> From: Paul Kavicky
>
> One of the issues I have remaining is the integrity of the
> ribbon wire connectors on mine is questionable. With such a
> nice panel now I want to get everything sort of perfect
> really. Any good suggestions for locating replacement
> connectors that are a match for the 4 in the Chroma Polaris?

They're in the Trio-mate series from Tyco Electronics. The part numbers are:

5-pin 5-520314-5 or 5-487508-4
7-pin 5-520314-7 or 5-520353-7
10-pin 6-520314-0 or 6-176982-0

I don't know who's got them in stock, though. In a pinch, if you can find
larger ones, you can cut off the extra pins, and visually align the tails
when you plug them in.

> My last remaining issues are that while I had gotten a
> replacement LED for one that wasn't lighting up, it turns out
> that the LED was fine and the problem lies elsewhere in the
> Chroma Polaris. Really a shame since before I had left to do
> some touring this was working 100%. Just sitting there over
> time some things have failed. Boo.

The only other thing I can imagine it being is Z6, the 74LS164 shift
register that drives it. Digikey's got 'em.

> One other snag, the assignable control isn't working. All of
> the switches and LEDs work, but the slider no longer has any affect.

The only thing I've seen go wrong with sliders is if something falls on them
and bends the stamped metal frame to the point where the slider element
becomes loose and no longer makes reliable contact. Does it feel like the
handle is more wobbly than the others? It might be possible to remove the
slider carefully, pinch the metal tabs that hold the thing together, and get
it to work again.

--

Ciao, Paul D. DeRocco
Paul mailto:pderocco@...