[WP-34S] Cable and flashing options for Mac users

[John Galt]

I wound up buying these parts:

• 2mm Pitch 2x3 Pin 6 Pin 6 Wire IDC flat Ribbon Cable with socket assembly
• P50-J1 Dia 0.68mm Length 16mm 75g Spring Test Probe Pogo Pin

The 0.68mm diameter pins are a very tight fit in the IDC socket, which I think are designed to accommodate about a 0.5 to 0.6mm diameter or square pin. I broke / crushed / lost a few of them in the process, but once inserted they won't come out easily.

Using pliers, grasp the pin at a right angle near its base leaving about 1mm of its base exposed. Insert that 1mm of the pin into the socket, then reposition the pliers so that it's grasping the pin lengthwise, and push all the way in. That method was least likely to bend / break / lose / crush the pins. I did not use the header socket strip Katie suggested, but if you elect to use that method instead the 0.68mm diameter pins fit that socket very nicely.

I still need to make a suitable mechanical connection since my initial efforts attempting to use strips of various metals failed - the aluminum and steel pieces I had were all too thin, so I need to find or buy some slightly thicker brass or copper. In the meantime I used this ugly but effective rubber band and popsicle stick arrangement:

   

   

   

BTW I realize it's overkill to fabricate this connector but I want a secure arrangement rather than holding a bunch of pieces together with three hands, and will probably build a simple circuit with pushbuttons and indicator LEDs when I get around to it.

I have all the other basic parts including the USB to RS232 TTL level cable recommended by Jebem (thanks Jebem!) but haven't tried flashing anything yet...