I am trying to determine appropriate quantities of connectors that need
to be ordered to meet remaining needs for prototyping as well as the
production of Front End & Trigger VME/VIPA boards, transition modules and
J3(J5/J6) backplanes.

A postscript file called "connector_count" is located at:

http://www-cdf.fnal.gov/internal/upgrades/electronics-infrastucture/
vipa_connectors/connector_count.ps

This file contains a spreadsheet with my current understanding of the
requirements for connectors and front panels. Please review the file and
let me know where changes are necessary or if it is correct as it stands.
Address comments to demaat@fnal.gov.

THREE OPTIONS EXIST FOR J3 (J5/J6) CONNECTORS:

160-pin 100-mil 5-row DIN connector (which evolved from the 3-row x 32-pin
VME connector by adding two additional 32-pin rows while maintaining a
large degree of backward compatibility)

235-pin 2mm Hard Metric connector (comprised of a 110-pin connector above
a 125-pin connector)

220-pin 2mm Hard Metric connector (comprised of a 110-pin connector
above a 125-pin SIZE connector where 15 pins are given up for a keying
system that also provides vertical alignment)

Of the three, the 160-pin connector is most robust and should be
considered the default unless additional pins are necessary.

This is followed by the 220-pin Hard Metric which is preferred to the
235-pin version due to the 220-pin connector's vertical alignment
capability.

Finally, where greater than 220 pins are required, the 235-pin Hard
Metric connector can be used.

TRANSITION CARD J2 SHELL (referred to as "TJ2S" in the spreadsheet.)
Some transition cards will utilize signals on the J2 connector.  Some
will not.  However, the J2 connector provides some much-needed vertical
alignment capability.  All transition cards shall have either a standard
J2 connector or, in the case when no electrical connections are required
on J2, a J2 connector shell will be installed.  This shell provides good
vertical and horizontal alignment when being inserted into its mate on
the backplane.

J3 BACKPLANE SLOTS WITH NO CONNECTORS:
In a number of J3 backplane applications, slot assignments have already
been made.  In slots where it is known that no J3 connector will be used,
the space for a J3 connector is being left blank.  An example is the
slot where a 6U processor card will reside in a 6U-to-9U adapter.

J3 BACKPLANES WITH MORE THAN ONE STYLE OF CONNECTOR:
In this case, please report how many of each connector will be used per
backplane.  This may not add up to 21 so please explicitly include a count
for J3 backplane slots with NO connector.

Thanks for your help in determining the connector needs.
Bob DeMaat