Connector problem

ZOR

Senior Member
I bought some ribbon cable - 10 Way Unscreened Flat Ribbon Cable, 12.7 mm Width

I did not realize how difficult it would be to solder to a 2.54mm 10 way header neatly. I have a 10 way male 2.54mm header on my board waiting to join with the cable. I looked around for ribbon connectors but found they all have staggered pins, i.e. 2 x 5 way or 2 x 10 way. Does anyone know if there is a ribbon connector SINGLE ROW to go on my 2.54 male PCB header connector. I have not used ribbon cable like this before. I am trying to avoid using 20 wires to get 10 in a straight line. Hope I have not confused anyone. Thanks
 

abenn

Senior Member
I haven't used ribbon cable, but for my header connections I use crimp housings, which come in may sizes including this 10-way single-row one. You'll need the associated pins to go with it, and a crimping tool. Obviously you'll have to separate the wires near the end of the ribbon to spread them out to the 2.54mm spacing.
 

ZOR

Senior Member
Thanks abenn. I will give that a try, I did not think of crimping as wanting to stay with ribbon, however ribbon should allow crimping. !! Many thanks, I have some shells and crimps somewhere. Worth a shot. Regards
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
Not sure you will find any connector which takes 0.05" pitch ribbon cable for 0.1" pitch pins.
 

ZOR

Senior Member
Thanks hippy. I just tried using my crimping tool for the first time, the ribbon conductors just pull out, even when doubling over. I tried soldering them in the past but many would not go into shell. Never mind, it would be boring if things were straightforward. Just going to bang my head on a wall !!
 

ZOR

Senior Member
Does anyone know a UK company that can make a 10 way version of the Futaba Servo 3 wire cable. ? Last thought. Thanks
 

AllyCat

Senior Member
Hi,

I bought some ribbon cable - 10 Way Unscreened Flat Ribbon Cable, 12.7 mm Width
As often, we really need more information. How long is the cable to be, does it need to be only 13 mm wide and/or to feed through a narrow slot?

My immediate reaction was to use a pre-assembled "Dupont" strip as suggested by hippy, which are available with M-F and F-F (and M-M) terminations, up to a length of at least 30 cms, often supplied as a ribbon with 36 coloured wires (which can of course be separated anywhere). The terminations can be taped togther or glued, to fit onto a normal 0.1 inch pitch header.

Note that the cores are often quite thin; I guess they're still (pure) copper, but one must beware of pre-made crimped or IDC cables using aluminium nowadays. So, particularly if cutting and soldering one end, they may need to be handled quite gently. Generally, IDC style connections are likely to be more reliable if the cable may receive heavy use (or abuse).

Cheres, Alan.
 
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ZOR

Senior Member
Thanks hippy/Alan. They look like they will do what I want . I looked at pre-crimped wires with Dupont connectors to go into empty shells, however were individual wires. I want 10 cables on ribbon as they are going on to a moving object and ribbon allows lighter easier movement without cables snarling up. Thanks again Regards
 

Jeremy Harris

Senior Member
Rapid do pre-terminated cable assemblies with 0.1" pitch connectors on the ends, in a range of ways: https://www.rapidonline.com/pcb-connector-sets-2-54mm-pitch-210mm-length-520069

I keep a stock of these, with different numbers of ways, as they can be cut in half to allow things like LCD/OLED displays to be on the end of a flying lead that plugs into a PCB. I also use three way Molex connectors as serial programming port connections to Picaxe PCB's and have a couple of three way adapter leads made up that accept a 3.5mm stereo jack socket. I find that using these connectors on a PCB saves board space and allows the programming lead to just plug in to the top, rather than the side, of the PCB.
 

ZOR

Senior Member
Thanks Jeremy. I will keep your reference for future use. I really am trying to stay with ribbon as 10 individual wires will snarl up when rotated, ribbon with 10 wires folds and bends to allow low friction movement which I am trying to achieve. It's the output from a small board camera (pcb camera) driven by a small stepper that has little torque.
But thanks again, regards
 
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