Electrical connectors on control system items

[Tom Line]

Originally Posted by FrisbeeFunTime

I've never had any experience with the jst connectors or the xt connectors but I would imagine the xt connectors to be pretty good. The deans connectors I have had experience with before. They are a bit of a pain to solder to but they are done correctly they hold well and when plugged together they are almost impossible to take apart. They also take up a small footprint compared to other connectors which is always a nice thing.

I absolutely hate deans connectors. My kids all participate in RC (boats and cars). And these things are the #1 reason I see cars dead on the track. I've gotten packages of things where no matter how hot you get it or how careful you are they simply will not pass a pull test after you solder them. I've taken said packages to the hobby stores and they tried one and threw the rest away, and opened a new package.

I will stick with crimp style connectors. In marine applications, soldered connections are highly frowned upon by the certification organization because they are uncertain and are a brittle failure point in high vibration environments.

[asid61]

".1inch headers (PWM) - used for all signals to the roboRIO & motor controllers - minimal retention but cheap"
I like the Hansen Hobbies latching connectors way more; the peace of mind and ease of use is great. Not too expensive either. That being said PWMs work fine for me too.

"Anderson Powerpole - main battery connector & commonly wire to wire connections - medium price, good quick release, hard to crimp without special tool"
I love how you can stack them into bunches, but they are very hard to put together and remove this way, especially if a single component in a bundle fails.

"RJ45 (ethernet) - Used on the radio & roboRIO"
I've thought about using these for non-ethernet applications due to the availability of crimpers, crimps, and cheap cable cost of many different lengths from digikey. I have used a few of these in non-FRC non-ethernet applications, and they've performed admirably.

[cad321]

Originally Posted by asid61

I like the Hansen Hobbies latching connectors way more; the peace of mind and ease of use is great. Not too expensive either. That being said PWMs work fine for me too.

I had not seen these before. They look like a great alternative to pwm cables. However I don't see much of a need for them unless they were to become a standard connector on most FRC products. Great if you are joining 2 cables (such as at a joint or turret for quick removal). However if you dont have the latching socket on say the roborio, it just becomes a standard PWM with an extra piece of plastic.

I would love to see something like this become a standard.

[Knufire]

I really like the connectors on the US Digital S4/E4 series encoders. Browsing around on their website, it looks like it's a 1.25mm pitch Molex PicoBlade connector.

https://youtu.be/0bRyezC_P0M?t=141

The big thing I enjoy about them are the friction locks, they feel much more secure than standard 0.1 header connectors. I wouldn't mind a bigger pitch than 1.25mm though for FRC use though.

[adciv]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

So you tell us, What frustrates you or makes you happy about the existing connectors? What connectors do you hate and which ones do you like.

I *HATE* JST connectors. You can't make them yourselves, they use 24 AWG wire (prone to breaking), and you have to tug on the wire to get them to disconnect (more damage potential). I'm trying to find an alternative to US Digital encoders solely because they use connectors with the same issues.

As to the others, I don't like soldering when I can avoid it. I much prefer crimping as it is easier to assemble & maintain. I prefer the Anderson power poles over what are shown for a number of reasons. The individual parts aren't polarized (but I can polarize them by how they are assembled). I don't have to worry about keeping M & F components in stock. Can be assembled into larger blocks.

Originally Posted by sanddrag

.1inch headers (PWM) - annoying and really time consuming to crimp and/or solder. All the cheap tools suck. I wouldn't be opposed to something better (or maybe I just own the wrong tools).

We use the Hansen hobbies crimper and it works well (~$40).

[arichman1257]

This is just my opinion on the connectors mentioned.

.1 inch headers (PWM) - As long as the pins on the roboRIO or on the male connector don't bend they're great to use. The cables themselves are somewhat bothersome when they're not long enough to reach because the connectors don't provide an easy way to connect wire to wire without being prone to disconnecting.

Weidmuller - Probably my favorite connector that is used for the small wires. They are easy to press (I have been known to just use my finger in a pinch) and hold the wire well when they have been used properly.

Wago - They work very well for large wires. When the PDP isn't in a convenient position they can be hard to work with if not given the proper care. I don't really have a problem with them but I know that some people do.

Screw terminals - Annoying when they're not placed well and sometimes the screw is dropped. But otherwise reliable if used correctly.

Spade terminals - I don't like them. They always break on me.

Anderson Powerpole -My favorite way to connect wires to each other hands down. (When current draw allows)

IDC connectors - They work well enough. Good way to join many wires to pins.

USB - I haven't really had them in use on an FRC robot enough to give an opinion.

Barrel jack - They pull out when tugged on and should be secured with a ziptie or something like that. but if theyare not abused (pulled on) they work well

RJ45/RJ11 - They're great until the little clip on them breaks

[Coach Seb]

I appreciate all the post and comments. Wiring, connectors and plugs is on our list of improvement this year.

Is there a web page or document that describes the most used wires type and connectors used in FRC and different options that are available? even a poster to use as a reference? does your team have a document that describe the standard you are using?

Any info would be appreciated.

[arichman1257]

I don't personally have experience with the other 3 but the XT and dean's connectors look good.

[Bkeeneykid]

Originally Posted by Coach Seb

I appreciate all the post and comments. Wiring, connectors and plugs is on our list of improvement this year.

Is there a web page or document that describes the most used wires type and connectors used in FRC and different options that are available? even a poster to use as a reference? does your team have a document that describe the standard you are using?

Any info would be appreciated.

<shameless plug incoming>

As far as I know, but this could be a great resource to put on the FIRST Wiki! In my free time over the next few days I may start this page.

EDIT: Went ahead and created this page with some basic info, feel free to add more to it here!

[Ernst]

Originally Posted by Knufire

I really like the connectors on the US Digital S4/E4 series encoders. Browsing around on their website, it looks like it's a 1.25mm pitch Molex PicoBlade connector.

https://youtu.be/0bRyezC_P0M?t=141

The big thing I enjoy about them are the friction locks, they feel much more secure than standard 0.1 header connectors. I wouldn't mind a bigger pitch than 1.25mm though for FRC use though.

Huh, I've always hated those. The attached wires were always a pain and usually messy, plus unplugging them didn't always go well.

We started using some custom .1in connectors this year for different sensors, like a 5-pin one for Grayhill encoders and some 2-pin ones. Those worked well when done correctly, but our quality control wasn't great, and a few connectors made it onto the robot that might have given us some intermittent signals. We're learning, though, and I think we'll go back to them and use more next year.

We also had some trouble with several Weidmuller connectors. No matter how many times we tried with different wires that were the correct gauge and stripped the correct length, a few connectors just wouldn't work. Others were perfect and lasted all season. We picked up some ferrules to try to address that next year.

The 3-pin connectors are decent. We wound up taping and zip-tying a lot together, though, so we might pick up some VEX EDR connector clips. I'm a bit disappointed that the RoboRIO has male pins. We had one of those connectors come loose despite us using 3D printed cable management/spacing inserts. Other than a giant 10-connector female-to-female converter that plugs into all of them and reinforces everything, I don't really know how to address that.

I haven't personally used the XT or Deans connectors, but, given the option, I would stick with Powerpoles. They can clip together to make large plugs, they're easy to lock together, and we have tons of them stockpiled.