The standard Polaroid 6500 connector showing offset pin spacing.

This idea describes how to adapt the connector from the 6500 ranging board to a standard 0.1" grid spacing found in DIP sockets, breadboards, and common prototyping boards.  The Polaroid 6500 Ranging Module uses a thin flexible cable to connect the ranging board to the controller.  This cable terminates in a socket that has two rows of pins that are spaced 0.1" apart but that are offset from one another by 0.05" which makes the connector difficult to use.  Below is a procedural plan for adapting the connector to fit into standard DIP sockets or breadboards. 

The length of the wires that are soldered in place in Step 4 earlier can be varied depending on the final spacing desired.  Once the wires are soldered on, the four pins that have been extended can easily be bent slightly to one side or the other so that they line up with 4 of the 5 pins on the other side. 

Soldering these can be tedious.  Cold solder joints will reveal themselves almost immediately as they can't handle any stress.  We found that the clipped-off wire ends of standard resistors or capacitors offer great wire for extending the pins as they are tinned and take solder easily. 

In the picture below, the 5-pin side of the connector was extended instead of the 4-pin side in the diagram above.  Either method will work well and it just depends on your preference of which to use.  The above diagram is slightly easier since there is one fewer wire to solder. 

A complete modified connector ready for hookup in a prototyping breadboard.

Related Links:

Senscomp (Polaroid) Sonar Ranging Primer