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19-508: The Wave Blaster attached to a SB16 through a 26-pin expansion-header , eliminating the need for extra cabling between the SB16 and the Wave Blaster. The SB16 emulated an MPU-401 UART, giving existing MIDI-software the option to send MIDI-sequences directly to the attached Wave Blaster, instead of driving an external MIDI-device. The Wave Blaster's analog stereo-output fed into a dedicated line-in on

38-402: A plastic guide box around them are known as a shrouded header or box header ( BH ) and are normally used in combination with insulation-displacement connectors (IDC) for ribbon cables . A square notch (key) in the shroud prevents placing the connector (polarised by a "bump" on one side) the wrong way around. Some are available without the square notch cutout. Some systems polarize or key

57-447: The BS 6312 and the registered jack (RJ) family, generally separate wires in a sheath are used. In these applications, the outer sheath is stripped then the wires are inserted into the connector and a special termination tool is used to force the conductors into the contacts. Traditionally these connectors have been used with flat cable which makes it easy to ensure the correct conductors go into

76-510: The AWE32). By the time the SB16 reached the height of its popularity, competing MIDI-daughterboards had already pushed aside the Wave Blaster. In particular, Roland's Sound Canvas daughterboards (SCD-10/15), priced higher than Creative's offering, were highly regarded for their unrivalled musical reproduction in MIDI-scored game titles. (This was due to Roland's dominance in the production aspect of

95-534: The Belgian company Serdaco . In 2015 that same company released a high end card named Dreamblaster X1 , comparable to Yamaha and Roland cards. In 2016 DreamBlaster X2 was released, a board with both a Wave Blaster interface and a USB interface. Creative released the Wave Blaster II (CT1910) shortly after the original Wave Blaster. Wave Blaster II used a newer E-mu EMU8000 synthesis-engine (which later appeared in

114-466: The MIDI game soundtracks; Roland's daughterboards shared the same synthesis-engine and instrument sound-set as the popular Sound Canvas 55, a commercial MIDI module favored by game composers.) By comparison, the Wave Blaster's instruments were improperly balanced, with many instruments striking at different volume-levels (relative to the de facto standard, Sound Canvas.) Computer Gaming World in 1993 praised

133-611: The Oberheim MC-1000/MC-2000 keyboards, and the TerraTec Axon AX-100 Guitar-to-MIDI converter. Since 2000, Wave Blaster-capable sound cards for computers are becoming rare. In 2005, Terratec released a new Wave Blaster daughterboard called the Wave XTable with 16mb of on-board sample memory comprising 500 instruments and 10 drum kits. In 2014, a new compatible card called Dreamblaster S1 was produced by

152-474: The SB16, where the onboard-mixer allowed equalization, mixing, and volume adjustment. The Wave Blaster port was adopted by other sound card manufacturers who produced both daughterboards and soundcards with the expansion-header: Diamond , Ensoniq , Guillemot, Oberheim , Orchid , Roland , TerraTec , Turtle Beach , and Yamaha . The header also appeared on devices such as the Korg NX5R MIDI sound module,

171-522: The SMD case, the solder side of the pins are bent on a 90-degree angle so as to be soldered to pads on the printed circuit board (PCB). On single row SMD headers the pins are bent alternating to one side or the other, on dual row SMD headers the pins are simply bent outwards. If pin headers are optional, the THD variant is often chosen for ease of manual assembly. Headers can be either straight (vertical) or right-angle,

190-885: The Wave Blaster's audio quality and stated that the card was the best wave-table synthesis device for those with a compatible sound card. Pin header A pin header (or simply, header ) is a form of electrical connector . A male pin header consists of one or more rows of metal pins molded into a plastic base, often 2.54 mm (0.1 in) apart, though available in many spacings. Male pin headers are cost-effective due to their simplicity. The female counterparts are sometimes known as female headers (also as pin sockets ), though there are numerous naming variations of male and female connectors . Historically, headers have sometimes been called " Berg connectors " or "DuPont" connectors, but headers are manufactured by many companies. Normally pin headers are through-hole devices (THD/THT), but surface-mount devices (SMD/SMT) exist too. In

