Jones connector & Fre Mo modules

[ratled]

I saw on one of the Fre Mo sites that they use Jones connectors to hook up the modules.  They referenced Radio Shack and gave the part number.  I went to 2 radio Shacks and nobody ever heard of a Jones connector (not surprising to me since it's seems that Radio Shack has been slipping for some time now).   I went home and the website shows it as not a valid part number.  There are a few internet sites that sell them but I wonder what is used instead of these

Thanks

ratled

[richg1998]

I saw on one of the Fre Mo sites that they use Jones connectors to hook up the modules.  They referenced Radio Shack and gave the part number.  I went to 2 radio Shacks and nobody ever heard of a Jones connector (not surprising to me since it's seems that Radio Shack has been slipping for some time now).   I went home and the website shows it as not a valid part number.  There are a few internet sites that sell them but I wonder what is used instead of these

Thanks

ratled

 

Forget Rat Shack for most electronic components. The Jones Block is an older term for what is called terminal or barrier strips now. Maybe another  name also. The ones I first started using many years ago has the black insulating material in the below link. Some are European style.

http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category/755/Terminal_Strips.html

Rich 

 

[Arjay1969]

Actually, I believe the ones you're looking for are available from Mouser.  They're called Cinch Connectors, and are available as 2, 3, 4, or 6 connector plugs and sockets.  The 4-pin ones are what my modular club uses, but I believe the Free-mo groups use the 2-pin.

 

Good luck!  

[richg1998]

Actually, I believe the ones you're looking for are available from Mouser.  They're called Cinch Connectors, and are available as 2, 3, 4, or 6 connector plugs and sockets.  The 4-pin ones are what my modular club uses, but I believe the Free-mo groups use the 2-pin.

 

Good luck!  

I have purchased from Mouser. Good service and shipping charges. The paper catalog is much easier to use but it probably consumes a tree. It is 8 1/2 X 11 X 2 1/4 inches. Maybe this link will help a little.

http://www.mouser.com/cinch/

Rich 

 

[cacole]

The specified connectors are known as Cinch-Jones Plugs and Sockets.  I think the only reason they were ever selected is because they are polarized and cannot be plugged in backwards. Cinch-Jones connectors are getting very hard to find.

Mouser Electronics in Mansfield, Texas, is the only place I know that still sells them, and they are become very expensive compared to some available alternatives. The latest Mouser catalog has the 2-conductor male plugs, 538-13021, priced at $3.20 each, and the matching socket, 538-23022, priced at $6.83 each, plus shipping. I don't know why there's such a disparity between the prices of the plug and socket.

We are changing over to All Electronics' part number CON-40, which are polarized 4-conductor plugs and sockets priced at $1.90 per set, since there are no other clubs anywhere in the immediate vicinity with which we must match connectors.

 

[fmilhaupt]

Some sources which should still have Cinch-Jones connectors are:

• Digikey: www.digikey.com
• Mouser: www.mouser.com
• Newark: www.newark.com

My club has done away with all of the Cinch-Jones connectors we've used over the years. They just didn't prove to be durable enough. Once the plating started to wear off the plugs (after only a dozen or two uses), we ended up spending far too much time fiddling with the connectors on our HO modules. Plus, once the couple who ran our local independent electronics store retired and closed their shop, it was just too much trouble to get more Jones plugs.

A couple years ago, we decided to adopt Anderson Power Pole connectors. They are considerably more adpatable to different configurations and are rated for a much higher number of connect-disconnect cycles than Cinch-Jones plugs. Plus, unlike Jones plugs, we have found them in the RC car and plane section of many hobby shops, so we can pick them up there in a pinch.

We went through and replaced every inter-module connector with Power Poles and immediately saw the electrical reliability improve drastically. Over the past couple of years, we have seen no decrease in performance.

When we use our modules with other clubs' modules, we use adapter harnesses we have built which have Power Poles on one end and Cinch-Jones connectors on the other. This is the same kind of harness we've built in the past when connecting our modules to others clubs' which have used Molex plugs or various automotive connectors (there are a number of clubs in Michigan whose modules pre-date the NMRA and Free-Mo specs).

Doug Stuard, who has studied the connector matter at length has published a paper describing the benefits of using Anderson power Poles over Cinch-Jones plugs at http://www.ntrak.org/ntrak_pp_proposal.pdf. Additionally, the North Raleigh Model Club treat this issue in its wiring specs at http://trainweb.org/nrmrc/pubs/modwiring.pdf. Both Doug (Of NVNtrak) and the folks in the NRMRRC have a lot of experience in this area and have given a lot of thought to choosing connectors. 

To me, the use of Jones connectors is the only thing I see in the Free-Mo specs which seems less than state-of-the-art. My club (Rails on Wheels) has adopted a variation of the Free-Mo spec (we lower the height) for our branchline modules, but has chosen to use Power Poles. When we put our branchline modules on longer legs to use with Free-Mo setups, we'll use an adapter harness to convert at the ends, although one member has installed both Jones connectors and Power Poles on his modules.

We sold off a bunch of used and unused Cinch-Jones connector sets at train shows this winter. We may still have some left.

 

[ratled]

Thanks evryone for the replies.  Fritz that was great info!  Since I do not have to worry about hooking up to anyone except my own the Anderson way sounds to easy not to try it.  Great referances on the clubs and how they do it too. 

Thanks again

ratled

[tcf511]

I second the comments on the Andersen Power Poles. They are much easier to set up that the Cinch Jones. Also, if you to reverse wiring for some reason, you can do it by flipping the plug over and mismatch colors.