bullet,deans,or spade ???

[MAXAMUS]

Ive been having trouble with bullet connectors coming off as iam not the best at soldering i don't like deans connectors very much so iam just wanting some input on other ways i could connect ? its not for battery terminals more for esc to motor .........

could you use spade connectors that were crimped with a tack of solder ?
or small block connectors ? My main concern would be the amp rating that these would have to be please chime in and let me know of alternatives

[Fluid]

No. For systems drawing more than 20-30 amps, spade connectors will not work, especially if not properly soldered. We tried this years ago and it simply creates too much reisistance and melts solder.

You will have to learn how to solder correctly, or have someone else do it for you. Electircal soldering is not that difficult once you learn how and have the proper equipment. The latter could be your problem.


.

[Jeff Wohlt]

A really decent soldering iron is key. I use a 40 for most but nothing wrong with a 80 watt if you can get it. I fill my bullets with solder and then shove twisted and tinned wire down to the bottom of the bullet and maybe add a little more but I make sure the wire is touching the bullet at the bottom. You need a vice to do as they get very hot.

A cold solder joint is a bad as using a junk connector as you show. Never use those or tamiya connectors in a boat. Deans is the minimum but bullets of 5.5mm is pretty much the norm these days.

Keep your wires twisted good and make sure they are tinned well. Keep the solder in the bullet hot and push it in and let it firm up. You do want contact with the bullet and your wire. You do not want the solder to be your connection.

[MAXAMUS]

thanks guys that's what i was expecting to hear and i think its probably my soldering iron that's the problem, looks like i will invest in a better iron and give it another go

[sn00p]

cant beat a gas soldering iron for bullets/deans and anything bigger than 12awg wire.... They are pretty cheap these days and you can take with you for on the spot repairs. . Buy a nice wide tip like 4mm and a small pointy tip too and you'll have just about every option covered. Just watch the heat they get seriously hot hence using on the likes of 10awg its perfect. If your solding small pcb stuff then use small tip and turn the gas right down. Dont forget to heatshrink i nearly always end up resoldering due to forgetting to slide the heatshrink over first lol... Also as per the Jeffs comment make SURE you tin both parts you wish to solder together. i.e heat the ends up and apply some solder. Then join the 2 solder parts together (hope that makes sense).

Finally with soldering your trying to heat the material up NOT the solder... heat the gold connector until the connector heats the solder and melts it rather than the iron tip. A correctly soldered joint will have nice shiny solder joint left, if it is dull grey then you prolly have a dry joint and need to re-solder. When testing your solder joint, just bend nearest the joint as poss a 90' bend if it breaks away re-solder if it holds it should be good.

For deans heres a tip. use a pair of small long nose pliers just to crush the male ends together. You will notice each spade has a concaved plate on top of the main spade. This creates a good tight connection but makes the deans very difficult to make and break apart. Just crush that down a little and all your worries are gone

[MAXAMUS]

cant beat a gas soldering iron for bullets/deans and anything bigger than 12awg wire.... They are pretty cheap these days and you can take with you for on the spot repairs. . Buy a nice wide tip like 4mm and a small pointy tip too and you'll have just about every option covered. Just watch the heat they get seriously hot hence using on the likes of 10awg its perfect. If your solding small pcb stuff then use small tip and turn the gas right down. Dont forget to heatshrink i nearly always end up resoldering due to forgetting to slide the heatshrink over first lol... Also as per the Jeffs comment make SURE you tin both parts you wish to solder together. i.e heat the ends up and apply some solder. Then join the 2 solder parts together (hope that makes sense).

Finally with soldering your trying to heat the material up NOT the solder... heat the gold connector until the connector heats the solder and melts it rather than the iron tip. A correctly soldered joint will have nice shiny solder joint left, if it is dull grey then you prolly have a dry joint and need to re-solder. When testing your solder joint, just bend nearest the joint as poss a 90' bend if it breaks away re-solder if it holds it should be good.

For deans heres a tip. use a pair of small long nose pliers just to crush the male ends together. You will notice each spade has a concaved plate on top of the main spade. This creates a good tight connection but makes the deans very difficult to make and break apart. Just crush that down a little and all your worries are gone

top stuff guy!! thanks for the tips there
new 100w soldering iron now on order it was definitely my old soldering iron it was only 30w no wonder my soldering was pants

[AndyKunz]

For deans heres a tip. use a pair of small long nose pliers just to crush the male ends together. You will notice each spade has a concaved plate on top of the main spade. This creates a good tight connection but makes the deans very difficult to make and break apart. Just crush that down a little and all your worries are gone

WRONG! Then your problems are just BEGINNING!

