I am designing a PCB in Eagle, and need to include a barrel jack. I have three issues:
The jack will be connected to a 28v, 3 amp wall adapter. Many of the jacks I see aren't rated that high. Does it matter? (Such as this).
Most barrel jacks I see are more like this one, which would require a slit in the PC. Lars, as opposed to a hole. Why do they make this kind, and is it preferable to the breadboard friendly one above? If so, how would I specify the slit in my Eagle part?
I'm concerned about the durability of the jack/board solder connection over time, with repeated insertion of the power connector. Any advice as to how to make it durable?
The standard barrel power jack is designed to be inserted into a plated through hole by automated equipment, then soldered by ore automated equipment. You do not want a slit in your circuit board. Very expensive!
You can get them thru hole with pins or with the flat legs, or surface mount.
Check the specs on the one you want - not all will support higher currents.
You may need to change from a 2.1mm inner/5.5mm outer to 2.5/5.5mm parts.
After selecting a part, creating a new library symbol may be needed; not hard for a simple part like this.
If the board will really have 3A coming in, wider traces will be needed to support the current.
A site like this http://www.multek.se/engelska/engineering/pcb-structures-2/trace-width-calculator
will let you enter the copper thickness in oz/foot^2 and the current and tell you how wide a trace is needed. I have duplicated the trace on the top & bottom of the board to save on width on one side.
Ok, I checked with Bay Area Circuits, who is going to make up my board. They don't charge extra for slots for production runs, but do for Q1 prototypes. So since I wouldn't want to do a production run until I have a working prototype, I guess that means that I won't get slots.
So - I don't think anyone has answered my main question yet: will it be a problem to use a "breadboard style" barrel jack connector, with the pins soldered to through-holes in my PCB? Will that put too much strain on the PCB when the jack is inserted?
If so, any alternative recommendations? Is there some way I should secure the barrel jack in the enclosure? Or should I use some kind of panel mountable barrel jack that has wires going to my PCB? That would be solid, but seems ugly and kind of a pain to assemble.
They are for putting connecting wires through to be soldered. This design is not actually intended for PCB use, though of course it can be and is so used, by providing slots in the PCB. I don't know how they mill them - I believe they are punched, nowadays perhaps laser cut.
Originally, this design has grooves in the escutcheon which permitted it to be locked between the two parts of the plastic housing of the unit - indeed it still can be so held without those grooves but it will be slightly recessed in the process. So this design is a sort of hybrid/ orphan. Most commonly now used in PCBs with slots.
Thanks. My prototype PCBs came yesterday, I had had holes put in them, they look just like in the picture from Crossroads. I know you can do it that way, my concern is that inserting the male plug into the jack over and over would eventually strain the board. I don't think anyone has yet said whether they agree with this concern or not. I think I will just use a panel mountable jack, with wires going back to the holes in the board. That will also have the advantage of not having to worry about having the hole in my enclosure like up perfectly with the jack in th board.
When those holes filled with solder, that jack with its large pins is one of the most secure things on on the board. I have a Duemilanove that I started using in 2010, it's had a power cord plugged in lots of times over the past 4.5 years, no strain shown at all.
Off board does make it easier to line up with the enclosure. Do you have a USB connector that you need to be concerned with also? FTDI makes panel mount USB/TTL panel mount connectors.
