What type connector is this? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Its wednesday my dudes
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2021, 12:44:09 pm
content: Hi,I am trying to figure out what type of connector this is and if I can buy matching parts to crimp them on my own wires to create an extension cable. I would be grateful if someone can help me.Thanks!

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2021, 02:11:51 pm
content: They look like pretty much standard dual row headers for square pins.I'm not sure about the pitch though. It's nice of you to put a ruler into the photograph, but without knowing the units of your ruler it does not mean much.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2021, 02:15:09 pm
content: I bet the pitch is 1.5mm.

author: Its wednesday my dudes
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2021, 02:54:57 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on December 02, 2021, 02:11:51 pmThe ruler is showing millimetres. So the pitch should be around 1.5 mm.Why can't I find fitting connectors, if it is is such common header? Can someone point me to a shop where I can find female and male connectors to crimp on wires?

author: penfold
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2021, 03:37:57 pm
content: It looks to be a 'through board' style as if it's intended to be installed on top of another board, so you may not find a crimpable connector easily. It may be that the most elegent solution would be to have a small adapter PCB with that unshrouded header that mates with that connector that provides a more 'normal' wire-to-board connector... though you could bodge one together by soldering wires directly to an appropriately pitch'ed male header.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2021, 10:16:00 am
content: What would really be useful is if you lined the zero of the scale with the center of an end hole and let us see where the fourth hole (3 spaces) lines up on the scale. You said mm so I assume each line is a mm and the numbered lines are cm?What type of connector? Yes, it does look like a standard pin header style. Normally the pins are on the PCB and the female connector is on the cable. Perhaps your board was intended to mate with another PCB?Anyway, I am going to guess it is not metric at all, but perhaps a 0.05 inch pitch. But the spacing of the two rows is also important so you should measure that too.The 0.1 inch pitch is or at least was the most common for this style of connector. They worked well with 0.05 inch pitch ribbon cable and ID connectors which just clamped on the ribbon cable. Those connectors were almost always FEMALE, not male. But, of course, there was always the odd one that someone used; probably a special order. You seem to have either the 0.05 inch pitch or perhaps a metric pirch and I am going to bet that finding matching connectors is going to be a problem.Female connectors are a LOT easier to find than male so I have solved the problem of connecting a cable to a female connector on a PCB or panel by purchasing a matching pin header that was intended to be soldered to holes in a PCB. The pin header was simply inserted in the female connector and I crimped another female, ID connector on my ribbon cable. Then that female connector just went on the other end of the pin header. It may sound insecure, but with multiple pins, there is a lot of friction and I never had any problems with it coming loose.Another minor problem is there is the matching of the pin numbers on the two female connectors. If the same numbering sequence is used on both, there is no way to get all the pins to match numbers. So you need to make a chart plotting the connections from one to the other while also taking the sequence of the wires in the ribbon cable into account. There is usually some kind of mark on the connectors which can, at least, match the ends. But it may not be easy to see so a magic marker is your friend here.I do not have the slightest clue where to look for these in your country. In the US I would direct you to DigiKey, Mouser, Newark, etc.

author: Its wednesday my dudes
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2021, 10:55:12 am
content: Ok, thanks guys.Can someone point me to a shop (preferably in Europe) where i can get female and male pin headers with this ~1,5 mm pitch? Those for soldering would also be fine. I was looking around and I cannot find fitting ones anywhere.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2021, 06:43:33 pm
content: A quick measurement using calipers and the first image shows 4 pins across 4.5mm, which would be1.125mm1.5mm pitch.Given the measurement error from the photo (and the probably not 100% precise ruler), it’s probably a 0.05” (1.27mm) or 1.25mm pitch.You’ll have to do more accurate measurements when getting down to pitches that small, eyeballing it won’t do.But assuming it is 1.27mm (which is much more common than 1.25mm), they’re easy to find on major distributors like Digi-Key, Farnell, etc.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 01:21:05 pm
content: "4 pins across 4.5mm, which would be 1.125mm pitch"

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 01:30:10 pm
content: Quote from: gamalot on December 05, 2021, 01:21:05 pmWhat is this comment supposed to mean?

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 01:33:18 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on December 05, 2021, 01:30:10 pmLook at the picture... how many pin-to-pin gaps do you count? Clue: it's a bit less than 4

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 01:42:05 pm
content: Oh for fork’s sake, you’re right… brain fart there.So yeah, 4.5mm/3 gaps = 1.5mm pitch.

author: Watth
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 02:08:18 pm
content: Quote from: Its wednesday my dudes on December 04, 2021, 10:55:12 amMy advice would be to triple check the pitch. But from what I saw, your ruler indicates a 4.5mm distance between the 1st and 4th pins' centers, a total of 3 spaces : so a 1.5 mm pitch. (other stating a pitch of 1.15 mm forgot that there are only 3 spaces between 4 pins).Examples of online shops that (as far as I know) ship from Europe (inc. from UK, FR; DE; BE): RS, TME and Farnell. There you'll have to enter your criteria: 1.5mm pitch, 8 contacts, 2 rows, surfa&ce mount, solder pad pitch is 1.5mm too. Then bob's yer aunty.