When I manufactured ESCs, people knew me for hating Deans connectors. Why? Because the springs (that's what that concave thing is) would be slightly flattened, and cause intermittent connections to the ESC. People would complain about the ESC glitching, send it back to me, and the only problem would be those !@)(#*!@)(#*!@() Deans connectors.

I had Deans on all my airplanes for a year or two, since the guys I flew with all had them. It let us share chargers and packs and ESCs easily. I've since changed everything over to EC3's for most (EC5's for boats) and I'm not looking back!

Andy

[Meniscus]

Well, since everyone else is weighing in, I figure I will.

I've have many years of experience working on analog circuits from consoles to individual circuits. Personally, I use a lower watt iron due to the fact that I have to be careful not to peel traces from the circuit board.

Now, that being said, a few things I would recommend paying attention to:

1. Always keep solder on the tip of your iron. This keeps the tip in good condition and conducts heat better for next use.
2. Do not hold surfaces with anything conductive. Meaning, if you are soldering bullet connectors, do not hold the connector with needlenose pliers or similar. What happens is, the heat is transferred to the needlenose and you end up with a cold solder joint. I recommend holding with something non-conductive or put rubber over the pliers.
3. Pre-tin wires prior to soldering surfaces. This results in the strongest and least resistance connection. When soldering final surfaces, it should only be neccessary to feed a small amount of solder.
4. Last, I keep a small damp sponge close to clean soldering tip in between soldering. Remember #1 listed above and keep solder on the tip.

I hope this helps.

[Meniscus]

What kind of solder do you use? This could also cause a potential issue depending on what you are using.

[sn00p]

I take your comment onboard regarding the deans but i will just ive yet to have a problem yet i have atleast 16 battery packs 6 planes 5 helis and 3 cars and 3 boats all done the same way. Maybe i just didnt crimp the spring down too hard??? ive NEVER had them breaking apart or any brwakdown of power so im happy. They are just too difficult to connect/un-connect if you dont crush them down a little. Ive ruined many models struggling to split them and all a sudden the go and before you know it the wires have torn through the undercarriage lol... Maybe i'll convert the EC3's if i do get any problems. Thanks for the headsup.

[MAXAMUS]

well guys new 100w soldering iron arrived and i promptly set to work soldering new bullet connectors to a new set of 3cell lipo's and all i can say heck what a breeze it is now i think that was my initial problem a NAFF soldering iron it was only 30w but things are smooth and so much easier was starting to enjoy it ......

[AndyKunz]

Good tools sure help when you need to do a good job!

Glad to hear it worked for you.

Andy

[sn00p]

Right, now i have issues..... but not the deans lol..... right i use 4mm gold bullets just like these :- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4mm-gold-conne...3A1%7C294%3A50

I use them between the motor and the ESC on my cars. Im having issues when i get a huge side slam into the walls or a head on in that the connectors seperate just a few mm maybe like 3mm. This is enough to slow the cars right down to like 2/3 power. Ive tried new connectors on both of my cars but still get the same. I need to find a more secure connector like a dean ultra BUT......... i need to be able to reverse the polarity for motor reversing.

Only otion i can think is to split deans connectors??? The connectors need to be able to cope with huge amp's and secure firmly. Tamiyas just melt/4mm bullets seperate/deans dont allow reversing of polarity...

Failing that im going to just have to run esc direct to motor and re-solder between reversing... Not ideal as i also wanted real quick engine swaps as we get less than 5 mins between rounds when racing ovals barely enough time for the solder iron to get hot enough.

[AndyKunz]

The E-Flite bullets are pretty solid together. You can also not use the plastic with their 5mm connectors. Neither of them will separate unless you really want them to.

Astro also makes a 3-terminal reversible connector for their Hypertac connectors.

Andy

[egneg]

Right, now i have issues..... but not the deans lol..... right i use 4mm gold bullets just like these :- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4mm-gold-conne...3A1%7C294%3A50

I use them between the motor and the ESC on my cars. Im having issues when i get a huge side slam into the walls or a head on in that the connectors seperate just a few mm maybe like 3mm. This is enough to slow the cars right down to like 2/3 power. Ive tried new connectors on both of my cars but still get the same. I need to find a more secure connector like a dean ultra BUT......... i need to be able to reverse the polarity for motor reversing.

Only otion i can think is to split deans connectors??? The connectors need to be able to cope with huge amp's and secure firmly. Tamiyas just melt/4mm bullets seperate/deans dont allow reversing of polarity...

Failing that im going to just have to run esc direct to motor and re-solder between reversing... Not ideal as i also wanted real quick engine swaps as we get less than 5 mins between rounds when racing ovals barely enough time for the solder iron to get hot enough.

Use enough heat shrink to cover both connectors. Just cut it off and have replacements ready to go when needed and a heat gun heats up fast enough to do it in a minute.