Another connector thread

[Ty89m]

So I'm trying to figure out the best bet for connectors, I'll be using both 3S and 6S batts. I have an MPA board with male Deans/tplug connectors, but would prefer to use either EC3/5 or XT60. Thought about APP, but as I need to learn to solder I may as well start now. Will XT60s work for both 3s and 6s? I'd like to use one connector and stick with it... I'll just buy an adapter for my MPA board. Should I just use all EC5's? Any thoughts on the easiest method?

[Charz]

XT60's are definitely fine for 3s for the Mini. For 6s you could check this thread:
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=299834

[spykez]

EC3's are probably the sweet spot for this heli imho, they are reasonably cheap and for the size of lipo, not relatively massive. The only con I can think of is some lipos have really wide gauge wires, making EC3 bullets a bit of a PITA to solder. EC5's are much easier as they are bigger.

You could go all out EC5 but they are significantly larger connectors. I think some people do that just for consistency (ie one connector across the board) and that makes sense if there is a larger flock of birds, charge boards/cables etc. The cons are they are larger, probably more expensive (but this is relative when you look at the big picture). They kind of look out of scale on this heli, but should be perfectly fine.

I have never tried XT60's or APP's or Deans for that matter.

[Ty89m]

So what's everyone using for 6S setups with the Mini P?

Edit: By that I mean what connector

[soniczen]

I use XT60 on 3s and 6s packs for the mini. More appropriate for 6s because of the lower amp draw. But they were fine when I was running my mini on 3s.

[scott s]

ec3 here for my mini 6s set up. You are actualy drawing less amps than a 3s set up.
ec5 on stretch protos in the works. I hate paraboards and use parallel charge cables and parallel balance cables, so I easily get what I need for all my batteries. Most battery balance taps are to short and put excessive strain on the balance leads with paraboards unless you invest in extensions. Plus placing six large batteries around a paraboard can be futile LOL!

[rossk]

EC3 on 450-
EC5 on 500+

[LVeillon]

Pain in the Ass Deans! I hate soldering them up, but I like them best!

[Dylwad]

XT 60's for me, the genuine ec3s were too hard to disconnect (and no solder tails), the fake ones with tails were too easy. Xt60s are just right. Plus I like the solder tails on the xt60s to add some strain relief with heat shrink.

Not a fan of yellow so I get the blue ones from epbuddy

[Dylwad]

Originally Posted by scott s

ec3 here for my mini 6s set up. You are actualy drawing less amps than a 3s set up.
ec5 on stretch protos in the works. I hate paraboards and use parallel charge cables and parallel balance cables, so I easily get what I need for all my batteries. Most battery balance taps are to short and put excessive strain on the balance leads with paraboards unless you invest in extensions. Plus placing six large batteries around a paraboard can be futile LOL!

+1 but I use a paraboard and balance extensions so I still have the polyfuse safety built in to the paraboard balance taps.

[west5500]

XT60's on my 4S Mini Protos (stretch). EC5's on my 6S Protos 500 (stretch).

[Ty89m]

Ok, I'm leaning towards just going with the XT60's, I like that they're relatively easy to solder, and easy-ish to connect/disconnect. I just want a connector that I can use for both my 3S and 6S setup (when I build the 6S Mini) As long as I'll be safe using the XT60's with 3S I'm happy, and by the sounds of it, since 6S draws less current, they should be more than fine for a 6S setup, correct? This is my first go at this, so want to make the right choice from the start

[desertstalker]

APPs here, no more soldering connectors for me

[Ty89m]

What amp rating connectors are you using for the APP/Mini P? It seems like a good choice, but to be honest, I've never soldered anything and it looks kind of fun

[CrashAddict]

I think the APP's are too big and clunky. You need to shorten the wires to fit them good. I have them, didn;t use them because of this. The EC3's are the best I think. XT60's look to be ok but I don't like the fact that you have exposed wiring on the back. Why do people prefer XT60's over EC3's?

[scott s]

Originally Posted by CrashAddict

I think the APP's are too big and clunky. You need to shorten the wires to fit them good. I have them, didn;t use them because of this. The EC3's are the best I think. XT60's look to be ok but I don't like the fact that you have exposed wiring on the back. Why do people prefer XT60's over EC3's?

I think the main reason is because the xt60's are easier to pull apart usualy. I just carry an approriate snap ring tool in my pocket to seperate my ec3's and ec5's. I also use a bit of dielectric grease on them. After many connects and disconnects I can get the ec connectors apart without the snap ring pliers but the snap ring pliers are just soooo easy. I think the ec connectors are the only way to go personaly.

[baui2000]

MP-Jet 3,5mm on all my < 80A single pack applications. They don't have external spring and moving outer element like EC3/5's but rather use a spring loaded female side that wraps around a solid bullet. I've used my current ones for over 2 years, thousands of connections. They still hold together like new and connection resistance isn't growing like with XT60's after 50 connections I use EC5's on my 50 size but only for safety reasons - connecting a 12S split pack is a bit error prone with MP-Jets.

[Charz]

I am still using the old fashioned bullet connectors . should probably look for a change.

[aclysma]

I'm using APPs without a problem. The connector is bulky, but you can easily get the canopy over it if you hold the connector to the side of the frame.

[mtuccio]

XT60 for both 3S and 6S setups. The current draw on the 6S setup is actually much less then the 3S one so nothing to worry about here.

Hope this helps....