A couple of my projects are moving off of breadboards and onto stripboard and protoboard to allow for a bit more polish and permanence until I'm more confident about getting custom PCBs. Most of the components and wiring are soldered in place, but for some things, like batteries, I need some form of connector. The problem is that I don't have the lingo to describe what I'm looking for. When I crack open an ordinary PC, I see several options, but I don't have the lingo to find any information on them or track down suppiers.
For batteries, I think what I'm looking for is a JST connector. The little white ones in PCs, that can't be connected backwards. This would be to connect a lipo battery to a project and to a charger. Sound right? Are there 3-, 4-, and n-pin versions of JST connectors as well? If so, they would cover a lot of my use-cases.
Then there are the connectors that connect a 12V fan to a PC motherboard. The black hard plastic ones. They seem to connect well to the types of headers that get used in Arduino projects. I've been salvaging them from junk PCs, but I'd like to get the tools necessary to install them onto wires. I've just been using the existing wires, soldering connections, and covering with heatshrink, but this is time-consuming and looks less than stellar. Can someone point me in the right direction?
Leads and extension leads for lipo connectors can be had from the rc model suppliers.
Its not worth terminating them yourself, too fiddly.
There are two basic types, with the smaller ones used for rc aircraft.
tracking down a supplier for solder to board connectors may be problematic.
For generic connections I would suggest pin headers are the simplest.
Locking polarised types , there are so many of them.
Edit
jst and banana are the common power connectors.
There are two different types of balance charge leads as well but I cant remember what they are called
When working with power connectors for LiPo batteries you must wear eye
protection, note - an accidental short will cause a violent bang and could spray
molten copper particles in your face.
Thanks MarkT. With that warning in mind, I just taped up the positive end on a LiPo battery that I salvaged from an old MP3 player.
MarkT:
When working with power connectors for LiPo batteries you must wear eye
protection, note - an accidental short will cause a violent bang and could spray
molten copper particles in your face.
JST is good but they're 2mm pin spacing. This doesn't fit a protoboard or veroboard which has 0.1" (2.54mm) spacing.
I really like the AMPMODU MTE series from TE Connectivity. They are 0.1" spacing and the plugs all have latches so they won't vibrate out. You can get any number of pins from 2 to 15. This plug is interchangeable with other manufacturers. Sometimes it's called a DuPont connector or a Molex connector. (Moles makes lots of connectors and many people are only familiar with one type, which they call "Molex".) I buy them from Mouser.
Another way of making a connector from your bin of Arduino parts is to solder wires onto the normal Arduino headers and wrap tape or heatshrink around the finished assembly. I use this a lot for 4-6 wires in a ribbon cable. It's not secured against movement but it's OK for many jobs.