209-488: The body of the connector by a red or raised "V" mark. The corresponding wire in a ribbon cable is usually indicated by red coloration, a raised molded ridge, or markings printed onto the cable insulation. On the connector pin 2 is opposite pin 1, pin 3 is next to pin 1 along the length of the connector, and so on. On the cable, the wire connected to pin 2 is next to the wire connected to pin 1 (the red coded wire), and so on. In some types of telephone and network plug, including

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228-639: The conductor(s) of an insulated cable by a connection process which forces a selectively sharpened blade or blades through the insulation , bypassing the need to strip the conductors of insulation before connecting. When properly made, the connector blade cold-welds to the conductor, making a theoretically reliable gas-tight connection. Modern IDC technology developed after and was influenced by research on wire-wrap and crimp connector technology originally pioneered by Western Electric , Bell Telephone Labs , and others. Although originally designed to connect only solid (single-stranded) conductors, IDC technology

247-569: The correct slots. Modular connectors used with Category 5 twisted pair cable require careful arranging of the conductors by hand before inserting them into the connector. Punch-down blocks are intended to connect individual conductors punched down into each position in the block with a special punch-down tool. Punch-down terminations are also generally seen in telephone and network connectors, in patch panels and distribution frames , and in telephone equipment such as PBXs . Pins are commonly numbered from pin 1 with odd numbers along one side and

266-474: The header, if a designation is missing from the header, the PCB may have a marking indicating orientation (historically, the solder pad around the hole of pin 1 of a THD header is often square rather than round). For multi-row pin headers, the pin number is more complex, because knowing the location of pin 1 doesn't automatically ensure how the remaining pins are numbered. Typically for headers attached to ribbon cables,

285-772: The latter form is sometimes used to connect two PCBs together horizontally. Most often, headers are available in one or two rows, though three or more rows are available from some manufacturers. They are often sold as long strips (typically 36 / 40 / 50 pins) which can easily be cut apart to a required number of pins. Many pin lengths are available to minimize labor during PCB assembly. Male pin headers are often associated with ribbon cable connectors . When used alone, they can be recipients of jumpers , which have spacings of 2.54 mm (0.1 in) and 2.00 mm (0.079 in). Header types can be categorized by their pitch (uniform distance between pins measured from center to center). Some common header pitches are: Pin headers with

304-411: The pin header connection with something that fills and blocks one of the holes in the sockets. One pin of the wrong pin header (or the correct pin header rotated in the wrong orientation) hits that obstruction and prevents an incorrect connection. The correct pin header has one or more pins in the header removed or clipped to indicate a key for correct orientation. In absence of a pin 1 designation on

323-416: The pins are numbered so they go linearly across the cable. Because of the way the connector attaches to the cable, this means in a two-row header, pins in one row have odd numbers and pins in the other row have even numbers. Ribbon cable connector An insulation-displacement contact ( IDC ), also known as insulation-piercing contact ( IPC ), is an electrical connector designed to be connected to

342-419: The reduction in the stripping, twisting and screwing down processes . Ribbon cable is designed to be used with multi-contact IDC connectors in such a way that many IDC connections can be made at once, saving time in applications where many connections are needed. These connectors are not designed to be reusable, but can often be re-used if care is taken when removing the cable. Pin 1 is typically indicated on

361-497: Was eventually extended to multiple- stranded wire as well. Initially, IDCs were seen only in extra-low voltage applications, such as telecommunications , networking and signal connections between parts of an electronic or computer system. However, they are now also used in some domestic and industrial low voltage (power) applications, as can be seen in the illustration. The benefits claimed for their use in these applications include up to 50 percent faster installation, due to

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