Connectors, which do you prefer?

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bsodmike

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Hi all,

So it seems there's a host of connector options and I'm no stranger to a soldering station - so I'll be making my on leads etc. as needed.

That said, I'm interested to find if any here prefer a certain type of connector etc.

* 5.5 mm bullets (typically found on Lipos as an 'inverted' pair to prevent shorting)
* Deans Ultra Plug (a.k.a T-connector) - the female end is a recessed socket, again no chance of shorting although the male end should never be 'live'.
* 4 mm bullets/banana plugs - typically found on some ESCs etc.
* Castle Creations 6.5 mm bullets, as used on their motors.

This is obviously non-exhaustive of connector options - I'm focussing more on those capable of carrying high current; not so much Futaba "J" type connectors or the JST-XH as used on some balance plugs.

Are their any connectors I've missed that you've found useful say for your lipo <-> ESC hookup or motor <-> ESC connectivity?

Particularly for the motor <-> ESC connectivity I'm debating having my Castle motor interface with a handmade lead with mating 6.5 mm bullets; the only issue being that each would need to be insulated during use to prevent any shortage. Thoughts? ... or should I just go with a 'one-motor' per buggy and go with a trimmed, less wire, direct-to-ESC job?
 
Use the 6.5 mm bullet connectors with heat shrink over the exposed portion. This is what is found on most factory wiring jobs.
 
I have ran them on 6s on a MMM and the wires may get hot but the connectors keep thier cool. They work well for me. Best of both worlds.
 
I have ran them on 6s on a MMM and the wires may get hot but the connectors keep thier cool. They work well for me. Best of both worlds.

BTW I ordered a MMM as well - so the idea is I'll first run @ 4S on the Vortex R8 - since I've already wired it in; then switch to 4S on the MMM and later give 6S a shot.

For the Vortex I'll only need to solder up a simple 'series' harness with two pairs of 5.5mm bullets on the lipo side and a pair of 4mm bullets on the ESC side.

Then three leads of 4mm <-> 6.5 mm to interface with the Castle 1515.

When I switch over to the MMM; I'll just need to snip the insulating heatshrink on the motor/esc harness, unplug the harness. The 1515 can plug directly into the MMM! At this point I may decide to stick with the MMM and shorten the leads down - with some solderwick, I should easily be able to re-use the same 6.5mm bullets :D
 
i use traxxas and they seem pretty good to me. does anyone else use the traxxas connectors?
 
I prefer deans. They will work on just about anything 1/8 scale or lower. If I was going to do a really high power job like an electric 1/5 scale or something Id probably look at 6MM bullet connectors and they are cheaper than Castles 6.5mm and should handle just about any job you could reasonably through at them.
 
EC5s look nice also and I've used em once or twice for various adapters and found them to be fine I just already had everything done up in deans already and they werent so much better than Deans that it made me wanna go back and redo everything. Id say either the deans, EC5, or TRX connectors you will find suitable.
 
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