Re: [PLUG] Broken Ribbon Cable

[Casey Bralla via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.  I hadn't bothered to search for part 
numbers as the AI suggested, but when I searched tonight it was fruitless.

This is a really odd cable in that the width is wider at the Floppy than 
at the Motherboard.  (Same number of pins, though.) It's got a dog-leg, 
but I'm sure I could make a straight FFC cable work if I found one with 
the correct widths at each end.

The AI suggested 2 types of repair procedures.  Both require scraping 
off the yellow insulation with a razor blade or exacto knife to expose 
the conductors on both sides of the break..  Then use either conductive 
paint or solder jumper wires to complete the circuit.  The wires are 
more flexible, but harder to solder.

The break is a tear, so it's kinda ragged and probably needs to be 
cutout to get a clean edge.  I guess I'll give up coffee for a few days, 
take an extra valium, and try soldering very fine wires under a 
magnifying glass.  If you find me curled up in a fetal position in the 
corner, crying softly to myself, you'll know I have not been successful 
<grin>.

On 10/22/25 5:29 PM, Gary Duzan via plug wrote:
> > Is it just a matter of replacing the ribbon cable, or is it more
> > involved than that? Desktop machines back then used used commodity
> > ribbon cables that I don't recall being especially fragile or
> > difficult to insert and remove. Do you think it would work with one of
> > those, or does this require a special bespoke ribbon cable?
> >
> > What are the AIs suggesting that the repair would entail?
> >
> > Walt
>     FWIW:
>
> https://grok.com/share/c2hhcmQtMg%3D%3D_9fd72e34-1980-4583-aa9b-643bf3fc49bf
>
>                            Gary Duzan
>
>
> > On Tue, Oct 21, 2025 at 03:20:46PM -0400, Casey Bralla via plug wrote:
> > > I bought a 30 year old laptop for my collection.
> > > https://www.nerdworld.org/Content/Computer%20Museum/Computer%20Museum.html.
> > > Unfortunately, when taking it apart, I ripped the delicate orange ribbon
> > > cable on the floppy drive.  The laptop will boot, but the hard drive on
> > > this
> > > old baby is long dead, so I need to have a working floppy.
> > >
> > > All the AI's say a repair is possible, but Oh Geez, what a task.
> > >
> > > Has anybody ever tried to actually do this?  My 68 year old hands
> > > aren't
> > > especially steady.
> > >
> > > The Laptop is a CompuAdd, which was not especially popular, so the
> > > chance of
> > > finding replacement parts is asymptotically zero.
> > >
> > > Any suggestions?
> > >
> > > BTW, this laptop has an IDE disk that is soldered to the motherboard.Â
> > > Yipes!  Might have been good for physically durability, but pretty well
> > > screws any repair or upgrade possibility.
> >
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