Noob M20 connector question

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pjforde1978
 
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Noob M20 connector question

Post by pjforde1978 »

First post!

My goal is to take one of the unused wires from a CAT-6 cable and fit it with a female connector, suitable to be popped onto a GPIO header on my Pi. I'm going to need to do this for 50-60 Pis, total.

I've attempted to do some research and I think that the connector is an M20, but I am feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of similar but seemingly different components - and I'm not even 100% sure that M20 is the correct thing.

Could someone with experience provide URLs to the things I'll need? I believe that I'll need three distinct things:

- a 50 or 100 pack of metal contacts
- a 50 or 100 pack of plastic housings
- the correct crimper tool

Part of the problem is that I'm not confident in the terminology that I'm using, so I will be grateful if you correct my vocabulary. Also, if there's any YouTube videos that would show me how to put these bits together, I'd be indebted.

Thanks!

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zener
 
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Re: Noob M20 connector question

Post by zener »


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pjforde1978
 
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Re: Noob M20 connector question

Post by pjforde1978 »

Yes, exactly like those - but not attached to wires already.

What are the ends called? Sockets? Connectors? It's easy to find the wires with the ends on them, otherwise known as a jumper. Nobody ever seems to explicitly name the things on the end of the wires, though. :)

So, any idea what I need to make my own jumper cables?

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Noob M20 connector question

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

The parts you're looking for are called "crimp terminals for use with header and wire housings" or "rectangular connector contacts".. hard enough to remember when you know what you're looking for.

A whole male/female-terminals-and-housings set is called a 'series', and there are umpty zillion of them, all with slightly different dimensions, price points, and crimpers.

Digikey tends to have a wider selection of mechanicals than Mouser, so here's a page to get you started:
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/e ... ageSize=25

You'll need to look at the datasheets to find the general shape and dimensions you want. Working through the list by series might be the fastest way to eliminate the ones you don't like.

Once you've chosen the terminals you like, check the dimensions against our general-purpose crimpers:
https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=crimper&b=1

Crimpers don't come cheap, but ours look pretty good when you compare them to series-specific crimpers. They're also good-quality hardware.. I have the 1mm-1.9mm version, use it every other day, and love it.

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pjforde1978
 
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Re: Noob M20 connector question

Post by pjforde1978 »

Amazing info!

Happy to make a sound investment in a good tool, especially if I can support your company in the process.

As for deciding which one, it's late here so I'm going to take a stab at intellectual laziness: can you just tell me which one you'd use if you wanted to pop it on a RasPi GPIO pin? It's possible you don't know, which is totally cool and completely understandable. But it seems like in this particular case there is a likely a singularly correct answer.

"Oh, a Raspberry Pi GPIO header pin? You want a X contact and a Y housing and a Z crimper."

Literally the exact same thing as you see on https://www.adafruit.com/products/266 but not attached to a wire, yet.

Many thanks!

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Noob M20 connector question

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Nah, nah.. that's called 'leveraging the knowledge base'. ;-)

Scanning the series names on the first page, I know that the Molex C-Grid series uses 0.1"/2.54mm pins, so this one should work: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... ND/1656204

There are many kinds of housings that will hold the sockets, but these look like the simplest: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/e ... vendor=900 You can find other sizes (number of pins) here: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?FV=ffec148b

I use housings when I have two or more wires that need to stay in a fixed pattern, but just put a chunk of heat-shrink tubing over single general-purpose wires.

The official crimper is here: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/e ... ND/4576391 (be sure you're sitting down before you read the price).

The terminators are made for #24 to #30 wire, and I'd suggest going with #24. At that size, these crimpers from our shop will work and are in stock:

https://www.adafruit.com/products/1213
https://www.adafruit.com/products/349

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pjforde1978
 
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Re: Noob M20 connector question

Post by pjforde1978 »

Thanks so much Mike! This was extremely helpful.

I can't even believe that they charge $300+ for a crimping tool.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Noob M20 connector question

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

That's the "we know you'll just write it off your taxes as a business expense" pricing model, with a hint of, "if you don't spend your equipment budget this year they'll cut your allocation next year."

I think you have to get an MBA for it to make sense.. at least I hope so.

WRT the connectors, I'm glad I was able to help. Happy hacking! ;-)

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