Texas TI-66 Programmable: Toshiba skills to rescue Texas...

[psychlist]

(12-05-2023 10:06 AM)brouhaha Wrote:  

(12-04-2023 09:59 AM)psychlist Wrote:  Surely it separates the contacts on the main board with contacts on the display board. But if I keep it there it, the calculator does work. It also feels like I have to press the display module down a bit hard to engage the grey retainers left and right.

I can't really make out much in your photo, but from your description, I can tell you what it is. It's not there so much to separate the contacts as to connect them. It's an elastomeric connector. These were very commonly used with LCDs in the 1970s and 1980s, but have since been mostly replaced by an FPC or FFC flex cable attached to the PCB by adhesive and soldered with a hot bar.

Yes, sorry, I couldn't seem to get a decent photo. Many thanks for letting me know about elastomeric connectors. It kind of of had to have that functionality but I'd never heard of them. I can see the appeal but it is tricky to align without a retainer. I'm quite enjoying using the TI-66 with a lovely clear display.