I have a setup that has the decoder in the locomotive and the speaker in the car directly behind the locomotive. (It’s an Con-Cor Aerotrain) I’d like to “easily” disconnect the speaker from the speaker wires coming from the decoder (so that I can separate the locomotive from the sound car when I pack them in their box) but I’d still like to have good contact when they are connected and run together.
Does anyone have any mini-connector recommendations that might fit this bill? The cheapest would be a circuit board pin/socket header, which I have back at my house. The downside is that it plugs in a bit too firmly for what I’m looking for.
My Atlas S-2 switcher came with two single-pin & -socket connectors for the rear LED headlight in the cab and they disconnected and connected back together quite nicely. (The connection interfaces are more tapered) As mentioned, I’d like the connection to be smooth and easy to plug & unplug but still have good continuity when they are connected together.
The header pins are the cheap way to go. They work fine, maybe a bit tight so yuou have to be careful pulling them apart.
TCS sells mini connectors, there are also ones you can get from Micro Mark, and I think Miniatronics also has some. Another option although wasting a pin are servo plugs and sockets (just buy a short servo extension cord - one end is male, the other female, cut wire in half), These are great for lights (headlight, rear light, and blue common) but obviously would work for a speaker as well with one pin unconnected.
I think if you were to plug and unplug the connectors a few times you might find that the pins loosen up a bit. I have used many such connectors and never have I had a problem with the connectors being too tight. Having said that, I always make sure that I am pulling on the ‘plug’, not the wires.
I have used Micro Connectors for that purpose for over ten years, they work great! I buy them in (Breakable) single row 40 pin strips and dual row 80 pin strips. While the manufacturer advertises them as breakable I use my Atlas Super Saw to cut the connectors.
There are several types but the best I’ve found are the “round pin” type.
You can purchase both male and female strips, my preference is to use both, the female will work as a male as well as a female connector.
As you can see you can make a set of connectors with any amount of contacts or pin arrangement.
When I only need a two wire connector, I use these. Already wired with leads, male&female, in a 10 pack pair: Lot easier to unplug, then the plastic ones on a tender.
I make my own using these- Cut off the number of connection you need and you are all set! Want a smaller connection- When you cut these you ed up with the pin -socket metal part left over from cutting apart- solder and heat shmakes a ver small connector . SEE here: http://www.litchfieldstation.net/product/header-50-pin-inline-male-50-pin-575-500101/
Had to dig to find the spacing (pitch) of those - they are TINY! .05", not a common size. The ones commonly used for circuit headers and such are a .1" (2.54mm) pitch and cheap as chips - and you can also break them into any desired length without losing a pin. Significantly larger, but USUALLY there is enough room. The next smallest common size is a 2mm spacing, Then there are these. Should be small enough to fit anywhere, though as they mention, when you cut off the number of pins you need, the next one over is usually a goner.
The Micro connectors I mentioned above work very good for me. As Randy said they are standard .1” spacing very reliable and very small. If you forget to unplug the connectors they release easy without the wires breaking off.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
I really appreciate all the suggestions, fellas. Mel’s idea is the closest of what I had in mind and I’ll probably get some of those at some point.
In the meantime I was able to find at my local computer store this evening an inexpensive male header/female jumper packet that should do the trick:
The jumpers are meant to be plugged & unplugged and have a good tactile feel when you engage them on the male header. And each of the female jumpers can be cut in half so I can get twice as many connectors out of the same package. (10 female-female jumpers = 20 female connectors) I’ll use the male header for the junction and connect/disconnect the speakers from the long side. The other ends will be soldered to the speaker wires.
Well, I tried the above method and it works…okay. [sigh]
The heat shrink portion of the female jumper is a bit long to include them on both sides of the male header for the space. So, I soldered the decoder wires directly onto the 2-pin header on the one side and the speaker wires use the female jumpers on the other side. The locomotive and sound car go together but it takes some manipulation and poking to accomplish that; NOT the ideal. This is primarily due to the tapering at the back end of the locomotive roof. [:(]
I went ahead and ordered a pack of three 40-pin female breakaway rounded headers that Mel posted earlier for a whopping 99 cents (including S&H) and those will get here from China in a 1-2 weeks. I’m expecting them to cut down the length of the connection considerably. I’ll also shorten the length of the thicker speaker wires up so that not so much is poking out of the sound car but still enough to be able to pull the connectors apart.
