Substitue terminal hear for RJ45

[DIY Guy]

[title should say HEADER, not "hear"] :)

Does anyone know if there is a 2-row terminal header that will mate with the via pattern for an rj-45 socket?

I have a height issue that won't accommodate an rj45 socket.

Thanks!

[dmcole]

I'm pretty sure that the pins on a PCB-mounted RJ45 are set at a different spacing than standard pins -- I just looked it up and standard header pins are offset by .1 inch, while the pins on a RJ45 connector are offset .05 inch.

You might have some success soldering 24- or 22-gauge wire into the holes and then extending the wire out of the tight space, where you can attach something like this: http://www.glsautoparts.com/storefrontprofiles/DeluxeSFItemDetail.aspx?c=89653&i=153443966&sfid=139287 (for illustrative purposes only; not recommending this specific product or this specific supplier; for more potential products, search Google, et al., for "rj45 biscuit block").

HTH.

\dmc

[DIY Guy]

Thanks dmcole. I will probably end up cutting a patch cord in half and sodering the wires directly. Just thought there might be a drop-in solution out there.

It's not imperative, but would be nice.

[StandingInAwe85]

I've also had success in soldering the wires directly. You may want to keep in mind that pre-made patch cords are usually stranded wire (for flexibility) while bulk cat5e is solid. If you use stranded, and depending on the brand of cable, it can be difficult to get the wire through the holes in the PCB. What I've done is used solid cable and attached the other end to a simple RJ45 jack designed to snap into a wall plate (similar to this: http://cgi.ebay.com/CAT5e-RJ45-Keystone-Jack-Tool-Less-Snap-modular-/280545482801?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4151d05831#ht_3026wt_1137 ). You can wrap the entire thing in electrical tape for a slightly more dirt and weather resistant connection.

[somtng4u2c]

This might work !
7490

click on picture to enlarge

[P. Short]

There are also RJ45 connectors with a reversed pinout that you can install on the opposite side of the board, if this will help. One example (I think) is the 154-7641PCB from the mouser catalog. There may be others, but it is a lot of work to figure out which ones would work in your app.

[budude]

There are also RJ45 connectors with a reversed pinout that you can install on the opposite side of the board, if this will help. One example (I think) is the 154-7641PCB from the mouser catalog. There may be others, but it is a lot of work to figure out which ones would work in your app.

Wow - that is really good to know - could of used that with my Rainbow Floods... Thanks!

[DIY Guy]

Thanks all for the great ideas. I will have to cost it out and see what will work.

Right now I'm leaning towards just soldering a pigtail to it. I don't think there will be much cost difference between using a keystone or a rj45 plug+coupler on the end of the pigtail.

Somebody had given me a bunch of cat3 rj45 keystones but I don't have many left.. Looking at ebay they want a lot of money for a cat3 keystone... I don't get it because you could get a cat5 for the same price :shrug:


Thanks again for all the help!

[chilloutdocdoc]

[title should say HEADER, not "hear"] :)

Does anyone know if there is a 2-row terminal header that will mate with the via pattern for an rj-45 socket?

I have a height issue that won't accommodate an rj45 socket.

Thanks!

why not 2 seperate 1x4 headers? that could work maybe. If i recall the pins 1,3,5,7 and 2,4,6,8 are at the standard .1", so any should work so long as it fits inside the size hole.

[budude]

why not 2 seperate 1x4 headers? that could work maybe. If i recall the pins 1,3,5,7 and 2,4,6,8 are at the standard .1", so any should work so long as it fits inside the size hole.

You mean like this (http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showpost.php?p=124362&postcount=1)? ;)

[dmcole]

why not 2 seperate 1x4 headers? that could work maybe. If i recall the pins 1,3,5,7 and 2,4,6,8 are at the standard .1", so any should work so long as it fits inside the size hole.

By George, he's right! I pulled up a spec sheet to check the pin spacing and it clearly shows the .05-inch offset, but I didn't actually pull out a PCB that had been machined with RJ45 holes and look at it ... two rows of single-pin standard .1-inch headers slightly offset from one another should work just fine (might have to do some whittling on the sides of the headers to get them to seat correctly).

Sorry for not thinking the problem further through.

\dmc

[Jrd]

Have you thought about Soldering on wires and then attaching them to one of these (http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Voice-Data-Communications-Connectors-Adapters-Splitters/Leviton/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbm2tZwcZ60bt5/R-100195386/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)? You would have to make sure you get the pinout right.

[dirknerkle]

Sometimes I'll just use a screw-down terminal strip for making connections between two completely dissimilar things. Easy to set up, secure, easy to change, and cheap.

[chilloutdocdoc]

Have you thought about Soldering on wires and then attaching them to one of these (http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Voice-Data-Communications-Connectors-Adapters-Splitters/Leviton/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbm2tZwcZ60bt5/R-100195386/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)? You would have to make sure you get the pinout right.


He was going for a cheaper solution than this I believe.

As for the headers, budude, precisely what I was thinking, do you have a link to those by the way?

[DIY Guy]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I think what I am going to end up doing is soldering wire directly to the PCB to keep the connection as low profile (and cheap) as possible.