DIY Breakout Box

Hey everyone, I'm toying with the idea of heading up a hands on project at the next CR/IC meeting.  Andy and Bob will still do the talk on diseases and stuff, but after the talk, we could make breakout boxes for Neptune controllers.  I've made one of these before and so I know what it takes for supplies and stuff.  It's a fun project that's not too difficult.  The parts cost around $15 to $20 (which each participant would be asked to pay) and participants will go home with a functioning breakout box. 
For those not familiar with what a breakout box is, a breakout box is a device that allows you to connect external switches to your AC3 or Apex.  The controller head/base unit has an Apple Mini-Din socket on it and you attach connectors to the various wires.  The controller can then determine if a switch has been activated or not (i.e. float switch, water on floor detector, standard flip switch, etc.). 
This project does not include hooking any switches up to the controller, just creating the box that allows you to connect switches
Here's a build thread that shows a couple of different versions of breakout boxes...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...?t=1847474
Let me hear your thoughts on this idea....who is interested in participating if we do this?  Again, this will cost $15 to $20 to make and you will be expected to pay for the  supplies before the meeting so they can be purchased and brought to the meeting.
--AJ

 

According to the schedule, we would piggy-back it on the Feb 26th meeting. The schedule is here: http://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/Community/InterestGroups/GroupDetails/tabid/160/aft/22042/asg/4/Default.aspx

--AJ

 

OK guys, so it sounds like we got 4 of us that are going to be building breakout boxes. If anyone else is interested, please let me know ASAP so that I can buy enough supplies for you.
Now, for those of you participating, we have a couple of decisions to make.
1) Type of connectors. The connectors are what all of the switches will be connected to in order to be plugged into the breakout box. The options here are: 3.5 mm mono connectors (like headphone jacks), RJ11 (phone), or RJ45 (network). If we use the RJ11/RJ45, I'll bring enough stuff to make a bunch of connectors that you can take home for future use. If we use 3.5mm mono connectors, these can be picked up at Radio Shack for $2 each I think. Also, if we use the 3.5 mm mono connectors, we could mount them on the outside edge of the breakout box, or on the surface.

Here's an image of what it would look like if we used the RJ11 or RJ45 connectors (it would be a larger box):

2) Switches on the box or not. Switches can be mounted on the surface of the box allowing you to put things into maintenance mode by flipping the switches. I wish I had done this on my original breakout box. There are a couple of switch types that we could use. A couple are shown below:

Keep in mind, each surface connected switch takes the place of an externally connected switch.
Also, we don't need to make all of them the same. If someone wants to have all surface switches and someone else doesn't want any, that's fine. We just need to know in advance so that I can buy the appropriate parts and get you a price.
Let me know if you have any questions about this.
--AJ

 

Here's what I see for pros and cons on using RJ11 or RJ45

Pros
Materials to make plugs that you connect to switches are inexpensive
Can be made from off the shelf materials with little material customization (i.e. for 3.5mm mono jacks, some modification of the project box is necessary)
If you had open wall outlets, you could potentially wire it straight into the wall.

Cons
You need special tools to crimp plugs to connect switches to.
You would need to use a much larger project box
It would be more difficult to add switches directly to the breakout box.

My personal leaning is to use the 3.5mm mono connectors and do four external switches and two surface mount switches.

--AJ

 

Sounds great guys. I'll start putting together a parts list tomorrow and get the parts ordered. Any of you guys good at soldering? I hope so. I kind of suck at it and there's a fair amount of soldering to do. I guess I'll have to practice up between now and the meeting.

--AJ

 

Ooohh...I found a nice project box that has four mounting tabs on the back panel. Nice!

--AJ

 

OK. Is seems like this project is going to be on the low end of the cost estimates...right at $15 per breakout box. While it's a little larger in size than the Neptune Systems breakout box, I believe it will be made of better materials have two built in switches, and have connectors for the four external switches (the 3.5mm mono plugs to attach to external switches). All at less than 1/2 the price of the Neptune Systems Breakout Box ($39.99 + shipping). I'm pretty pleased with how the cost situation has worked out. For those that are planning to participate at the event, I'll be contacting you to arrange pre-payment for supplies. For anyone else interested, I will wait until the end of this week to place the order.

If you're interested in ordering supplies only for this project, please contact me and I can order you the supplies and you can put it together on your own time. The kit will come with:

4 x 3.5mm Mono Plugs
4 x 3.5mm Mono Chassis Jacks
2 x Mini Toggle Switch
1 x 8 pin Mini DIN plug
1 x 3.23" x 2.11" x 1.18" Plastic Project Box with Mounting Tabs

In addition, you will need a few feet of CAT 6 network cable (connects the Mini DIN plug to the project box), solder, a soldering iron, drill and drill bits, screwdriver, and a utility knife.

Please let me know ASAP if you're interested in ordering a kit.

--AJ

 

I've collected most of the supplies for the breakout box project kits.  Here's a photo of what's in them:

The cable used to connect the Mini-Din plug to the breakout box is blue CAT5 cable.  I'm putting about 5 feet in each kit.  If you want more, please let me know ahead of time and I can cut you a larger piece.  This will be the case for people that want their breakout box to be in a different room than their controller.  Also, the cable is blue.  Everything else is black or silver.  If you want it to match a bit better, you can bring your own black Ethernet cable.  Either CAT5 or CAT6 will be fine.
The kit items are:
- Project box
- 4 x 3.5mm jacks
- 4 x 3.5mm plugs
- 2 x mini toggle switch
- 8 pin Mini-Din plug
- 5 feet CAT5 cable
- Zip tie
- Wire Nut (not pictured)
- Razor blade
- Label for switch ports (numbers 1 thru 6)
- Label for toggle switches (on/off)
Additional tools required for assembly will be provided at the event.  If anyone has an extra soldering iron that they are able to bring , please do so.  As this will probably be the most time consuming part of the project, having a couple of soldering irons available will be good.
For those purchasing kits and not assembling them at the meeting, you will also get a copy of the project assembly instructions.  These will be created after the meeting as they will include photos of the assembly during the meeting.
Also, I went ahead and purchased supplies for a few extra kits.  There are a very limited number available so if you're still interested and didn't speak up yet, now is the time to do so!  Extra kits will be sold to club members outside of the CR/IC area or on Reef Central.
--AJ