Identify the connector

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
The connector is a "box header". To properly identify the thing, you need to determine the pitch - distance between pins. That can be fun, as several different types use either metric or SAE measurements. It's really fun to determine if it's 3mm or .156".

Anyway, once you have the pitch, you can look for terminals that will mate with the box header on the PCB.
 

Thread Starter

sb92075

Joined Aug 16, 2010
4
Thanks for the response & I am always willing to learn & RTFM.
Where can I learn more about these "SAE measurements" involving circuit board connectors?
 

Thread Starter

sb92075

Joined Aug 16, 2010
4
I got the EXACT connector I wanted thanks to the advice I got here!
The bad news is that the connector came without any metal innards.
The board has vertical metal pins on it.
The newly arrived connector fits nicely over the pins.
1) what is the proper name for the metal parts which would go into the connector
to make contact with the pins.
To my way of thinking "female pin" is an oxymoron.
2) I suspect these things come in different sizes.
So what is proper way to specify the size required for my new connector?
FWIW - The Connector was made by JST, but I got mine from DigiKey using
P/N 455-2218-ND
CONN HOUSING 2.5MM XH 6POS
Thanks In Advance!
 

Ghar

Joined Mar 8, 2010
655
What you're looking for is the contacts.

Digikey links to the them under "Associated product" at the bottom (one of the advantages of Digikey, most others don't do this)
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?vendor=0&keywords=455-2218-ND

You need to pick which kind you want... they come in different sizes for different wire and with different coatings, and also Digikey has them in different packages. There's the 'cut-tape' which you can actually buy or you can order entire reels of several thousand under a different part number.

This one is AWG 22-28 (probably what you want)
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=455-1135-1-ND

This one is AWG 26-30,
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=455-2261-1-ND

You can then find the horribly expensive crimp tool under associated product, which again is different for different sizes ;)

For example,
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=455-1136-ND

It's just $467!

Do you have a crimp tool of some kind? I don't recommend pliers, they don't work well and do a very poor job.
This one has been very useful for me, though I can't guarantee it will work well, with the 26-30 contacts it almost definitely won't work well.
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=WM9999-ND

The smaller contacts like this tend to require finer tools.
 
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DonQ

Joined May 6, 2009
321
Lots of times you are able to get the mating connectors from the same place where you got the module you're trying to connect to. I looked quickly and didn't see one, but it might be worth a call. The good part is that they'll often have a 'pigtail' version, one with short lengths of wire already attached.

Or, usually, the manual (maybe wishful thinking) should have a part number for a mating connector. You may actually want a 0.1" spacing rather than 2.5mm (they're almost the same). The 0.1" will give you many more options for maybe finding a pigtail version.

I also glanced around at a couple of sites (Digikey, Mouser) and wasn't able to immediately see a pigtail version there, but I also wasn't sure of exactly what I was looking for. A 0.1" is much more of a standard part than 2.5mm but I didn't look too much since it wasn't an exact match for what you listed.
 

DonQ

Joined May 6, 2009
321
They're specifying 2.54 mm now too in place of 0.1"
But what I'm saying is that 2.5mm is a different search selection in the search engines than 2.54mm.

There are metric families of connectors, with numbers like 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm and such, and a separate set of inch equivalent with numbers like 1.27mm, 1.91mm, 2.54mm, etc.

2.5mm will gives you many fewer 'hits' than 2.54mm/0.10".
 

marshallf3

Joined Jul 26, 2010
2,358
Gotcha' I mainly use Mouser and they've got choices for both which, oddly enough, produce different results even though the size is the same. Their database goes on what the manufacturer specifies them as.
 
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