Panel mounted RJ45 sockets.

Sun May 02, 2010 8:03 am   

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell_at_earthlink.net> wrote in
news:Nf6dnWEMU840BEHWnZ2dnUVZ_hmmnZ2d_at_earthlink.com:


That can sometimes be the cheapest way. One man's module is another man's
whole device. I needed a PCI cable extender... I found a US who could sell
me one a foot long at $30 plus $12 or more for shipping. By the time I got it
I'd have been paying tax on it too. On eBay I found a 'hiper' PCI riser cable
fitting in the UK for a dedicated box (same thing is available in the US). It
has a black PCB too, very slick. Easy to trim with a carbide saw, the plugs
stand opening and reusing so all I needed was cable. Total cost less than a
tenth what the other one would cost, and it is far better quality. Digikey
have that very fine pitch ribbon cable stranded as I want it. Actually
neither the stranded or solid core fine-pitch cable is cheap, so if people
want lots of foot-lengths of 60 way cables (or anything 80 or less) the
cheapest method by far is to buy them ready made for computers complete with
(totally unreusable) connectors, because they are easily found in any
quantity for a quarter or less than their raw cable cost! Continued supply on
this basis is almost guaranteed for many years.

Mon May 03, 2010 4:26 am   

On Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:28:21 -0500, Lostgallifreyan <no-one_at_nowhere.net>
wrote:


Here on 'tother side the pond this kind of stuff is readily available in
snap in style mounts:

http://www.deepsurplus.com/Network-Structured-Wiring

Does any of this come close?

Mon May 03, 2010 6:41 am   

"JosephKK"<quiettechblue_at_yahoo.com> wrote in
news:legst5533d7ki48936jpr0h33a867ngb84_at_4ax.com:


No, because it's exactly the thing I want to avoid. It's good stuff but it IS
the design, whereas what I'm after is stuff that neatly fit into existing
designs. Very few makers of RJ45 sockets have given any thought to that
except for PCB mounting. Neutrik have made a decent panel mount jack but it's
too big for confined spaces. I found an answer on eBay, a short (0.5 m) cable
extension. I'll have to make some kind of bulkhead/panel clamp but all the
connecting it needs is already done, I just plug things in with it. The best
answer of all was similar, but a foot long and with two close-set mounting
holes, one each side. Didn't look like it was for one-off public sale though,
at any cost.

People have been mounting panel switches and other connectors for decades
that way. RJ45 makers only seem to think of panels when they think the buyer
wants ease of fitting them 48 at a time, minimum, they seem to have little if
any concept of fitting one to an existing design where the smallest and most
simple of standards applies. (Marking and drilling round holes).

Thu May 13, 2010 7:25 pm   

Lostgallifreyan <no-one_at_nowhere.net> wrote in
news:Xns9D6A878E143E1zoodlewurdle_at_216.196.109.145:

In case anyone else comes this way looking for an answer, this was mine:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/0-5m-Network-EXTENSION-Lead-Cat5E-RJ45-Ethernet-Cable-
/350331980372?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item51916
9ca54

Or try http://preview.tinyurl.com/33oyjff if word wrap wrecks the URL above.
As eBay links expire, look for seller "kenable_ltd", they're a HUGE seller,
with good record, so they ought to stick around unless they choose not to...

Then search their shop for Ethernet Network Extension Cable. Look for the
shortest you need, they go down to 0.5m. They have CAT 5E cable with plug and
socket on them. The socket is a square grey lump 21mm * 21mm * 27mm deep, and
is fairly easy to drill with a 3mm bore, 4mm from each edge in each of two
corners where the volume of the slightly bungy grey stuff allows it. Fixing
centres will be 13 mm apart. It's best to drill right through the 27 mm
depth, so hold the socket accurately... Unless you are very very bad at
accurate drilling, you won't damage any internal wiring. Then use long M3
bolts and nuts to clamp the socket to the chassis. (Don't rely on self-
tapping, the bungy stuff isn't resilient enough to be retained firmly for
long that way. It won't crap out, but it will work loose annoyingly often).

