DIY connector - the art of making your own connectors

It is very frustrating to be unable to complete a project or use some equipment for lack of the right connector. This happens to everybody including Elektor designers in spite of the great variety of connectors we have at our disposal. When we came up against this problem we felt the need to do something about it and rummaging around in a "junk" box found just what we needed. d.i.y. These days there are norms for virtually everything. The most common standards for connectors are DIN (German standards association) and the new SCART (described in the September 1984 issue of Elektor). Even modern equipment does not always conform to norms, however, and this can cause problems. Difficulties can also arise if you cannot resist that `bargain of the century" but find that it has a completely unique type of connector. Provided this is a female connector there is a solution. This is what to do: â–  Start by finding a suitable type of con- tact or pin to suit the size of the female connecto...