Connector considerations

[slacker.cam]

Well here's my 2c...

I totally agree with Rotule with his reccomendation to use the Motec style AMP plug (actually called a Super Seal) but as we all know they will be far more expensive/hard to get than the good ol' Db series.

Personally I'd far rather use an automotive spec plug on any PCB for FreeEMS that i ever design but for some people they may feel that they cannot justify the extra expense (considering that is one of the main goals of this project) and given that the DB plugs have been proven to work just fine in automotive applications if you give them some cable relief and keep them out of the damp.

This is really just a tradeoff between 'goodness' and price and time will how tell how much people desire a great quality plug. Trust me, being able to add/remove pins with nothing more than your thumbnail when using the Super Seal range is very desirable (esp if you're experimenting).

Maybe we will end up having two common board types, a no frills version with minimal options and Db style plugs, and a more elaborate board with nice AMP plugs.

Cam

[ababkin]

i'd like to see some good deals on these or similar connectors. Anyone has any leads?

[Tony]

The amp connectors are super nice indeed as i use them quite a bit (the bikes i mess with have these stock).

Now the actual board connectors are not hard to get at this moment as i have a supplier who has about 500 of these .

Now if there were to be a group buy from AMP there is a 500 minimum purchase and the price when i last checked was like $5.00 - $6.00 apiece so about $2000.00 for 500 board connectors straight from AMP if you buy them individually expect to pay upwards of $20.00 apiece for them.

Im not sure on the harness connectors as i didnt check into those but i would expect the same minimum for those and price would probably be about the same. The pins for the connectors are around .11ea if you buy a minimum of 7000 .

So yes these are expensive to buy into and you cant find them just anywhere but if a group buy was to take place it would save alot of money vrs. buying them individually

If this is something in the future we want let me know and i will call AMP and get a firm figure on everything needed as i have talked to them quite a bit on this over the last few months trying to source the board connectors.

[ababkin]

any decently priced cases that would go with these board connectors?

for this kind of group by we'll have to get at least 100 people (average 5 units a person, who needs more?)

I am thinking that it would work much better if someone will take on being our dedicated distributor, will buy whole stock, then sell for around $10-12 a piece with service like individual shipping etc. This way people will still save a lot of money comparing to $20 a piece, while the distributor makes some coin as a compensation for his troubles.

(i don't have spare $2000 lying around right now so ain't gonna be me)

[Tony]

Well im guessing if the Board,and harness connectors are the same price your talking more like 4000.00 for the whole setup plus pins would run another 770.00 for 7000 so your looking at about 4800.00 for the whole setup but splitting that 100 ways is 48.00 for enough to do 5 cars and plenty of pins to go around.

I can order them but i cant come up with 4800.00 to devote to the cause it would be best to just setup a group buy on the connectors and buy them all at once .

Be expecting a waiting period also it takes a few weeks for the connectors to be made so this is not just order them and they be here next week type of thing.

I ordered 10 from my distributer and they cost me 200.00 for just the board connectors so 48.00 for 5 each of the harness and board and pins is dirt cheap.

Now this is speculation on the total price i can find out for sure but this is a ball park price.

[ababkin]

Well, I for one, would gladly pay $50+shipping for set of 5 quality products like this. The trick is to find 100 people like me

Tony, try to find a place that would be willing to sell in 200 or even 100 stocks with decent per-unit price yet.

[Tony]

Ok i will do some investigating tonight and see if i can get a hold of some distributors tomorrow.

[ababkin]

Cool. Meanwhile, we should perhaps see what our options are in regards to enclosure that would be appropriate for this connector. Looking at connector, the enclosure will need to be tall enough to accommodate it such way that the board is horizontal and the connector pins are 'through' the board.

(enclosure thread here: http://diyefi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=94)
EDIT: i wonder if the first enclosure i linked to is going to comfortably accommodate this connector when soldered to the board.

in addition, i think Fred wanted it to be in two separate enclosures: sensitive digital in one and high power noisy stuff in the second. I rekon this connector is best for the second-enclosure<->harness connection, which may very well reside in the engine bay.

[AbeFM]

I can order them but i cant come up with 4800.00 to devote to the cause it would be best to just setup a group buy on the connectors and buy them all at once .

Yep, that's just the issue. The number of times I bought pizza in college for a group of 20 guys who would all "chip in later" is... not a pleasant memory.

If you can come up with another high density, high current connector, awesome. But show me your DB37's and 25's that have failed. Especially when you spend $10 or $15 each on them, not buying the very cheapest you can. Get the ones with removable pins and spring wrapped sockets, etc, and you'll have trouble topping it.

You can spend any amount you want on connectors, but of all the things to have issues on my own EFI at home, the DB's haven't been one of them. I know you can do better, but you have to come up with available and cheap.

I might recommend (did I already?) a board that would solder to a DB37 footprint, and you could put your own fancier connector on that.


I would say that a lighter duty cable could be used for signals, and a heavier for power. I've seen 4 amp per pin DB style connectors running well under $10.

[GartnerProspect]

I agree that for the time being a DB style connector is acceptable. The only DB failures I've seen have been due to over-soldering the female socket... And even that was barely a "failure" in any sense, just a poor connection.

The good news is modifying a board layout for a DB vs AMP connector is trivial if you leave enough realestate for the AMP from the get go. The problem is you can cram a lot more density into a DB.

From my days working in stereo shops I've also considered using a Molex style. They are very inexpensive, have good current capacity, have decent density, and are at least equal to the DB in terms of environmental resistance. They are also availible in single quantities last I checked, in a number of configurations.