No, nobody else inquired about it. I have no idea it will fit a DEC backplane; AFAIK it was used on NCR systems. It might take me a while to find it; when I do I'll try to determine the dimensions of the pins and the wire gauge.
On Tue, Sep 24, 2024 at 10:41 PM Ryan de Laplante (Personal) via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > Hey Mike, > > Did the wire wrap tool sell? Is it any good for DEC backplanes? > > > Thanks, > > Ryan > > > On 2024-08-31 10:29 a.m., Mike Stein via cctalk wrote: > > If I can find it, is anyone interested in a battery-powered wire wrap > tool? > > Not sure of the diameter but it's larger than an IC socket, so I suspect > > that it is in fact for a backplane. > > > > Postage from Toronto. > > > > On Sat, Aug 31, 2024 at 1:55 AM Vincent Slyngstad via cctalk < > > cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > > >> On 8/30/2024 7:25 PM, cz via cctalk wrote: > >>> To try and turn this thread around: I'm looking to make an extended > >>> memory controller for my pdp8/L. I've got a wire wrap backplane and > >>> enough cards to make it work but I've never done wire-wrap on this sort > >>> of scale. > >>> > >>> I've got an old Radio Shack Wire wrap tool and a lot of wire. Is there > >>> any sites that discuss how to do reasonable wire-wrapping? > >> Some of the older (single-sided especially) DEC back-planes were wrapped > >> with heavier gauge wire, which needs a different tool. The newer > >> back-planes seem to be wrapped with 30 gauge wire. You can tell the old > >> connector blocks, as the pins appear rectangular, rather then square. > >> > >> There are all kinds of opportunity for optimizing routing for distance, > >> cross-talk and and other esoterica. One thing that's worth doing, > >> though, is to wrap for a max height of two, and such that all the > >> connections (except possibly the last end of a given signal) are at the > >> same height. So, if A B C and D are to be connected together, you > >> connect A to B, then C to D (thus all at the lower level), then put the > >> connection of B to C at a higher level. This dramatically cuts down on > >> the amount you have to *unwrap* to fix something. Avoid situations which > >> cross the height boundary, because then you have to keep unwrapping > >> stuff you'd rather not, to expose the buried lower side. > >> > >> If you are wrapping by hand, you can be assured that you *will* make > >> mistakes and have to fix something. > >> > >> I predict you will also find that you are really sick of wire-wrap long > >> before you are done. These days, PCBs are inexpensive, and less error > >> prone (in the sense that you almost always end up with exactly the > >> connections in the netlist). OTOH, connectors are expensive and hard to > >> reuse when soldered to a PCB. So you've got to be really confident of > >> your netlist. > >> > >> You might consider investing in a tool where you pull the trigger to do > >> the wrap. You'll probably get a more consistent result, and > >> significantly fewer repetitive motion issues. > >> > >> Hope that helps! > >> > >> Vince > >> > >
