I’ve had mixed success with micro controller cable interconnects.\u00a0 My first experiences at wiring was humble.\u00a0 I leaned heavily on standard 3mm audio jacks due mainly to the low learning curve.\u00a0\u00a0 As my projects became more complex, the limitations with this became clear.<\/p>\n
Simply doing a search for Molex on Google will reveal the dilemma that the newcomer has to face.\u00a0 I couldn’t make the connection.\u00a0 The endless sea of pitch, ratings, conductor type, latch types, etc. just made the effort exhausting.\u00a0 As a result, it became more of a game of experiments than precision work.\u00a0 This wasted time and materials, neither of which I wanted.<\/p>\n
Eventually, I did find some sources for connector types that have been field proven. The ebike connectors that were original with my first Crystalyte 408 motor were non-standard, based on my impressions.\u00a0 I found that the industry hasn’t created a standard and that most ebike enthusiast were using Anderson power connectors.\u00a0 After some research, it became apparent that the higher current voltage source applications were going to utilize this type of connector.<\/p>\n
The Anderson connectors are easy to work with, easy to source, reliable, interchangeable, and inexpensive.\u00a0 The supplier that I found that works great for me was Powerwerx.<\/a>\u00a0 I had no trouble putting these on my batteries, chargers, watt meters, controllers, motors, and power boosters.\u00a0 They have worked for me without fail in the field for the past 2 years in all types of weather.\u00a0 I highly recommend this type of connector for high amp voltage source applications.<\/p>\n Here is where my luck ran out.\u00a0 The low current voltage, signal, and logic lines used the bulky Molex connectors.\u00a0 I tried using recycled connectors from computers, but the wiring would break or the connector would come loose.\u00a0 It just didn’t perform like the Anderson connectors.<\/p>\n Finally after starting the micro controllers studies, most of the prototyping boards and headers use the standard 2.5mm pitch, as d0 breadboards.\u00a0 I finally found a connector type that I could start to lean toward, that being the BLS housing found at a local retailer called Vetco Electronics<\/a>.\u00a0 They worked great on the bench and I had the ability to reuse the components.
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