Possible Drive Ribbon Cable Repair?

[leeb]

As the title suggests, I open the question of cable repair on our older devices.

The background:

I have been 'dabbling' in the older Tandy/Panasonic 286-on laptops for... quite awhile now.
One of the major problems has been the age-related self-destruction of the drive (Matsushita EME-263/273-somethings) belts.

Some sources had been tapped for this but I believe I have recently found a reliable (tho expensive) supplier.

The issue for discussion with these drives lies in the design of the ribbon cables attached to their control boards. I would hardly describe them as flimsy... however I have realized that many of the drives I have held back for lack of drive belts also have contacts that have delaminated from the stiffer 'insertion edge', such as this:



I apologize for the poor images... will attempt retakes during the day.

While I have avoided too much manipulation of these units to prevent breakage of the contacts, I have been contemplating the best way to reattach the separated contacts to their backing surfaces.

I have considered:

Super Glue
... Because it is best on NON-POROUS (AND inflexible) surfaces, I fear it is a bit too rigid for even the insertion edge, and would break loose after one or more dis/connects.

RTV/Silicone adhesive
... While many RTVs provide good-to-excellent adhesive properties, their main failing is in 'shearing forces'... those that cause 'sliding'. I doubt the contacts would remain immobile for even one insertion/removal sequence.

This is as far as Ive gotten to this point... If anyone has suggestions or known repair methods (or hair-brained schemes ) that I have not heard of (obviously) I would appreciate your input!

Lee
:D

 

[RJBJR]

A two part 5-minute epoxy might be better than the adhesives you mentioned. Somewhat flexible and very strong, plus it is clear.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Why not just remove the old cable and attach a new one?

 

[leeb]

A two part 5-minute epoxy might be better than the adhesives you mentioned. Somewhat flexible and very strong, plus it is clear.

Thanks for that! I had not figured epoxies into the equation... sounds worth a try. Have you attempted this sort of repair with it before?

Why not just remove the old cable and attach a new one?

Of course that may be the ultimate solution, but the board-ends are soldered on and I have (so far) had poor-to-bad luck attempting to solder to such material.
I certainly should look into finding suitable replacements... a possibly daunting task.

Likely no more so, unfortunately, than being able to see to make these repairs!

On the 273s (of which I recently learned I have TWO) there is ALOT of extra cable... and it APPEARS that it was designed to be 'cut to fit'... with the support/insertion piece attached... maybe 'after the fact'? At least for these two... this is another possibility I have to consider.

Eventually I will want/need ALL these drives (with good controller boards... I know one is not) useable.

Thanks for your input guys! ALL ideas/suggestions appreciated!

:bigups:

 

[Chuck(G)]

There do exist SMT connectors for this sort of thing. Maybe that would make things a bit easier.

 

[leeb]

There do exist SMT connectors for this sort of thing. Maybe that would make things a bit easier.

... and I would have much better luck soldering THOSE as opposed to the actual cable? (I guess you were referring to the DRIVE side?)

Perhaps... tho I would still have the 'push-in' connector on the motherboard, and it would require an Act of Congress before I would attempt to change the connector type on all the motherboards I have... as a compatibility issue...

Naturally, since Congress doesn't do all that much... there is no real concern there.

Did you have something specific (designwise) in mind?

EDIT:

Perhaps a 'push-in' type for the DRIVE end... which would allow use of a swap-in-new cable at a 'lead-damage' notice...
I THINK I still have a defective-controller drive I could 'practice on'...

 

[Chuck(G)]

Yes, I was talking about the drive-side. It might be a bit easier to solder than a flex cable, particularly if you've done SMT before.

Just thinking aloud...

 

[leeb]

I certainly agree that it is a good suggestion... but going neck-deep into Digikey only got me lost...

Counting the number of connectors I would need will certainly require fingers AND toes!

... once I figure out which ones to get.

Believe I will try that... and possibly an epoxy method on one... just to see if it would be satisfactory. Im not looking into playing 'musical FDs', but I would like to know that if I put it back in Im not gonna break it.
:D

EDIT:
I think I finally figgered out what they call them... but they are all 'slide lock' types... not that I mind.
Now to figure out the dimensions needed for the replacement cables...

... and spending more money!

 

[leeb]

More Images (EME-273)

More Images (EME-273)

This is a typical installation of the ribbon cable, this being the control board of a 273...



I see good potential for the ZIF type ribbon connector, altho Im not sure if, once reinstalled on the body of the drive, there will be enough room to manipulate the cable.
Of course, in this case the board can be completely removed and the cable inserted beforehand.
On the 263 however, the TRK0 sensor is hardwired to the controller... so those units will have to be readjusted afterward. :eh:



On the other end, you can see that I removed the 'insertion reinforcement' and have bare contacts remaining. There WERE ALL of them but a couple of them have broken off from 'playing'...
This ribbon is also about twice as long as it need be... which lends me to the idea of attempting the epoxy idea... at least on this one... for the moment.
Another angle...