This is what I use:
The connector has no locking mechanism. I wonder how to lock it to a receptacle. Thanks.
Hot melt glue.
Or silicone.
Pros & cons.
Use a header with two extra pins, one on each end. Plug keyboard in, then solder a wire from one extra pin, across the top and to the other pin. To unplug, bend the wire out slightly. To replug, plug in and bend the wire back. If you don't bend it too much, it will last.
Paul__B:
Hot melt glue.Or silicone.
Pros & cons.
Thought about that but it needs to be removable.
steinie44:
Use a header with two extra pins, one on each end. Plug keyboard in, then solder a wire from one extra pin, across the top and to the other pin. To unplug, bend the wire out slightly. To replug, plug in and bend the wire back. If you don't bend it too much, it will last.
Thanks. I kind of understand. So the wire acts as a retention strap. I wonder how industrial products secure this keypad.
Thanks. I kind of understand. So the wire acts as a retention strap.
Correct.
I wonder how industrial products secure this keypad.
Same way, only with custom made clips.
Thanks. Is there any where I can purchase these custom made clips?
These are a really great upgrade to a project where you might have used headers to connect to external wires. The housings are bare plastic, so you need to add multiples of SKU A-837 "Crimp Terminal Connector 2.54mm" (one for each wire) which click into the housing after being crimped/soldered to your wire. Then choose either a A-804 vertical or A-815 90 degree (flat along board) style of male connection and you've got a connection that clicks home and is polarised so you won't get your battery case, LEDs etc accidentally wired in reverse when you reconnect it.
But you will have to change the header on your keyboard or glue a male header to it and use a female on your board. That is why I suggested making one.
Good stuff. I'm getting some of those housings, connectors, etc
liudr:
Paul__B:
Hot melt glue.
Or silicone.Thought about that but it needs to be removable.
Depends on what you mean by "removable". I cannot see why you would be removing it except on rare occasions. Mind you, I cannot see why you need to lock it in place either as the pin connections hold quite well. A lot of vibration is perhaps a concern? Removing it frequently may well loosen the grip.
Silicone sealant - you just put a small dob of it over the side of the connector extending to the motherboard so that it bridges the two. It will take 24 hours to set but the connector should surely not work loose that quickly.
To remove it, just slice the sealant away, and put another dob over the same point when it is reconnected.
On assemblies which may be subject to vibration, it is common to use either of the materials I cited, or rubber cement, to join adjacent tall components such as capacitors, or secure connecting wires to the PCB. Silicone is (generally) more tenacious and resists heat (but hot melt glue is faster).
Problem with locking it too good is, if whatever is making it come loose may rip the ribbon cable. I would rather it come unplugged then rip the cable or connector.
Sorry I didn't clarify before. This is a logger project that is deployed in farm fields. There could be some vibration issues but I just wanted it to be well secured and needs the least amount of effort to service in the field. There has been cases where the keypad got disconnected and that froze the logger. I'm using molex polarized connectors with tabs for internal connections but this one comes with a connector. The rest is plastic sheet with conductive materials painted into strips of "wire" so there is no way to replace the header. I'll see if I have to migrate to the more tactile keypad that you often see on vending machines. They do have a circuit board so I can put socket on the board.
Well, I still reckon that a small dob of silicone sealant in the right place will be the simplest and most reliable.
And no difficulty at all to service. Just carry a knife and the sealant tube.
Sorry I am only now getting back to you guys. I tried to replace the housing with another hosing with locking tabs but that didn't work. The housings with locking tabs also have guides and grooves that take some space in the front of the housing, displacing the openings that catch retaining tabs further back. My keypad has pins with retaining tabs very close to front of the pins so they will not make good contacts.
I finally decided to extend my circuit board so that the flat cable of the keypad can be taped on to the back of the front panel, instead of needing extra cable etc.