What makes this worth doing is that it's the cheapest way by far, there is no
soldering, no crimping, no cable handling at all except to lay it where you
want it inside the equipment. It also occupies far less panel space that ALL
other methods I found, and the result is very tidy. If you find a better way,
do it, but that might not be easy, it hasn't been easy for over a decade, so
it isn't likely to get easy now, unless customised ITX cases become an
industry on the scale of that catering for overclockers. It might happen, but
doing it this way is just a tad easier and more certain to work.

Sat May 22, 2010 4:47 am   

Lostgallifreyan wrote:


http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=8183



--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

Sat May 22, 2010 10:59 am   

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell_at_earthlink.net> wrote in
news:UqednVgZ4osqzmrWnZ2dnUVZ_hidnZ2d_at_earthlink.com:


Nice. Very small considering they also do IDC connections. I'm sorted for now
but if I ever want more that two, that's where I'll go. Though there is still
a lot to be said for having the cable attached as a molded form too. That
little advantage outweighed the trouble of having to devise my own mountings.

Sat May 22, 2010 4:47 pm   

Lostgallifreyan wrote:


They also have panel mounted couplers, so you can plug a connector
into the back side. Then you can crimp a custom cable for use inside the
equipment. I found them while looking for something else on their site
and thought it would help if someone found this thread in a future
search.

You can download their entire catalog, or individual sections. The
entire catalog is 38 MB.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

Sat May 22, 2010 6:45 pm   

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell_at_earthlink.net> wrote in
news:AYidneFVm60PYWrWnZ2dnUVZ_gmdnZ2d_at_earthlink.com:


Thanks, I'll get that (at least in part). I agree, the panel mounted coupler
is neat. I sort of came close to that idea with the VGA in the case I'm
making, as the standard 1/4" long threaded spacers will work with a standard
moulded VGA HD15 line socket so it can be mounted behind a panel and form a
panel socket with proper anchorage for a line plug. That saved me half of an
awkward job. I think that versatility has been lost with the arrival of
FireWire and USB, though I guess they make up for it in other ways.

Sat May 22, 2010 8:58 pm   

Lostgallifreyan wrote:


Sometimes it's better to spend $5 or $10 on a part, rather than half
a day coming up with a half assed mess. ;-)


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

Sat May 22, 2010 9:28 pm   

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell_at_earthlink.net> wrote in
news:3YWdnUlqnZLmqmXWnZ2dnUVZ_gCdnZ2d_at_earthlink.com:


Is true, if I can find it when I need it... Ò^O So long as the answer is neat
and easily had I'm ok with it. I wouldn't do what I did if I wanted to make
lots though.

It's sort of like a question someone asked me once: How much does a
transistor cost? I told them the cheapest I could remember at the time, and
said 10 pence. They said a million pounds. The real answer is anywhere
between the two, and depends on how much you have to do to get it. My
logic said that if I couldn't find a thing, the next best thing was to adapt
the closest cheap mass-produced thing I could easily reach.

Sun May 23, 2010 3:29 am   

Lostgallifreyan wrote:


When I started working with transistors they were around $10 each for
the ones I needed. That was in the early to mid '60s.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

Sun May 23, 2010 4:05 pm   

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell_at_earthlink.net> wrote in
news:zLOdnUfQepidDmXWnZ2dnUVZ_tUAAAAA_at_earthlink.com:


60's dolars too. I guess that's why my first radio didn't get built. It
was the 70's, the transistors were germanium OC70 and OC71, and I don't think
my dad had any idea where to get them, never mind what they cost at the time.

Sun May 23, 2010 7:10 pm   

Lostgallifreyan wrote:


The sad thing was that just a couple years later the same transistors
started showing up surplus for 50 cents.


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

Sun May 23, 2010 8:17 pm   

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell_at_earthlink.net> wrote in
news:TqudncQPAOg48mTWnZ2dnUVZ_qQAAAAA_at_earthlink.com:


Reminds me of laser diodes.

Mon May 24, 2010 12:12 am   

Lostgallifreyan wrote:


DON'T LOOK!!! ;-)


--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.