50 cents per pin? Seems crazy...

I don't believe those are molex pins and are Chinese copies that are made today.

Find me the Chinese copy and i'll buy 1000 if there legit copy's of the molex split pins. From what I understand molex was the only 1 that made these. There is another split pin but it's too narrow.
 
Find me the Chinese copy and i'll buy 1000 if there legit copy's of the molex split pins. From what I understand molex was the only 1 that made these. There is another split pin but it's too narrow.



Ask twisted quarter? It says on his site they are made for their housings and their housings aren't molex.

Thought it was pretty well known twisted quarter ones aren't molex.
 
Am I right in assuming going with this housing and crimping new terminals is easier/better than the cheap solder-on edge connectors? Or is that what everyone uses now?
 
mike's arcade i am pretty sure still has some. anywhere you go they will be expensive.
 
What problem are you trying to solve?

IMO, people go a little crazy with edge connector repinning, and it usually isn't necessary to repin the entire connector. I think a lot of people are making money off of peoples' fears, selling them expensive pins they don't need.

For things like Atari vector games, it's generally just the 5V power and ground pins that carry high current that need to be replaced, as those are the ones that heat up and lose spring over time, due to repeated heating and cooling. The signal pins don't carry much current, and aren't subject to the same stress.

Even then, I've found that just removing the pin (with a proper tool), cleaning it, and just bending it out a little bit to restore some of the spring is enough to fix most problems (for another 30+ years anyway, especially for home use).

Also, what's equally (if not more) important is to keep the edge connector contacts on the PCB clean and free of corrosion, as most 80's boards (particularly Atari vectors) often have a layer of oxidation built up on them.

I use a fiberglass scratch brush, which you can get on ebay for about 6 bucks. I burnish the contacts, wipe them down with some Goof Off on a Q-tip to remove the metal/fiberglass residue, then hit them with a light coat of DeOxit on a Q-tip to lube and preserve them.

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Along a different path, if these pins are getting harder to find, what about replacement Jamma harnesses? i.e. In 20 years when I want, or need to rewire a cabinet I picked up, will that be possible?
 
Along a different path, if these pins are getting harder to find, what about replacement Jamma harnesses? i.e. In 20 years when I want, or need to rewire a cabinet I picked up, will that be possible?

You'll likely be able to get the solder eye ones for a while as Edge connectors are used in a variety of things.

There is still Molex stock out there, but when Molex sent out the EOL notice that is usually the time when you plan ahead and buy what you think you'll need.
 
These have been expensive for a few years now.

Wish I had gotten the end of life message when that happened... I ended up paying more for the housings/pins when I got them.

bob roberts was the last seller having actually molex housings/pins (vs the china stuff) that I knew of.
 
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These have been expensive for a few years now.

Wish I had gotten the end of life message when that happened... I ended up paying more for the housings/pins when I got them.

bob roberts was the last seller having actually molex housings/pins (vs the china stuff) that I knew of.

IIRC, Mikesarcade has them as well. A few members have sporadically sold them as well.
 
Are these not standard .156 crimp terminals?
They're plentiful and cheap from bulk dealers.
"Arcade" parts dealers will always mark them up,
especially gougey eBay sellers.
 
Are these not standard .156 crimp terminals?
They're plentiful and cheap from bulk dealers.
"Arcade" parts dealers will always mark them up,
especially gougey eBay sellers.

Just to clarify the type, they are .156 split pin crimp terminals for edge connectors which are different then the .156 crimp terminals for rectangular housings.
 
what's the best removal tool for these?

also not sure how you would harvest them from old connectors considering the pins would already be crimped
 
Reading the title I assumed this was going to be a thread on how many quarters it took to play a game of pinball. :D
 
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