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GI re-connectorising...

Paul

Paul

Staff member
10 Years
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
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South Wales
Pretty sure they're the right ones. Molex KK tin-plated Trifurcon. Don't get gold plated. 396 series is 3.96mm = 0.156"
 
Cryptkeeper said:
I ordered one,
Ordered a few bit from RS on the work account too;)
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Epic amounts of info on crimps here....

http://www.pinrepair.com/connect/

As Paul says, a little fiddly but practice makes perfect. The crucial part is how much insulation you strip back.

The tool is simple enough use.... once you suss the technique. I'll chuck up some photos later when I get home.
 
Crimping is for the weak. Stop ****ing around, man up, and solder the ****ers on.

I know I'm gonna get flamed for this ;) Yeah, yeah, I've read the Molex guidelines too. But remember this - the primary benefit for using crimped connectors of any sort is speed. This is for the benefit of manufacturers to reduce production times.

DEATH TO THE IDC!!!
 
Nedreud said:
Crimping is for the weak. Stop ****ing around, man up, and solder the ****ers on.

I know I'm gonna get flamed for this ;) Yeah, yeah, I've read the Molex guidelines too. But remember this - the primary benefit for using crimped connectors of any sort is speed. This is for the benefit of manufacturers to reduce production times.

DEATH TO THE IDC!!!
Click to expand...
There's really no problem with just crimping these imho.
 
Nedreud said:
Crimping is for the weak. Stop ****ing around, man up, and solder the ****ers on.

I know I'm gonna get flamed for this ;) Yeah, yeah, I've read the Molex guidelines too. But remember this - the primary benefit for using crimped connectors of any sort is speed. This is for the benefit of manufacturers to reduce production times.

DEATH TO THE IDC!!!
Click to expand...

Crimped connectors, if done properly, give better results than soldered.
 
On a more serious note...

Has anyone considered switching to gold-plated connectors? You shouldn't mix tin and gold connectors, but if you were replacing the headers on a board because they're 30+ years old and have seen probably dozens if not hundreds of re-seating cycles (standard tin Molex connectors have a rated 25-cycle lifespan which for a pinball machine might be around 5 years of operation), then might it be best to "Go For Gold"? Reading up on the Molex technical data, gold-plated Trifurcon pins are suitable for power applications, e.g., the GI, so I don't see why this would be a good idea?
 
aaronhicksuk said:
Lol really, I'm surprised you haven't just bought a crimp tool to do the job properly with.
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I was certainly put off by the ridiculous price of the authentic Molex crimp tool which is like £200, and then suspicious of cheap copies, but if the £23 tool mentioned by @astyy above is good I could go with that. But I've become proficient at soldering them on and have never had any subsequent issues, so I'll probably save the money and stick with what works for me. It's a bit hard to know by following the guidance from Molex because they're never going to promote soldering over crimping because it would undermine their own product, so their bias is towards crimping - it is, after all, the purpose of the product! Either way, as long as the job is done well, it's a good solution. Crap soldering is as bad as crap crimping!
 
Nedreud said:
I was certainly put off by the ridiculous price of the authentic Molex crimp tool which is like £200, and then suspicious of cheap copies, but if the £23 tool mentioned by @astyy above is good I could go with that. But I've become proficient at soldering them on and have never had any subsequent issues, so I'll probably save the money and stick with what works for me. It's a bit hard to know by following the guidance from Molex because they're never going to promote soldering over crimping because it would undermine their own product, so their bias is towards crimping - it is, after all, the purpose of the product! Either way, as long as the job is done well, it's a good solution. Crap soldering is as bad as crap crimping!
Click to expand...
Fair play mate, whatever works for you. I like soldering stuff too but hadn't considered doing it with these crimps. The £23 tool @astyy mentions is plenty good enough. £200 for the official molex tool is ridiculous.
 
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