Female round 0.025" pin connector - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: LaurentR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 02:14:57 am
content: A lot of Tek and other brand adapters use round female connectors that can take either standard square 0.025" male pins or round ones and have an internal spring in it. For example:https://4gte.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/020-2008-00-1-scaled.jpgI need to make some adapter cables (Y cables...) and while I could use standard 0.1" female pins in a plastic 0.1" body (I have some and a crimping tool), I am wondering if anyone knows a source of the round ones similar to what Tek and others use. I found them to be better at holding round 0.025" pins.

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 09:28:03 am
content: Mill-Max makes nice female connectors for 0.025" diameter round pins. It also makes sizes for 0.025" square.https://www.mill-max.com/products/new/precision-machined-connector-pins?keyword=&creative=593675627468&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImoKwmOun-QIVSh-tBh0QUwnQEAAYASAAEgKFkfD_BwE

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 04:42:50 pm
content: Bear in mind that a 0.025” square pin has a diagonal of 0.036”, so if you insert one into a socket made for 0.025” round pins, you may damage the socket.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 04:47:38 pm
content: Quote from: LaurentR on August 02, 2022, 02:14:57 amI’d suggest ultra-high-force Mini-PV sockets (the “original” DuPont connector). They hold far better than standard Chinese DuPont contacts, and they don’t loosen up after a handful of insertions. (“PV” apparently originally stood for “perpetual virgin” because of their long lasting contact design.)They aren’t round, but they’re appreciably narrower than Chinese DuPont contacts, so some heat shrink over those makes a great slender plug.

author: LaurentR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 06:21:42 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on August 02, 2022, 04:42:50 pmThanks!That's exactly why I was asking the question. Tek and many others use these round female sockets with a spring in it and they seem to survive (and are mean to survive) insertion of both round and square pins, and square pins in any orientation, which is pretty amazing.

author: LaurentR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 06:33:54 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on August 02, 2022, 04:47:38 pmThanks, I'll give it a shot and see how well they work (esp. compared to the pile of Chinese ones I have).

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 06:40:48 pm
content: I still refer to that class of connecter as a Berg connector. In my mind, it is differentiated from many other look alikes by having a flat spring for the contact. It will accommodate round and 0.025" square male pins easily, if the flat is lined up, as it usually is in multipin connectors.

author: MarkL
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 02, 2022, 08:02:40 pm
content: The best quality 0.025" female connector can be found on HP logic analyzer pods (IMO). It's a double spring design and can tolerate being twisted on square posts and shoved onto things larger than 0.025".Unfortunately, I've never been able to find the original manufacturer source for them, but there's an abundant supply by removing them from old flying lead pods. Each pod has 34 female sockets (17x signal + 17x ground). Both the data and ground sockets are the same and have a solder cup for the wire. The data lead comes with a square sleeve, but there's also nothing wrong with using heat shrink for insulation.You can usually find a set for < US$20.For example (no affiliation with these sellers):http://www.ebay.com/itm/223453447047http://www.ebay.com/itm/295008528988The pod part number is 01650-61608 or E5383A, or just search for "(agilent,hp) pod".EDIT: Fixed 0.25" to be 0.025". (You know what I meant...)

author: LaurentR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 05, 2022, 05:19:47 am
content: Quote from: MarkL on August 02, 2022, 08:02:40 pmThank you. This looks a lot like those Tek probe connectors and Tek accessories with the 2 springs inside the round barrel. I'll give it a shot and will compare. Should be easy to desolder and use heatshrink tubing and cost is reasonable.

author: LaurentR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2022, 04:52:13 pm
content: Quote from: MarkL on August 02, 2022, 08:02:40 pmI scored one of those and wanted to thank you for the link and also post some more pictures for reference.The connector's back is a flat half-cylinder. That allows the same connector to be directly soldered down on the ground path to the small ceramic PCB inside of the probe (which is mostly pass-trhough with a 90k resistor on the signal path).

author: MarkL
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 15, 2022, 02:35:32 pm
content: Nice photos! Looks look they belong in a parts catalog.I've found that hot air is good way to get the little PCB out of the compensation dongles. It's encapsulated in some kind of thermoplastic and gets very pliable, allowing you to slice and peel more easily.Note the little spark gap on the ceramic between the socket and the wire. And there's a little hole in the plastic so the plastic doesn't add any insulation to it. Nice protection feature by HP.Also, a slight correction. You get 35 connectors (not 34) counting the separate black ground lead attached to the header.I like these better than the Tek sockets. The Tek sockets are high quality too, but can get ruined from twisting on a square pin or inserting something too large. If that happens or they get too loose from use, I replace them with the HP sockets.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 15, 2022, 05:06:10 pm
content: I’m gonna guess those HP sockets are a customized version of high-quality size 22 machined contacts.Something like this, just with the custom flat solder pad instead of the crimp cylinder:https://www.digikey.ch/de/products/detail/te-connectivity-aerospace-defense-and-marine/204351-1/299512Inside the stainless tube, the contact looks like this:https://www.digikey.ch/de/products/detail/molex/1731120226/5818004From personal experience, size 22 contacts (which are what’s in D-sub HD connectors) work well on square pins. I wouldn’t be surprised if HP had slightly smaller contacts made to be a tad snugger.