Great Micro Connector Resource

Micron Wings is a great resource for all things involving small models.  This page describes the battery and servo connectors to small models, along with details about each one.

The second and third are UMX and Hubsan.














Here's the servo connectors.



















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SMA and RP-SMA Connectors

Be careful when connecting coax SMA connectors.  It's possible to physically hook up a pair of connectors that fit perfectly but have no connection for the center part of the cable.

Be sure and check if you're using SMA or RP-SMA (RP = reverse polarity) connectors when hooking things together.

Here's an adapter to switch between the two.

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Every kind of micro connector imaginable.

rc-connectors.com has just about every small connector ever made, nicely arranged by model.  For example, here's a SMD nan-JST female 3-pin right angle piece.  Just what you need to make a green dot vapor brick AR6400 compatible!

All about lipo balance connectors

TJinTech has a great article on this, with lots of nice diagrams like this one.

Connector Mania: JST-RCY

J.S.T. Mfg. Co., Ltd.:
 
This is the connector that comes on small Turnigy batteries.  Need to see if their discharge rates correspond to the specs below.

Note: many people mistake the gender of the connectors.  The "real" gender is determined by the metal part.  The big square plastic part that many people call the female actually contains the two male connectors.

Current rating: MAX 3A, Voltage rating MAX 250V

"The RCY connector is a compact, 2.5mm pitch wire-to-wire connector for use with a variety of circuits, from signal circuits to power supply circuits, in electrical equipment which is becoming more and more compact. The employment of a free spring contact method ensures stable contact performance, and superb working efficiency of insertion and removal."

PDF Specs

Connectors: a guest editorial

Crimping Connectors

Deluxe Crimping Tool:

Chris Hansen has written the most amazing guide to crimping, servo connectors, and JST connectors I've seen. He's like the Beethoven of crimping and connectors!

The link above points to his really excellent crimping tool.  Crimp kits (what I've bought... be sure and get a wire stripper if you don't have one for the tiny gauge wire) are here.

He's got a splendid guide, A Brief Discourse on Connector Antics (pdf). I wish there were this level of detail on everything in RC land!

"This is the best crimping tool we've ever used for making servo connectors. The ratcheting hinge lets you lock in the terminal first, then insert the wire. This tool gives you a lot of leverage so every crimp is extremely strong, but is comfortable and easy on the hands even after a lot of use. If you're going to be making a lot of connectors then this tool is well worth the investment - take a look at the comments below. Tools of this quality usually cost over a hundred dollars."

WAGO 222-415 connector for power distribution

Here's a nice flickr set by Lenz Grimmer for his quad build.  He is distributing power using Wago connectors and credits Christof Glückler for the idea.  Genius!!

The 5-connection unit is WAGO 222-415.  They also sell 2 and 3 connection units.  There's a couple of people selling them on ebay.

Attaching 4mm bullet connectors.

ESC connection -- Battery is opposite.

Here's how the bullet connector cover attaches.  Note the hot wire cover is slightly smaller.  When attaching, put the cover onto the wire, solder the bullet connectors, and slide the cover over the connectors.  If you're doing a battery, do one wire at a time in order to reduce the chance of shorting out the wires.  If the cover has a tight fit, try warming it up a bit with a hair dryer or (carefully) with a heat gun.  You can attach a spare connector of the opposite gender to give you something to press against.

Note that the polarity is different depending on whether the connectors are attached to a power source (e.g. battery) or to something that is using the power (e.g. ESC).

Battery:

• hot (+) wire: female
• neutral (-) wire: male

ESC:

• hot (+) wire: male
• neutral (-) wire: female

Custom connectors

CheapBatteryPacks.com builds custom wire/connector sets to order. Their selection menu is a great field guide to connector types!

Connector Chart

From:
CheapBatteryPacks.com / Custom Connector menu

Connector Mania: All Kinds of Connectors

http://www.maxxprod.com/mpi/mpi-3.html

including trainer cords.

"No matter how you call it - BEC, JST, or P connector, YES, we have these little RED connectors!  This connector is also used in many park flyers power pack.  For male order 2830, for female order 2832, for 6" Ext. order 2836, for switch order 2770, for Rx Batt. Box order 2911."

