The frame already has a circular cutout that fits the slip ring perfecting.
Last winter, when I was working on a dome positioning system, I added the holes needed to bolt the slip ring into position at a later time. I also tapped (threaded) them to accept 4-40 threw screws.
Side Note: In the above picture, I also want to add a small electronics tray that is mounted under the cross member. The tray I am pondering would fit between the fold-out electronics tray (bottom) and go up til the cross member piece. This way the gadgets to fold out and in, like the Gripper Claw and CPU Arm can fit inside. I would like the ServoCenter card for R2's body, the sound card and eventually, the Slip Ring connector card all on one tray. This also frees up that entire area between the shoulders for the computer.
The fun part was GENTLY folding the DB25 connector (clam shell removed) and fitting it through the hole in the frame.
Now that I have carefully folded and un-folded the DB25 leads, its time to see how well my novice soldering has held up.
I went through and tested for continuity. Thankfully, everything works! With that done, I can now re-install the clam shell onto the slip ring connector that will stay in the body. Once I had done that, I AGAIN tested to make sure that none of the soldered leads came loose and failed.
Next time I'll work on the small tray I want to install under the slip ring for the electronics to mount on. This will free up some space for the computer to sit between the shoulders. Also, with the ServoCenter card being removed from the back of the electronics tray, routing the servo wiring will be a lot easier. I'm using a LOT of extension cables so making the card more centrally located will be an improvement.
Then, the top portion of the slip ring connection will need to be fit thru the dome plate. More testing to make sure the wiring survived and THEN, on to getting the connection cards mounted.
Fun times!!
