With the growth of more mainstream micro gear the confusion around the common "JST" connectors has grown. Leaving aside the proprietary systems from Micro Invent etc I thought it might be helpful to gather in one place the info about the most common types. One of them is not even a JST connector but is made by Molex. Hobby King and others however refer to anything small and white as a "JST" connector.

This is just stuff I am familiar with. Feel free to correct any errors or add any other manufacturers/items that use the common 3 small ones to add to the information base. There is limited possibility to move the pins from one system into the shell of another (generally bigger) one, sometimes by trimming very slightly the retaining nylon tabs. This is a lot easier than changing the connectors over for most people but you need to try it and see. Crimping the connectors is not easy but possible. There are no crimping tools for ordinary folks at a reasonable price for these sizes that I am aware of (except for the one mentioned below) and very high quality needle nose pliers are the best option. And a magnifier and steady hand. Soldering also works but will cause the wire to break easily if it is not also crimped at the strain relief.

There are a few specialist vendors that supply these small leads and/or a change over service. RC-Connectors, and Hansen Hobbies in the US and Micron in the UK are all people I can personally recommend for the servo connectors. There may be others just as good.

http://www.rc-connectors.com/
http://www.hansenhobbies.com/
http://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/



JST-XH is 2.5mm pin spacing (same as 0.1inch for all practical purposes)
Not micro size but very common. Used in most balance plugs on LiPos and is the "standard" header spacing in many electronic components including PCs. The standard Futaba/JR style servo plugs are this spacing.

JST- ZH is 1.5mm pin spacing
Used in the Spektrum AR 6300 system and a compatible DSM2 Rx from DelTang (DelTangs are available with all 3 connectors).

Molex PicoBlade is 1.25mm pin spacing.
Used in Futaba, FlyDream, Walkera and the new Hobby King Micro (DSM2) 2.4G systems. The HobbyKing 1.7 and 2.2g Servos have this connector. The 2 pin version is used on the PZ bricks as a battery connector.

JST-SH is 1.0mm pin spacing.
Used for servo connection in Spektrum AR6400 "Brick" and the HobbyKing SuperMicro (not DSM2) systems. Most linear servos have this connector.

You should always check the wiring polarity is also correct. Vendors have had a habit of producing connectors with the wiring swapped around.

The attached picture of the 3 micro connectors and also the common JST balance plug shows the sizes and what they look like front and back. Gene has done a similar one in post 6 which adds the usage info.

I have also attached spec sheets for the connectors which have all the physical measurements. Note that one data sheet covers all the connectors of the same family no matter how many pins they have.

Hope this is useful.

John

UPDATE 26Sep2015: Mark Christian has put up a nice guide to the common 1.00 -1.50mm pitch connectors on the MicronWings website. Lots of clear pictures and dimensions plus useful identification tips.

http://www.micronwings.com/HintsAndT...es/index.shtml

CRIMPER

The only low cost crimper I was ever able to find for these small connectors was the Engineer PA-09

http://www.engineer.jp/en/products/pa09e.html

It works right down to JST-SH 1.00mm although they require a lot of care. It is available from Amazon on-line and elsewhere.

Thanks much, John - that was needed!

I took the liberty of consolidating some of the info in your post in the attached jpg. Do I need to add/delete or change anything?

Now we need something similar for battery connectors!

Gene K

Gene, great idea. But I don't think that is a JST-XH connector. It has the same look as the smaller Molex 1.25mm. Where did you get the picture?

There is a bewildering array of this type of connector. The Molex web site lists 3014 different styles of "crimp housings". And that's styles not individual types of connectors.

What I might do is photograph all 4 of them again myself and recreate your useful foursome but with both sides of the plug showing. Then replace the original picture in post #1. That OK with you? The JST-XH has a distinctive pair of location forks on the other side which help identify it.

John

Originally Posted by speedy01

Thanks much, John - that was needed!

