12-Aug-2016, 12:52 PM (This post was last modified: 12-Aug-2016, 01:24 PM by sloscotty. Edit Reason: Added tip from sirdude )
This How-to is for those of you who (like me) want to be able to easily connect/disconnect wires to/from your flight controller while still maintaining a compact setup.
Now, I know some of you run only the signal wires from your ESC's, but if you want the ground connection as well (and you want to use pins), then here's a way to do it with double-row, right-angle header pins.
In the first picture below, at the bottom is an unmodified strip of double-row pins. The trick is to push the "lower" pins as far as they will go into the plastic housing, and to push the "upper" pins out just enough to reach the third row of holes on the FC board. I clipped off the desired number of pins first (4 in this case), and used a steel ruler and the carbon fiber leg of my frame to push the pins the correct amount (all 4 in each row at one time). The result is shown at the top.
Now I didn't clip the "longer" lower pins until I soldered them to the FC, but you should probably do that first (see sirdude's post below). Don't clip them to be flush with the upper pins - just clip enough (split the distance) so that your connector still has a full "grip" on the lower pin.
Next, you will need to modify your signal plug to get the ground and signal wires in adjacent holes. I use a T-pin to remove the ground plug in this case and reposition it to the "center" hole. I then use wire-cutters to cut away the plastic and file it with an emory board.
Then solder your pins in, clip the lower ones slightly to get a full grip (if you haven't already), and plug in your ESC. Note, be sure to observe the correct "polarity". I can tell on mine because the "rough" side of my connector (where I trimmed it) is "up".
Now, I know some of you run only the signal wires from your ESC's, but if you want the ground connection as well (and you want to use pins), then here's a way to do it with double-row, right-angle header pins.
In the first picture below, at the bottom is an unmodified strip of double-row pins. The trick is to push the "lower" pins as far as they will go into the plastic housing, and to push the "upper" pins out just enough to reach the third row of holes on the FC board. I clipped off the desired number of pins first (4 in this case), and used a steel ruler and the carbon fiber leg of my frame to push the pins the correct amount (all 4 in each row at one time). The result is shown at the top.
Now I didn't clip the "longer" lower pins until I soldered them to the FC, but you should probably do that first (see sirdude's post below). Don't clip them to be flush with the upper pins - just clip enough (split the distance) so that your connector still has a full "grip" on the lower pin.
Next, you will need to modify your signal plug to get the ground and signal wires in adjacent holes. I use a T-pin to remove the ground plug in this case and reposition it to the "center" hole. I then use wire-cutters to cut away the plastic and file it with an emory board.
Then solder your pins in, clip the lower ones slightly to get a full grip (if you haven't already), and plug in your ESC. Note, be sure to observe the correct "polarity". I can tell on mine because the "rough" side of my connector (where I trimmed it) is "up".