I received the Phoneix Skedd Connector Kit in a neat white box shown here and was really excited to test this out. I admit that this review comes quite late and I am really sorry for that. My university is putting too much pressure on us students in this online semester. Daily quizzes and assignments are killing the hobbyist inside me. Enough of the ranting. Let`s get to the review.
The connectors are essentially through hole wire to board connectors in various pin counts that can be push-fitted into a PCB hole.
The orange insertion at the sides adds extra mechanical protection to the connector from being removed accidentally. The datasheet specifies the mechanical life as 25 insertions which seems to be much more given the sturdy design
This gives a good bottom view of the connector while inserted in the PCB.
You may clearly see the mechanical attachments in the picture.
This is the side view of the connector inserted in the PCB.
An oblique view showing the connectors inserted in the sample PCB
The good
A notch is given on each connector for proper alignment, something not present in most symmetrical connectors
Easy to fit and remove yet very sturdy, though I cannot quantify it
Extra mechanical protection
Gripping mechanism is good
Easy to insert wires
The bad
Difficult to remove a damaged wire
Holes are just too large to allow for the mechanical locking which wastes space on the PCB
Eagle libraries not present. I had to design my PCB myself
The ugly
Short mechanical life
My Verdict
To be really frank, I was not impressed with what I received and I expected something sturdier. A mechanical life of 25 is too less given that I had a prototyping project in mind. I can give a final verdict only after I am done with integrating it in my robot application.
Till then, thanks for reading
Moinak