I took the liberty of consolidating some of the info in your post in the attached jpg. Do I need to add/delete or change anything?

Now we need something similar for battery connectors!

Gene K

How does this look? Make sense to people?

No more connector confusion

Ultra-micro servos for the Spektrum’s AR6400 and other Micro Receivers.

best regards tito

Originally Posted by flying-llama

And to add to the confusion, another common "JST" connector (the first one I learned about) has 2 pins, is usually red and is typically used to connect smallish batteries (but typically 2s or 3s) to an ESC and is good for several amps (depending on who you ask). This "JST" connector also goes by the name BEC connector (for Battery Eliminator Circuit connector). I believe that the pin spacing is 2.5mm.

see
http://www.jst-mfg.com/product/detail_e.php?series=521
for illustrations of how to assemble pins and housing for this JST-RCY connector set
the JST catalogue is at
http://www.jst.com/home2.html

The red battery connectors with the 2.5mm spacing, commonly used on smallish LiPo batteries these days, are rated at 3 amps if they have wires of 22 gauge AWG or larger.
http://www.jst-mfg.com/product/pdf/eng/eRCY.pdf

Here is a data point for your consideration: my Easy Star, with a stock brushed motor/prop, uses about 4.5 amps on 7.4 volts

Our club flies a combat event. We use 3S 850 mAh packs. Current is about 10 amps; connector is the red 2-pin JST. Works with no problems.

However, eight years ago, when I first started using the 2-pin JST, I had a fly-away, because the pin connection was not reliable. No problem years later.

Jim R.

if anybody know what type of this sanwa rx461 sensor connector, please let me know.

Originally Posted by jj604

What is the pin spacing?

The gap between pin is 1mm

If it is exactly 1mm (and not 1.25mm) then they are probably JST-SH connectors. This is the same one as used as a 3 pin servo connection on the AR6400 brick receivers.

However there is a variety of small connectors at this size - that's just a guess.

Originally Posted by b.wihardja

The gap between pin is 1mm

Finally I think I found a form that might be able to answer my question!!!

I have been hopelessly searching for a longer IMU gimbal cable. Can anyone help? The one that comes with the "RCTIMER 2-Axis Brushless Gimbal Controller & IMU v1.0" is a 300mm / 5pin cable... I am looking for a cable that is 500-700mm...

http://www.uavobjects.com/product/rc...ntroller-v1-0/

This is pure guesswork but from the photo it may well use the Molex Picoblade connector.

If so, Sammylam on eBay has a selection of different cables and he has a 5 conductor molex Picoblade (although he incorrectly calls it a JST).

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mini-Micr...806446f&_uhb=1

You could make up your own cable by soldering in extension wires if you don't want to chop up the one you already have. I think your chances of finding exactly what you want already made up are slim. I am sure someone makes it - it's finding it that is the problem! Your best bet would be a forum where people already use this item.

John

Originally Posted by mike668855

Finally I think I found a form that might be able to answer my question!!!

I have been hopelessly searching for a longer IMU gimbal cable. Can anyone help? The one that comes with the "RCTIMER 2-Axis Brushless Gimbal Controller & IMU v1.0" is a 300mm / 5pin cable... I am looking for a cable that is 500-700mm...

http://www.uavobjects.com/product/rc...ntroller-v1-0/

They are Molex Picoblade 1.27mm (or 1.25mm -same thing) pitch. These are the ones as used on the HobbyKing 1.7 and 2.2g servos and quite a few others. But double check the wiring polarity. It can be inconsistent. You can swap the wires around in the shells easily if necessary.

John

Originally Posted by DKChris

Does anybody know which connector version is used on FRsky's VD5M RX?




From the hip, i'd say it looks like JST ZH(1.5mm), but the receptacles on the RX look different from the part shown in JST's datasheet: http://www.jst-mfg.com/product/pdf/eng/eZH.pdf (No cutout at the ends)

Note: I don't have an RX at hand to measure pin distance, which would off course simplify things a bit.......