RC India

Hello

Could someone guide on the different types of connectors,their uses and which one is used where?

Thanks
Adi

What purpose do you want the connector for
Normally you have bullet connectors / gold connectors for Motor to ESC
Dean or T plug for Battery to ESC in case of high discharge and JST connectors in case of low discharge requirement.
rgds
sai

Almost same here.

1. Motor to ESC : Bullet connectors. If the motor came with a bullet connector of some size, I have to hunt down the corresponding one with the right diameter.

2. Battery to ESC : For bigger lipos (like 3s 1800mah or higher), I use standard Deans.  For smaller lipos, I use micro Deans.

3. For some small lipos, especially while used as receiver batteries, I use JST connectors.

If you want to see how they look like, just look up the names in Google.

One thing to note about connecting the ESC, motor, battery etc is that one should not just twist the two wire ends together and put some tape over them, instead one should solder them properly together, and preferably use "shrink wrap" to  cover the wires.

Here are some videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZU9rtACdZY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHjgnbih3r8

hi
  i use Anderson power pole connectors on all my battery packs and electric planes. it is very easy to plug and unplug, and can carry current upto 45 amp cont

santhosh

Ok, are JST connectors ok for a 7.4v 2S 1000mAH Lipo? I have spare deans connectors, but not sure if I need de-solder the JST (male) connector that the LiPo came with.

Depends on the discharge rating also, but should be safe if you are in the <20C range (which is typically the case).

The battery charger has an alligator clip and the battery also has one.
The motor combo I am buying has max. 10A discharge, si I don't know whether connectors come with it?
If not , then I should use the gold connectors on your shop?
Does the battery come with any connector?

Alligator clip on the charger sounds OK, but on the battery itself that sounds like a bad idea (unless there is another type of connector also on it).  You should replace it with something like bullets or deans.

If you are using bullet connectors, put one female and one male on the battery (and similarly on the ESC), that helps prevent you from reversing the polarity of the connections by mistake. Something like below :

(http://www.monstergt.se/P1030549.jpg)

Why are different connectors suggested for Motor to ESC and ESC to Battery?

Thanks
Adi

Couple of common reasons.

1) Brushless motors come with 3 wires, while ESC to battery is two wires.

2) Many brushless motors come with male bullet connectors already soldered on. So we just find the same size female bullet connectors and solder them to the motor side of the ESC.  I guess one could use same bullet connectors for ESC to battery also, but most people find Deans convenient (since motor to ESC is typically a one time plug in, while ESC to battery is plug-in/plug-out every time you fly, and Deans is better suited for that).

Since I don't have a discharge greater than 15A, will it be a problem if I use Dean connector which is used for high discharge currents?

Nope, not a problem at all.

The only remote concern is the weight of the connector itself, which typically is not a issue unless you are doing indoor 3D flying with very light foamies.

No you will not have any issues. I always like to give analogies... and here is one for your question. Imagine yourself as the dean's connector and you are capable of "carrying" 50kgs.. Now, your question is like asking, I have a weight of 15Kgs.. will there be a problem if I "carry" it?... Absolutely not, you can easily carry it. The weight compares to the current. So, the deans connector can safely "carry" a lower current than its max current.

I just want to add one more thing on the Lipo battery connectors. For saftey reasons please do not use exposed metal connectors as the one shown on the posts above. I would prefer to have the metal surfaces covered. Its better to use a Deans socket (female) on the battery side and the Deans plug (male) on the ESC side.

-Ismail

Absolutely, you don't want a "circuit" being created in your carry bag!! The lipos I bought have only female deans or male JSTs on them.

Important note Ismail, thanks !  I missed mentioning that (the female deans should be on the battery).  In fact now many ESCs come with a male deans pre soldered, so you are forced to put the female on the batteries.  That way, carrying multiple batteries together is much less risky (in terms of the connectors touching one another getting shorted).

If you are doing the one female and one male bullet connector setting like above, then you can put a little bigger diameter shrink wrap on the male bullet connectors to reduce this risk. The wide shrink wrap should be left along all the way to the tip of the male connector, but only the part near the wire is shrunk, and the part over the male connection is left un-shrunk and not touching the connector surface itself. But that would make plugging them in a bit difficult unless you do it right.

Some people also solve both problems with bullet connectors (preventing plugging in wrong polarity and risk of connector touching each other) by using both female connectors on the battery but with different sizes (one 3mm and the other 4mm).  That way we have both female connectors on batteries, yet due to the size difference you cannot plug them in with the wrong polarity.

Yet another reason why deans is the de-facto standard these days.

Thanks a lot everyone...Helped me a lot.

Hi Anwar,
i have build my own Brushless motor out of Old CDROM drives "http://www.rcindia.org/self-designed-diy-and-college-projects/first-cdrom-brushless-motor/"
and in all the motors i have used Dean plugs for connecting ESC. it is easy to plug and prevent reverse direction. i am not sure whether it is suggested or not...
Sandeep

First of all, great job on the CD ROM motor, in the age when most people would just buy off-the-shelf motors (they have become fairly affordable now).

Looks like your amps requirements are small, so standard deans may be slightly overkill, but they will certainly work.  If you are worried about weight (indoor flying), then go for bullets or possibly even micro-deans (from motor to ESC).

I have micro deans available at the same price as the regular deans if you like
sai

A quick basic question on connectors - Is it ok to use the XT 60 connectors on my 450 to connect the lipo and ESC? 40 amp ESC, 3800 kV brushless motor and 11.1 V 2200mAh, 3 cell, 20C Lipo. Finding the bullets connectors a little cumbersome.