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The Twingo Lord

What connector do you use and why?

What connector do you use and why?  

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Deans used to be a good choice when Deans were the only people making them. Now the majority on sale are fake Deans "T-plugs" of dubious quality. I've got a couple of pairs of "T-plugs" that are a very poor fit in my other ones.

So I'm in the process of switching to XT60. This seems to have become the standard for RC flight already, and lots of chargers have integrated XT60 plugs which should get rid of some of the jumble of cables. 

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1 hour ago, sosidge said:

Deans used to be a good choice when Deans were the only people making them. Now the majority on sale are fake Deans "T-plugs" of dubious quality. I've got a couple of pairs of "T-plugs" that are a very poor fit in my other ones.

So I'm in the process of switching to XT60. This seems to have become the standard for RC flight already, and lots of chargers have integrated XT60 plugs which should get rid of some of the jumble of cables. 

I have not made the same switch yet, but I have noticed the same with a lot of low quality “dean’s style “ T plugs out there. 

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I actually like the Tamiya connectors. XT60 are probably my 2nd favorite.  I run Tamiya to XT60 adapters that have a Tamiya ESC. 

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All Tamiya for me, for simplicity and interchangeability. I can use any of my batteries in any of my cars any time I want, no changes necessary.

The connectors all seem to come from the factory with a little defect here or there, but thankfully they're easy to tweak into compliance.

In extreme cases, they need to be replaced outright, but luckily they're cheap, and once they're replaced, I haven't had one fail again (yet). But that also makes it easy to make adapter cables if necessary. My Traxxas ESC came with a TRX plug, and I got a matching Traxxas-branded NiMH with a TRX plug for it at the time, but I wanted to use the battery with everything else too, so I chopped the battery wire off and made an adapter out of it, then soldered new wires onto the battery with a Tamiya plug. Now the battery works with any car, and the ESC works with any of my other batteries.

The disclaimer is that I only run NiMH batteries and 15T+ brushed motors. But another plus is being able to occasionally charge up an old NiCd for testing while the NiMHs are charging.

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XT60 for me for same reasons as above. Originally switched to deans but XT60 are easier to solder and look neater. I have a handful still to switch over but 90% are done. Cheap enough to buy in bulk from hobbyking. Just be sure to use a decent soldering iron.

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I've only ever used Tamiya plugs and they have always worked fine for me, however I've never run power motors before and never LiPo.

Recently I've been thinking about trying a lipo and better connectors so I've recently bought a set of Deans, XC60 and XC90 to see them up close and see what feels best.

After reading lots about how Deans connectors are small and hard to pull apart I was quite surprised to find that the Deans plugs I bought come part quite easily (too easily?) and the XC60, let alone XC90, was really hard to pull apart. So much in fact that although my gut was telling me to go with XC60 before they arrived that I'm now thinking Deans is the way to go!

(the plugs I bought were by Amass)

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Started on tamiya plugs, they wear too quickly with lots of use....changed to deans for a short while (2006-2008), then switched to traxxas, good grip, easier to solder than deans, no need for heatshrink! Still using them now for nimh and 2s lipo on tamiyas.

Tried xt60/xt90's, seemed ok but compared to IC3/IC5 xt plugs seem cheap and looser fitting so quickly changed to IC3/5 and invested in the Spektrum charger etc.....not looking back! Superb! I have also tried the castle connectors which are nice but Spektrum have the smart tech so will stick to them.....never had any issues with sparks either when connecting

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XT60. I cut off anything else and solder on new XT60 plugs.  I use them bc my LHS had a ton for dirt cheap…

LOL!  I take it no one use Neutrik XLRs in this hobby!!!

Terry

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Deans and XT60 that is on LiPo, on NiMh I use Tamiya plugs.

 

deans and xt60 just because they are better for higher current… so I have heard.

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I used to use Deans, but once I started racing I switched to 5mm bullet. To avoid reversing polarity, I trim one wire, so it can’t reach the opposite pole. I also paint the + terminal red. 
 

If I ever go back to flying planes, would use XT60. 
 

deans are just too dated 

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@Raman36 I too use to use Deans exclusively during the late 90's racing sedans in mod and stock classes, but later switched to 5mm bullet and direct soldering even later.  

These days on all new cars I only use Tamiya connectors as I am mostly running silver or black cans and they do not pull nearly the amount of amps vs the old brushed mod motors.   I am too old, too slow, and too busy these days to participate in racing events.  

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Pretty much all Deans except for a couple of NIMH that have Tamiya plugs still and some older Tamiya and Nikko vehicles.

I agree in regards to dean quality, can be tough to find genuine ones and 3rd party quality is variable. I've had cheapo Chinese ones that were fine and considerably more expensive ones from EU stores that were awful, loose fitting, poor current transfer, hot connectors etc.

I've recently been using the Amass style ones with the clip on terminal cover so you don't need to use heat shrink. They seem to work really well, just the right amount of friction, solder easily and the cover makes them look nice and neat and provides additional grip. (it looks like it could be rubber but the cover is actually hard plastic and snaps firmly into place)

s-l500.jpg
 

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Deans and bullet connectors works well for me. Bullet for on-road cars and rally cars, Amass type of deans for buggy and crawlers kits. The Tamiya plugs are actually dangerous to use on higher amps chargers, batteries and ESCs. The metal plugs are too small and heats up quickly. I've had many bad experiences with the Tamiya plugs back in the 80s, and early-mid 90s. Many of them have melted and some were stuck together. That's why I made the switch. 

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XT60 here plus Tamiya on the Nimhs about a 5050 split cause I cba to do em all

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XT60 with the rear cover - they look sooooo nice
Tried most of them; prefer XT60 assembly, fit and disconnect action the best though.
Powerpoles probably second as I bought a crimp tool for them, so don't need to solder

IMG_20210618_212110_edit_287994461575325

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I know there are no longer fashionable, but I have yet to have a Deans connector fail on me, so I have yet to see the need to switch to anything else. 

(Apart from my vintage originals that is, which still use Tamiya/Molex connectors.)

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I use deans and XT60 on most of my 10th scale stuff as they are cheap, easy to solder, and can handle more current than I'll put through them. I like XT90's for 1/8 and boats. Never been a fan of the EC series connecters as they are hard to solder, and an absolute pain to fit into the housing, and expensive for the new IC versions that Horizon use for most of their products now.   

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