Need help identifying these connectors (similar to GX16 aviation, but not same) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: wb0gaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2024, 10:31:40 pm
content: Attached are two photos (male.png and female.png) of mating connectors I wish to identify so I can source additional pieces. The female is panel mounted 8-pin. The male is cable mounted 5-pin (5 of the 8 pins present, this mates with the female 8-pin shown.) The threading part of the connectors appears to be identical or nearly identical to GX16 (I have a GX16 cable end shell without contacts assembly and it appears to mate with the panel end female shown in the photo.)The connectors are found on a Chinese clone of JBC soldering station and associated handpiece (Yihua 982).

author: Bobson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2024, 11:28:13 pm
content: Looks like DIN connectors.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_connector

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2024, 11:30:13 pm
content: No.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2024, 08:11:15 pm
content: Quote from: wb0gaz on March 04, 2024, 10:31:40 pmThanks for a decent description of context, but when asking for connector ID, please always provide some clear measurements of key dimensions. There are tons of connectors that are essentially scaled up/down versions of others, and end up looking practically the same in photos if there are no measurements for scale. (And measure accurately, since it sometimes comes down to fractions of a millimeter.)

author: wb0gaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2024, 08:32:22 pm
content: Thank you for asking clarifying question, Tooki!With the following two exceptions, the connectors appear to be mechanically same as GX-16 series (as I have a pair of GX-16 connectors with which I can compare.)1. On these connectors, male pins are 0.8mm OD. On GX-16 connector, female pins are 1.0mm OD.2. The connectors themselves are reverse gender from GX-16 types I've seen. The panel connector is female (holes in a plastic body) on this application; the panel connector on GX-16 is male (bare pins). The cable-end connector is male (bare pins) on this application; the cable-end connector on GX-16 is female (holes in a plastic body.)Hope this is helpful; I may not be able make other dimensional measurements.Dave

author: p.larner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2024, 12:08:56 pm
content: they look like standard transceiver mic connectors to me?.

author: CaptDon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2024, 02:03:43 pm
content: I don't know the part number but I agree that they look like the connectors used on Kenwood and Yaesu radios. Depending on pin setting some of the 5 pin males can plug into the 8 pin female. This facilitated microphones with more or less built in features like D.T.M.F. or channel up /down.

author: Edison
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2024, 03:05:16 pm
content: It looks like the M12 - the classic GX has thicker pins and the M16 has a different pin arrangementBut the M12 has the opposite threaded system and if they don't make an inverse shape like the XS connectors then it won't be an M12

author: Edison
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2024, 03:12:03 pm
content: Bobson - forget it - these connectors are miles away from DIN connectors

author: wb0gaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2024, 01:26:45 pm
content: Thanks for the continuing discussion on this (as-yet unsolved) task!The connector threaded housings are closest to GX16 (16mm) in physical size - I failed to include any sort of visual measurement reference (like a metric ruler) in the photos - sorry!They do bear some similarity to the similar-size connectors on kenwood microphones but the gender of the metal housing is reversed vs. the plastic internal casting, and the pins are smaller diameter on the subject connector.

author: Arcturus
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 09:48:31 am
content: What a weird connector! I can confirm that they aren't reverse gender GX16. The screw thread is the same, but the plastic housing diameter is different. I tried mating Yihua's 716C tweezer’s male plug with a GX16 8-pin female housing, but the GX16 is a wee bit too big. The pin thickness is also different. So, it looks like Yihua is moving to proprietary circular connectors for their latest stations. What's worse is the plug and strain relief assembly is molded so you can't access the solder terminals without cutting the boot open.I've attached images of the plug. Apparently, they designed it to be modular. It's composed of two sections - A flexible boot with molded strain relief, and a hard plastic housing for the male pins. The plastic housing is a module that can be inserted into the boot. The boot is a keyed receptacle with female contacts in it that mate with male pins at the rear of the plastic housing. It took quite a bit of effort to pull the housing free of the boot, but hot air and shimming helped weaken the adhesive. I don't recommend trying it yourself though, because I'm not 100% sure the procedure was damage-free.Even though Yihua's different station models have distinct housings (pin counts, configurations), I'm guessing they only need to produce one cord type. This modular approach prevents damage or underperformance from plugging in unsupported handles, and enables on-demand production of any handle/cord combination as needed.As far as I can tell, the quality of these proprietary connector assemblies is pretty high. The investment in custom tooling needed to manufacture them can’t be cheap. Which is surprising considering the company’s past reputation for cost-cutting. These upgraded new stations with their proprietary connectors and higher prices make it clear that Yihua is making aggressive moves in the JBC compatible space. Let’s hope they’ll let us buy the connectors separately so we can build adapters, extensions, and mods.

author: Arcturus
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 09:59:21 am
content: More photos

author: derDragonmeister
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 19, 2024, 09:30:10 am
content: Hand piece from a toolour 858A/858D

author: wb0gaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2024, 12:17:49 pm
content: Thank you Arcturus for your detailed investigation and report.My goal was same - extensions of the basic product family to provide some custom applications.The only other solution would be to replace both ends with GX16 standard parts, however, I have not performed that task yet.Interesting observation about Yihua and the JBC compatible space - the station I have (Yinua 982) has (to me) nice design, with rotary encoder for parameter adjustment and four quick-access memories to store temperature setting. Unfortunately, while their display has indicator for C105 (smallest cloned) tip type, they offer no handpiece for that tip, which is why I began to investigate handpiece and connector compatibility, which led to my question about the connector. Yihua never responded to my inquiries about C105 handpiece support.Anyway, thank you very much for the time you expended on this question!Dave