Connector Mania: Deans to XT converters

Here's a nice idea... instead of snipping your batteries and attaching Deans connectors, make a converter so that you can connect your various batteries to your ESC.

If you've read any of my earlier posts, you can see that I'm in equal measure obsessed with and confused by connectors.  I think I've finally got it all figured out. Later I will post my Grand Unified Theory of Connectors.

Connector Mania: JST-XH

The small connector on most batteries is called  a JST-XH and is used for balancing.  A 2S pack will have a 3-wire connector, a 3S pack will have a 4-wire connector, etc.

Two adjacent wires will connect to one cell.  The first and last wires will be connected through all the cells.

Batteries can be charged through this connector up to a current of 3A.

The crimper seems to be $480 (!!?!?!??)  Some possible replacements are mentioned here.  Magic search keyword seems to be "D-SUB/DOUBLE-D SERVICE TOOL".

Connector Mania: T Connectors, aka Deans Ultra

T Plugs: generic Deans Ultra Connectors

• popular 'Battery to ESC' connector
• male plug is soldered to the ESC
• get the polarity right
• sometimes tight fit, lube with graphite
• put shrink tube on before soldering
• plug M/F together before soldering
• polarity: while flat on table: vertical bar is positive, horizontal bar is negative

Connector-related youtubage: 

•  nice pictoral essay
• disconnecting the easy way
• all about deans connectors
• how to solder a deans connector

Improving connectivty of T Connectors (Deans clones)

From a DX discussion group:

If you push hard enough on the soldering side of the tabs, they should pop right out!   I did that on mine, and the contact resistance is indeed lower. 

and

If you look at the original (compatible) plugs, you'll see that they mate using the flat part of the metal. (One side is flatter than the other).

These mate with the almost-flat, slightly round side of the metal parts. We modified the DX connectors by reversing the metal parts so that mating happens with the flattest possible part of the metal.

I measured the contact resistance:

Original expensive: 0.4 mOhm.
DX replacements: 5.2 mOhm.
DX replacements, modified: 0.5 mOhm.

With these values, I would recommend: Max 50A for original, Max 15A for unmodified DX connectors, and Max 45A for modified DX version.

Connector Mania: Bullet Plugs

• soldering bullet connectors

3.5mm bullet connectors soldering tip:

• Drill three 3/16 inch holes about 1/4 inch deep and 1/2 inch apart in a small board.
• Insert a 3.5mm connector in each hole, with the end to be soldered upright.
• Heat a connector with a soldering iron and melt a little solder into it, then insert the wire into the melted solder.
• Move the soldering iron away from the connector and hold the wire in place until the solder solidifies. Works like a charm, and you don't need three hands!

XT60 Connectors

These are XT60 Connectors.

Deans Plugs, aka T Plugs, and Bullet Connectors

T Plugs: generic Deans Ultra Connectors

• popular 'Battery to ESC' connector
• male plug is soldered to the ESC
• get the polarity right
• sometimes tight fit, lube with graphite
• put shrink tube on before soldering
• plug M/F together before soldering
• polarity: while flat on table: vertical bar is positive, horizontal bar is negative

Connector-related youtubage: 

•  nice pictoral essay
• disconnecting the easy way
• all about deans connectors
• how to solder a deans connector
• soldering bullet connectors

3.5mm bullet connectors soldering tip:

• Drill three 3/16 inch holes about 1/4 inch deep and 1/2 inch apart in a small board.
• Insert a 3.5mm connector in each hole, with the end to be soldered upright.
• Heat a connector with a soldering iron and melt a little solder into it, then insert the wire into the melted solder.
• Move the soldering iron away from the connector and hold the wire in place until the solder solidifies. Works like a charm, and you don't need three hands!

The small connector on Turginy batteries is called  a JST-XH and is used for balancing.

Connector Quest

Hmm, can't find any beginner advice on connectors.

I'm getting these parts. What connectors do I need?

• Turnigy Basic 18A v3.1 Speed Controller
• Turnigy 1300mAh 2S 20C Lipo Pack
• Turnigy servo 16.2g/3.1kg/.16sec
• TowerPro Brushless Outrunner 2408-21

Unfortunately most of the pics don't show the ends of the wires!