PL-31 mounting solutions

[Craig Smuda]

Hi all,

I've acquired a number of PL-31P Soviet sockets for IN-18 and similar tubes. They seem to be quite nice in terms of quality, leaving me with just one question- how do I mount them?

They have a flange on the socket barrel which looks like it could fit with an overlying or underlying clamping bracket a la a lot of the cheap Chinese sockets currently available, but I see no evidence of such a bracket existing from looking at the offerings of different eBay sellers. 

Has anyone come up with a solution to chassis mounting these or seen how they were mounted on original equipment?

Thanks!

Craig

[gregebert]

Do you have a 3D printer ? You could make some kind of mounting flange with it.

I use socket pins soldered to a PC board, then cover the pins with a 3D-printed collar to make it look like a socket

[Dekatron42]

I make flanges out of circuit boards that I make in Designspark and then let PCB-companies manufacture for me, in some cases I have to add standoffs if they are needed to get the correct distance to the mounting plate.

/Martin

[Craig Smuda]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Greg, I don't have access to a 3d printer unfortunately- I'm an apartment dweller with pretty much hand tools only. Besides, these sockets are so nice compared to the self-manufactured option that I'd really like to take advantage of them.

Martin, your solution makes a lot of sense- I'd been thinking about it but worried how the boards do under strain. Your experience suggests well. Looks like a good opportunity for me to learn some basic points of a CAD package too.

--Craig

[Dekatron42]

The boards flex nicely and don't break easily. You can even make the standoffs, the one with the thinner edge in the picture below works as a standoff in my constructions. Since most PCB manufacturers can make boards from 0.2mm up to 2.4mm thickness you can make most standoffs that you need in one board or you can stack them for the correct thickness. I try to maximize the board usage so I sometimes stack other small projects inside these spacers, below are some solid state replacements for EAA91 tubes.

/Martin

[Adrian Godwin]

You can get PCBs in thicknesses other than 1.6mm, which might help with the strength.

You can also get 3D prints done for you - originally, Shapeways  was the place to go but Pcbway and Jlcpcb do them too now (there are probably many others). I also heard recently that jlcpcb would do metalwork, though I don't know what the process is. Could be watercutting, laser cutting or etching.

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