended up getting these ones. Definitively better than the tweezers for straighten up pins and I will try as suggested crimping the 40-pin connector one they arrive. If that fails I will look at getting any of the other tools mentioned above.

As for fixing bent pins; the challenge remains still for rotated-twisted bents. I was able to fix those carefully with a serrated end tweezers, the soft end pliers just keep on slipping when trying to rotate the pin.
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Thanks guys, all great suggestions.
I guess these will all work nicely with female ends, but I can't figure out how to use some of these tools to crimp male ends (without smashing the pins). Same for the 40 dip socket-to-ribbon above

I trust that you figured out that using a sacrificial female socket is the way to go when dealing with male connectors.

The problem with serrated jaw pliers is that the serrations bite into the base metal and weaken the pin, which increases the possibility of snapping it off later.
 
Depending on how badly the pins are bent i use a pair of long nose pliers and female socket as chuck has suggested, If the pins are badly twisted / bent i don't fart about, i de-solder and fit new. As for the IDC conectors i use a table top vice, Works a treat.
 
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