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 02:13:22 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on December 05, 2021, 01:42:05 pmLOL I'm sure that many of us have had that particular brainfart in our lifetimes... I know I have!

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 02:20:15 pm
content: Yep. Classic fence post error.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2021, 03:02:18 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on December 05, 2021, 02:20:15 pmI also learned something new, now I know this is called "fence post error" or "off-by-one error" in English.

author: Its wednesday my dudes
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2021, 11:53:51 am
content: Quote from: Watth on December 05, 2021, 02:08:18 pmYeah, went through those. I could not really find anything that looks to match.

author: Watth
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2021, 06:23:27 pm
content: I had a look, and indeed there's nothing like that in a 1.5 mm pitch. Weird.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2021, 11:17:08 am
content: It means two things.First, he was dividing by the number of pins instead of by the number of spaces.Second, he even got that wrong as 4.5mm / 4 = 1.125 mm, not 1.25 mm.Of course, when you divide by the number of spaces you get:4.5 mm / 3 = 1.5 mmBoth are easy mistakes to make.And, of course, there is no guarantee that the 1.5 mm spacing is correct. It is just a good guess from the photos.Quote from: tooki on December 05, 2021, 01:30:10 pm

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2021, 11:26:43 am
content: I know he is not in the US, but a 1/10 INCH grid was so very standard for so long that, even in Europe, there is a good chance that he has what I suggested it may be: 0.05 INCH spacing or 1.27 mm. And even in Europe that may be easier to find than either 1.25 mm or 1.5 mm.Strangely enough, many manufacturers have "converted" to metric by just converting the inch measure to mm. So 0.1" becomes the METRIC 2.54 mm. So with zero retooling cost, they have become "metric" overnight. They have no shame!Why can't a rule be laid down on the socket so that an EVEN mark, inch or mm, is at the middle of one hole and then we can see where the scale falls on the third hole over from there instead of just laying the rule down in the random fashion as in the posted photos? That would go a long way toward settling things.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2021, 11:57:16 am
content: Hint:https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/rectangular-connectors-headers-receptacles-female-sockets/315?s=N4IgjCBcoBw1oDGUBmBDANgZwKYBoQB7KAbRACYYwAWMABhAF0CAHAFyhAGU2AnASwB2AcxABfAuTAB2cghDJI6bPiKkKTVh0ggAkoLY5hOXuIkbIZABY40AExMgCdAHR0ArAB0QTMUAThat page is for 0.05" header connectors. I can not find any 1.5mm pitch ones. I tried two US sources, Newark (Farnell) and Digi-Key.I take back my previous preference for it being 0.05" pitch. I copied the first photo and drew parallel lines on it and it is, indeed, very close to 1.5mm pitch. But finding a mating, male connector is going to be a real problem. I would try calling Farnell.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2021, 12:50:38 pm
content: Quote from: EPAIII on December 07, 2021, 11:17:08 am1. We already figured it out.2. I didnotsay that 4.5/4=1.25. I clearly wrote that it equals 1.125, but given that that's not a pin pitch that even exists, and that the measurement is imprecise (based on a photo of uncalibrated ruler, with unknown parallax error), that it'd likely be a 1.27mm pitch. Please read carefully.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2021, 01:38:33 pm
content: Quote from: Its wednesday my dudes on December 02, 2021, 12:44:09 pmIt is a 2×4 surface-mount female pin header with 1.5mm pitch.Quote from: Its wednesday my dudes on December 02, 2021, 12:44:09 pmI couldn't find matching male pins anywhere. The only 1.5mm pitch connectors I found were single-row, or with specialized footprint.This means you'd need to make your own.Did you notice that the female header is only surface-mount to the board, the aluminium substrate board having a cutout for it?This is what I'd do, because it would be reversible, but doable without any special tools or components: desolder that header from the board, soldering wires there instead, with a blob of high-temperature silicone (like gasket silicone) to keep the wires in place, well separated from the aluminium substrate board.Gasket silicone you can get from any hardware or automotive store. Use RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone with a platinum or tin catalyst; not an acidic one or with anti-mould reagents like in caulking silicones, since those may harm the board or components or the PVC insulation.The other solution is to grab some 1.5mm pitch single-row connectors, for example JST ZH connectors (that you can get from e.g. TME), and modify them to work for you by making two 1×4 single-row connectors you can glue (plastic weld) together. Essentially, you'd need to file or sand one side thin enough so that when pushed together, the row spacing is just 1.5mm. Most of these connectors are PA66, i.e. nylon, with glass reinforcement; and for best results, you should use adhesives that are designed to bond Nylon 6,6 to itself. A combination of JB Weld PlasticWeld and CA glue is known to work, and hot glue actually bonds well with Nylon, but takes a bit of experimentation and practice to get right. Although, gluing them together isn't really necessary, especially if you use the 90-degree male connectors so the wires don't push against each other.

author: Its wednesday my dudes
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2021, 09:46:39 am
content: Ok. Thanks to all of you guys. So i will move forward with a self made solution. I was just hoping that there exist matching connectors, so that I can make a nice detachable extension cord.