I want to make my own custom dupont style connectors, to mate with standard FEMALE headers on an Arduino 2560 board. I have the supplies to make FEMALE connectors, and know how to crimp cables.
I have MALE dupont crimp terminals. If I put them in what normally goes a female crimp terminal housing, it looks like the male pin will fall short of the end of the housing and make it impossible for me to mate with a female connector. Also, these TINY little male crimp connectors do not really look quite LONG enough to fully mate in with the female housing, or a proto-breadboard.
I tried searching for MALE dupont housings, and my searching seems to be filled with standard female housings.
Am I able to make male crimp housings, or due to this problem - I must use something else?
There is no difference between male and female dupont housing. If the pin does not protrude from the end - look at that square bump on the male pin - it fits into the same place that the similar shaped bump does on the female pin, held in place by the little plastic flap. It sounds like you're not getting them in that far. Maybe you're mangling the connector when you crimp it, and it's not fitting in? I have a <50% success rate crimping dupont connectors. Or you might have then rotated the wrong way around when you insert them? They only go in one way.
I am also not impressed with male dupont connectors - they do work with female dupont connectors, but on cheap female header, they're fiddly, and they don't inspire confidence regarding long-term reliability. I try to use female connectors and male headers whenever possible.
I get terminated wires from Pololu.com, they never have a problem going into housings. Our self-crimped terminations are always a little fiddly as far as fitting into the housings, needing a little extra tweaking on some of them.
I buy 50 packs of rainbow colors in male-male, female-female, male-female, always have some on and and have different housings too - 1x1, 1x2, x3, x4, x5, x6, x8, x9, 2x3, can make up just about anything needed from those. Pololu - Wires with Pre-Crimped Terminals 50-Piece 10-Color Assortment M-F 12" https://www.pololu.com/product/1902
Thanks for the replies. I believe the crimp terminals I have for male, are for something else - like a db-9 (or I dont know what they are for).
Yes, before I posted, I sized mine up and used the "clicky retainer" on the one side to measure from tip to fastener. I must have made an error when ordering them.
I have since ordered more, of what I believe are the right ones.
Unfortunately, with MOUSER.COM - their catalog system is so confusing, loaded with so much stuff I get lost. When I actually find my part numbers, is convenient to store them on their project manager - where I can add my own notes. But they have at least 1,000 different dupont style connectors it distracts me too much.
I will try pololu.com, thanks for offering the vending advice. I am always on the prowl for new vendors selling quality and unique stuff, for fair prices.
I have a <50% success rate with getting the connectors I want from a real supply house like digikey/mouser. "You are in a maze of funny little connectors, all different" When I needed KK100 pins, I carefully mic'ed out the ones I had, studied the diagram in the datasheet, ordered. They don't fit my housings. Very frustrating, and I bought a shitload because I was sure they were what I needed. That was over a year ago - I've just quit using those type of connectors because it pisses me off so much looking at them now.
I buy loads from Mouser. I stick with the TE AMPMODU MTE series. Everything is compatible. It's still a pain sometimes finding "will this male mate with that female" but now I have a collection of almost everything in the series, I have the part numbers on the bottom of the drawers so I know what to reorder when I run out.
I chose that particular series because it has retention clips on every connector. Very important in an environment with vibration (car, plane, boat.)
I didn't buy the exorbitant crimpers from Mouser. I think I got mine from Adafruit. They crimp all of the AMPMODU MTE pins and sockets, with a little care and attention.
Yea, retention clips. I spent 12 hours picking out square molex connectors and was sent a batch WITHOUT the clips.
I wanted sealed power connectors to use on exterior of truck for mounting fog lights, and sensors, etc... Going through the 1,000 pages of that is a nightmare to sort out each shell connector housing, that needs its own terminals, and another part for the 2 or 3 different rubber gaskets. Some of those damn connectors are like $18.00 for one plastic shell housing. I wound up buying 10 china/ebay connectors for like $4.50 with shipping.