MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I'm getting into electronics now (Raspberry Pi/Arduino stuff) and have a couple of projects that need to be neater/more robust that just a bunch of wires soldered together or breadboards etc.
Obviously there are loads of different connector types/standards etc! This is what I think I want to use (advice gratefully received!)
Dupont connectors (so I can make my own jumper cables for attaching to arduino/Rpi headers in one go)
some kind of JST connector - these look useful for soldering sockets onto my own PCBs... don't know what the "generic" (most common) type is that is generally sold just as JST on eBay etc?
micro fix molex - these look great for making parts easily removable/modular (got one on the thermistor for my 3D printer)
sound sensible? Anything else handy that I've missed? Also I'd like a decent crimping tool. Don't mind spending decent money so something that I'm only going to buy once! Do I need a separate one for each connector or is there a decent universal one.
Also, kind of fancy a cordless soldering iron, for convenience. Gas one? Are they any good? Which one?
I pretty much exclusively use the duponts. You can but snap off header strips to make plugs on PCBs. You can buy pre-made ribbon cable with single pins for easy prototyping, then swap the single housings for a multi-way to make a neat connector. You can also crimp your own if you need something longer or higher current. Issues are that they are only push fit, no lock and they aren't handed so can be fitted either way. Never found that to be a big issue though
Most crimp tools have a few sizes on the head. I've just got a cheap pair, they crimp well enough.