I finished my build, and it runs properly sometimes, but more often not, like 90% of the time i spend on the machine, I spend diagnosing why one of the motors is not working. One motor had a loose connection inside the motor itself, but besides that one, it always seems to be related to issues with a loose or dodgy dupont connector. I am so sick and tired of these bloody things, has anyone replaced them entirely with something more reliable? Quite a few of the stepper extensions, I’ve just cut the connectors off and soldered and heat shrinked them together, but I would love to get rid of the connectors to the board. Soldering the wires directly to the board seems a little too permanent I think. Is there any middle ground?
Yeah i crimped my own connectors. Its not that they dont fit together, its more a case that they intermittently stop working. I proably am going to replace them all with ready made pigtails soldered together. But i was wondering if there might be a better solution. I think building the next iteration of the jackpot controller with jst connectors would be a nice upgrade.
You want the ‘original’ Dupont crimp pins: Amphenol Mini-PV series. These use a two piece design with a beryllium copper spring and are far superior to the crappy single piece design used in all hobby grade/Amazon supplied connector kits. They cost a little more and take some digging through the product data sheets to select the correct part numbers that you will require but it’s worth the effort. Available through Digikey, Mouser and other electronic suppliers.
