interesting. thanks a lot for pointing these out Crossroads.
i apologize for the ugly pics. unfortunately my camera is crap. i'll try to borrow my friend one and take clearer pictures
however, i just don't have a clue about the kind of tool to measure the distance between the first and last pin. would you guys have a recommendation for such a device ?
on RS they let us select pitches of 2.0 mm 2.54mm 2.5mm 3.0mm
however, the complete connector is about less than 1cm i'd say but even the smallest pitch 2 * 8 => 1.6cm would be much bigger than the actual connector
i am confused =( :~
maybe KE7GKP makes a point in claiming that finding the connectors is likely to be harder to just solder stuff
my problem is that by soldering stuff on the main board, given the size of components (they are all very near to each other) and my overall experience/skills with soldering, i feel it is much more likely i end up breaking everything which would just spoil the fun
i'll try to see if i can dig up some manufacturer tech information about devices, you never know what google manage to dig out sometimes 
an idea for the measuring tool ? (it needs to be accurate enough below 1 cm it seems)
i need to stop making assumptions and start given solid figures here 
thanks