Putting the VK011 Board into a Case

The Qkits VK011 Serial Temperature Sensor Interface functions similarly to the Kitsrus K145 Temperature Logger, but is a little more feature-rich than the K145. As with the K145 page, this article is intended to provide ideas for those who are thinking about enclosing their VK011. (See the K145 article for a fuller description of the process.)

Software for this board is available here.

There is a comparison of the K145 and VK011 boards here.

Foundation

The starting point was to choose a plug-and-socket method for connecting the temperature sensors. I used the same set of audio cables and sensors, and the same 2.5 mm stereo plugs and jacks, as for the K145 project.

The existing DB9 connector on the board was replaced with a chassis-mount connector.

The Hammond case used for this project has 1/16” thick removable end panels. This simplified the mounting process for the DB9 connector and the audio jacks. (Note that I started with a brass plate at the jack end, but eventually switched over to the plastic panel.)

The VK011 circuit board is shown as originally built.

Board Modifications

As with the K145, I built this as a complete unit for testing, before I made changes.
   - Remove the existing DB9 connector, solder in a set of header pins in its place
   - Remove the existing header pins for the temperature sensors, and solder in a
       different set of header pins
   - Solder in header pins at the “F” and “C” selection locations
       The LED will be connected to these pins (with appropriate dropping resistor)
   - Solder a jumper in place so that Deg C is permanently selected.
       (switching between Deg C and Deg F will be done in software.)
   - The terminal blocks could also be removed. However, the pin holes are oversize,
      which makes soldering wires a bit awkward. I chose to leave the blocks in place.

Putting It All Together
As shown earlier, I pre-wired the jacks, LED and DB9 with pigtail leads. Once these and the board are mounted into the case, it’s a simple matter to connect the pigtails to the header pins on the board. I used a RadioShack wire wrapping hand tool for this. The wire wrapping greatly simplifies the hookup process.

All Hooked Up

Parts Sources

RP Electronics (www.rpelectronics.com)
- Hammond ABS case (Hammond # 1593NGY, 110mm x 76mm x 26mm)
(see also www.hammondmfg.com)
- 2.5 mm stereo jacks (RPE # 352-804-1)
- 2.5 mm stereo plugs (RPE # 352-215-1)
- DB9 female solder connector (RPE # DBF-09)

RadioShack (www.radioshack.com)
- 2-conductor, shielded cable (# 278-513 on the website, # 278-1275 on my rolls)

Futurlec (www.futurlec.com)
- header pins (see this page: www.futurlec.com/ConnHead.shtml)

Qkits (www.qkits.com)
- VK011 Serial Temperature Sensor Interface kit
QKits also has a range of cases/enclosures available.

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