How do I extend ribbon cables effectivelly

[stuffmonger]

Hello. I know this isn't about arcade hardware, but it's still a tech issue, and n-g.com is the best place I know of for electronic tech info.

How do I go about extending ribbon cables on electronics so that the buttons will still work? What I am trying to do is take the face of a bookshelf stereo system and place it about 7 feet away from the amplifier and other hardware. I have replaced the ribbon cable with 24guage wire, and soldered the wires so that the contacts that the ribbon cable was going to send signal to the appropriate contacts on the main board, but now the system doesn't work. No wires are in contact with other metal, and the solder joints are clean.

Would I need a capacitor in-line in order to boost the signal strength to get it to travel a farther distance, or what should I try to do?

thanks in advance.

 

[madman]

There is such little current traveling in those wires that trying to extend their distance to 7 feet will most likely never work. It's like trying to whisper to someone who is 200 feet away from you. Adding a capacitor won't make the signal any stronger than it is.

 

[stuffmonger]

There must be some way to amplify the signal enough.

 

[werejag]

signal degrading as madman said. how about a new interface like opticouplers for the buttons and then you need a way to retransmit the lcd data.

 

[stuffmonger]

signal degrading as madman said. how about a new interface like opticouplers for the buttons and then you need a way to retransmit the lcd data.

How would I go about doing that?