SNES Expansion Port Connector

Over a decade ago, I began the process of developing a replacement for the SNES Expansion Port mating connector, based on the Samtec MEC2 card edge connector.  This project has undergone multiple iterations over the years, and I'm still not fully satisfied with the result, but the latest version is still significantly improved over everything else so far.  This version requires quite a bit of manual modification and assembly, so I'll document the process here.  To start, the exact part number you'll want to purchase is MEC2-50-01-L-TH1.  You can also use the SMD part MEC2-50-01-L-DV, but I much prefer the through-hole version.  You can order it directly from Samtec or else from a distributor like Mouser.  At time of writing this, the connector costs around $9 plus shipping.  This part can make two expansion connectors, so you'll have an extra, or else at least you'll have two chances to get this right.

The first step is to remove several pins from the connector.  The expansion connector has two rows of 14 pins, and you'll need to remove two rows of pins from each end.  There are a few extra pins in each half of the connector, so I usually start at the middle divider and remove the 4 pins on either side, count 14 rows to leave, then remove 4 more pins.  Simply grip the pin from the bottom of the connector with a pair of needle nosed pliers and pull straight out.  They should come out easily.  Next, use a pair of flush cutters to cut the connector inside the outermost of the two adjacent slots you just removed the pins from.  This should leave one completely intact slot without pins on each end of the connector.  Repeat for both halves of the original connector and you should end up with two parts that look like the images below.

After completing the rough cut, you'll want to test fit the printed shroud to ensure that everything goes together smoothly.  Assuming that it does, you'll need to file down the connector body a bit.  The body needs to be filed down to 7.5-7.7mm tall and 32mm long.  If you leave a bit of extra length, you can come back and bring it down to final dimension after glueing.  Once you have filed down the connector body, it's time to glue.  You can use superglue or 2-part expoxy.  I prefer to use expoxy so that it fills in the gaps between the two parts.  However, it's a bit messy and requires extra care to avoid getting any on the connector pins.  I also like to mix in a bit of black printer toner as a pigment to color the epoxy to match the connector parts.  Using a bit of bare copper-clad PCB or something similar, cut to the size of the SNES connector's inner slot, coat the board with car wax or some other release agent and then insert it into the connector, taking care to properly center it (you can dry fit the printed shroud onto it to verify proper centering).  Next, apply the glue into the empty outer slot on each end of the connector where you removed the pins.  I usually use a toothpick to get it into the connector without making a mess.  Don't over-fill the slot.  Slide the printed shroud onto the connector and wipe off any overspill of expoxy.  You may then want to put some tape over the end of the connector to hold the epoxy in while it cures.  Allow the epoxy to fully cure, then remove the PCB spacer and end tape, file down the length to 32mm if necessary, and clean any wax off of the pins.  If any epoxy got into the connector, use a needle file to remove it.  Feel free to test fit into the SNES console now, but don't insert it all the way, it's very difficult to remove without being mounted to a PCB.

Here are the dimensions for the PCB footprint, to be used in EAGLE, KiCAD/etc.