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Step 7Wiring the Buttons
Next, we'll be attaching the wires of the main play buttons to a 16 pin IDC connector that will plug straight into the UPCB.
I won't lie; this part is a little frustrating, and can be very difficult to get right the first time. The nice part is that even if you flub it up the first time, the second time is guaranteed to be easy. Read on to see what I mean.
The main button connection on the UPCB supports the main six play buttons, Select, and Start. Eight buttons total. The HRAP has ten buttons. Figure out the main six button you usually use for play, and remove the wires for the last two play buttons entirely. As you can see in the completed picture on the first page, the right-most two buttons are removed. If you wish to use these extra buttons, you can, but we will be wiring them up in a later step; set those wires aside for now. For this step, we want the main 6 play buttons, Select, and Start ONLY.
Grab an IDC connector, and disassemble it into all three pieces. The part that plugs into the IDC header has a number of grooved teeth in it. Each one of those teeth will have one and only one wire going into the groove of that tooth. When we assembled the next piece on top, it will push the wires down deep into the groove, pushing or cutting the insulation so the metal of the tooth touches the wire. That's why they're called IDC: Insulation Displacement Connector.
Lightly place the toothy piece into the button connector on the UPCB. We want to make certain we are putting the pairs of wires in the right spot, so we need to make sure the connector will be oriented as we like.
If you look at the first picture, you'll see the connector resting in the button header. To the right is another blank UPCB so we can see the silk screened labels. The topmost button is labeled 'SEL' for Select. Both wires for the Select button are colored black on my stick, and here you can see where I've placed them in the top two teeth. One down, 7 to go. It doesn't matter which of the two wires are in which of the two teeth, so long as there is one each in both of the first two teeth.
Now go down the line, a pair of wires at a time, filling each tooth in turn. The next button is labeled 'STA' for Start. Start wires are white, so they go in the next two teeth. Repeat, 'JAB' for Jab, 'STR' for Strong, 'FIE' for Fierce, 'ROU' for Roundhouse, 'FOR' for Forward, and 'SHO' for Short.
Getting these wires to stay in place, especially without bending the teeth, is extremely difficult. The trick to getting this done properly is to have the wires secured in the right order FLAT. If they are flat together, then squishing the connector on properly is a snap. Perhaps some really strong double sided tape would do the trick, but I haven't tried it. The way I did it was to get the wires in order inside the first IDC connector, without caring about the teeth or anything else, and locking the clamping piece in place. This bent the teeth all to hell and shorted a couple of wires and stripped the end insulation off of one. But, since they were in order and nice and straight, I could attach a second IDC connector right next to it. Since the wires were right next to each, flat, and in order, I just squished the clamping piece down on the IDC piece just like if it were a ribbon cable. The wires and teeth lines up perfect, and gave a perfect set of connections in no time.
Once all 16 wires are in place, use the clamping piece. Put the tabs in place on the main piece, and squeeze in has hard as you can. If you have some sort of tool that can apply pressure smoothly and evenly over a long surface, such as a vice, go ahead and do so. I have not had any luck using pliers for this, but a cheap vice does the trick smoothly. The clamping piece should lock in place, and there should be no teeth visible.
If you want to see an IDC connector perfectly done, just grab an old IDE cable and look at the ends.
I won't lie; this part is a little frustrating, and can be very difficult to get right the first time. The nice part is that even if you flub it up the first time, the second time is guaranteed to be easy. Read on to see what I mean.
The main button connection on the UPCB supports the main six play buttons, Select, and Start. Eight buttons total. The HRAP has ten buttons. Figure out the main six button you usually use for play, and remove the wires for the last two play buttons entirely. As you can see in the completed picture on the first page, the right-most two buttons are removed. If you wish to use these extra buttons, you can, but we will be wiring them up in a later step; set those wires aside for now. For this step, we want the main 6 play buttons, Select, and Start ONLY.
Grab an IDC connector, and disassemble it into all three pieces. The part that plugs into the IDC header has a number of grooved teeth in it. Each one of those teeth will have one and only one wire going into the groove of that tooth. When we assembled the next piece on top, it will push the wires down deep into the groove, pushing or cutting the insulation so the metal of the tooth touches the wire. That's why they're called IDC: Insulation Displacement Connector.
Lightly place the toothy piece into the button connector on the UPCB. We want to make certain we are putting the pairs of wires in the right spot, so we need to make sure the connector will be oriented as we like.
If you look at the first picture, you'll see the connector resting in the button header. To the right is another blank UPCB so we can see the silk screened labels. The topmost button is labeled 'SEL' for Select. Both wires for the Select button are colored black on my stick, and here you can see where I've placed them in the top two teeth. One down, 7 to go. It doesn't matter which of the two wires are in which of the two teeth, so long as there is one each in both of the first two teeth.
Now go down the line, a pair of wires at a time, filling each tooth in turn. The next button is labeled 'STA' for Start. Start wires are white, so they go in the next two teeth. Repeat, 'JAB' for Jab, 'STR' for Strong, 'FIE' for Fierce, 'ROU' for Roundhouse, 'FOR' for Forward, and 'SHO' for Short.
Getting these wires to stay in place, especially without bending the teeth, is extremely difficult. The trick to getting this done properly is to have the wires secured in the right order FLAT. If they are flat together, then squishing the connector on properly is a snap. Perhaps some really strong double sided tape would do the trick, but I haven't tried it. The way I did it was to get the wires in order inside the first IDC connector, without caring about the teeth or anything else, and locking the clamping piece in place. This bent the teeth all to hell and shorted a couple of wires and stripped the end insulation off of one. But, since they were in order and nice and straight, I could attach a second IDC connector right next to it. Since the wires were right next to each, flat, and in order, I just squished the clamping piece down on the IDC piece just like if it were a ribbon cable. The wires and teeth lines up perfect, and gave a perfect set of connections in no time.
Once all 16 wires are in place, use the clamping piece. Put the tabs in place on the main piece, and squeeze in has hard as you can. If you have some sort of tool that can apply pressure smoothly and evenly over a long surface, such as a vice, go ahead and do so. I have not had any luck using pliers for this, but a cheap vice does the trick smoothly. The clamping piece should lock in place, and there should be no teeth visible.
If you want to see an IDC connector perfectly done, just grab an old IDE cable and look at the ends.
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