Apart from IFI, where can one buy ready-made PWM cable, in about 24" lengths?
And do these places take PO’s?
Thanks.
You may want to look into VEX parts, from VEX Labs. They can be used with a slight sanding modification. IN the past we have spliced a 4 conductor phone wire in the PWM wire and made the cable as long as we wanted.
If you can afford to wait for the shipping from Hong Kong, http://www.dealextreme.com/ has the least expensive pwm cables I’ve ever seen.
Search for servo leads.
We ordered some of the Chinese PWM cables a week into the build season. Got them the week after we shipped the robot. Seems like shipping time usually runs 3-4 weeks on them. They are a good deal, but i doubt if you would get them in time to do you any good this year.
Their was a really good post on where to find dirt cheap pwm’s. If someone finds it, please post it here. I’ll try to find it, in a crunch due to school.
dealextreme will take many weeks 3-4 IF they have it in stock, if not in stock it can take 7-10 weeks :ahh: So maybe that is an Atlanta thing or a next build season thing.
Here’s one thread http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=68158
We bought the supplies from Hansen Hobby this year to make our own. It took a little while to get the hang of it and the first ones weren’t pretty, but they worked.
Ann
We also bought the tools and supplies from Hansen Hobby. It also took some practice to get the crimping process down, but it was worth it. This may not be the cheapest and fastest short term solution, but it is SO COOL to be able to make exactly what you need without splicing or looping the extra wire. Once you have the supplies, the cost per cable is quite low. I highly recommend it - but you might want to lock yourself in a room until you get the technique down. All the cussing and yelling you will do is bound to upset somebody.
The PWM cables provided in the KOP are made by Futaba. You can find them at any hobby shop that sells R/C airplane stuff. They come ready made is lengths of 6 inches up to 3 ft.
We found it the best to make our own. Once someone learns this, even a programmer (me) can make good PWMs in no time at just the right length. Cheaper and more learning as well!
(Sorry I don’t know where they sell good & cheap PWM)
YES I agree 100%. Jay TenBrink (Waynes Brother) ordered the parts for 70 & 494 to make our own PWM cables, and I got to make all 40+ of them (great huh). They make solid connections but if you do not have a good technieque expect to have problems.
Our team we got some length of PWM cable and some cable connectors, plus you will need to buy a special crimper, but it opens up many new windows. You can create custom length cables to reach from point A to B with out having to join two cables for long lengths, or have a giant bundle of cable for the few inches needing to travel. A mentor purchased the supplies, I don’t know where he got them but I saw the supplies on this website from a post above.
I make my own “pwm” cables. It’s usually a lot cheaper, and you can make them to the correct lengths. You can also make super cheap RS-232 cables.
Wire: http://www.elexp.com/cbl_22rd.htm
Crimp Terminals: http://www.elexp.com/con_4fcp.htm
Terminal Housing: http://www.elexp.com/con_0303.htm
Buying from the above supplier, a 3’ cable would cost about $1.43, which is pretty cheap 
A word to the wise about buying cheap Chinese parts. A few years ago, our programmer ordered some very cheep PWM cables for about 5 cents each. When we received them, they ended up being insulated string with copper paint on the ends. You can probably figure that they did not work very well. One of the risks about buying cheaply, is you might get your moneys worth.