MobiFlight Community Support

Hi there,

What I have noticed after starting fiddling with Mobiflight and Arduino is that the connections
to the Arduino using regular DuPont cables are not very good and the cable pins easily breaks or comes loose.
I have found so called ScrewShields which turns the connectors of the Arduino Uno in to screw terminal connectors.
But I can’t find a corresponding product for the Mega. Do we have anyone in this community with a more or less ingenious solution
to this problem? Also, is there a good way to increase the amount of power sources for the Mega? This is quite a bottleneck at the moment in my opinion.

Best regards

Oskar

Hi Oscar,

The DuPont cables are designed and intended solely for experimenting with the breadboards. They are not suitable for the final construction.

Basically, cable connections should be soldered. Screw or clamp connections have the disadvantage that they stress the cables mechanically.

At the transitions, for example cable -> MEGA, the cables should be soldered to the connector.

I use these ones here:

https://www.reichelt.de/Stiftleisten/MPE-087-1-002/3/index.html?ACTION=3&LA=5700&ARTICLE=119879&GROUPID=7434&artnr=MPE+087-1-002

https://www.reichelt.de/Stiftleisten/MPE-087-2-072/3/index.html?ACTION=3&LA=5700&ARTICLE=119902&GROUPID=7434&artnr=MPE+087-2-072

https://www.reichelt.de/Stiftleisten/MPE-087-1-050/3/index.html?ACTION=3&LA=2&ARTICLE=119891&GROUPID=7434&artnr=MPE+087-1-050&trstct=pol_92

These can be cut to the required requirements, are in the 2.5 mm grid (0.1 inch grid) and ensure a secure contact. Before the solder steles on the pin headers pull shrink tubing with adhesive over the cable ends and finished are perfect connections.

As far as the power supply to the power supply via the MEGA is concerned, I basically agree with you. The Vcc supply I think is sufficient. The situation is different with the GND supply. But even here you can help yourself by creating a central GND point on a small piece of breadboard. This eliminates the need to unnecessarily spend money on the shields you mentioned.

Thank you Stefan. I do have a couple of those, will use them as you proposed on my final build.

Apeshaft -- this is what I use in my build

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CU3OB5Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is a terminal shield and allows you to screw in the connectors.

Hi!

StephanHo, can you post a photo of your connection from cable to arduino ?

And how do you managed multiples cables all goinf to GND, does a multiple pin to one pin exist ?

Thanks,
Julien

@OmniAtlas: 33 Bucks for each shield!?!?!?! I currently use 5 MEGAs = 115 $ ~ 100€ - never ever!

@Julien:
Here is the picture:


Wire from every MEGA a GND-Cable to a common-point. Then you can connect every needed GND-connection to this point and all will work fine.

@OmniAtlas: 33 Bucks for each shield!?!?!?! I currently use 5 MEGAs = 115 $ ~ 100€ - never ever!

@Julien:
Here is the picture:


Wire from every MEGA a GND-Cable to a common-point. Then you can connect every needed GND-connection to this point and all will work fine.

What sort of cables are those?

Please look here:

https://www.reichelt.de/Flachbandkabel/AWG-28-40G-3M/3/index.html?ACTION=3&LA=446&ARTICLE=47647&GROUPID=5030&artnr=AWG+28-40G+3M&SEARCH=flachbandkabel%2B40-pol&trstct=pos_3

EDIT:
Background: I often use the panels and PCBs from Hispapanels and they use pole plugs for their own bus system. The bus is documented and so you can go from the plug to the connections of the MEGA. Easy to connct and very simple

Thanks StephanHo. So if I understand well cables are soldered to one part of the pin and the other part of the pin is in the mega headers ? So it's removable but as the pin is wider than the dupont pins it is more secure ?

Thanks

Maby a little additional information.....

The Dupont Wires (Jumper wires like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40pcs-New-Dupont-Wire-Jumper-Cable-10cm-2-54mm-Male-Male-1P-For-Arduino-For-Raspberry/32455443292.html) you get with your mega ( for example in Laboratory set with Breadboard ) are "mostly" "precission" ... Means the diameter of the Pin needles are smaller like the "Non precission" Pins.
So this pins are not good for a permanent connection ( simply cause they are to smal and can fall out of the MEGA)

I order in the past some "Crimp Dupont contacts" like this. https://cdn.semaf.at/media/image/product/497/lg/female-crimp-pins-for-dupont-connectors.jpg
These are bigger and nearly same like "non precission pins" . ( Just google for Precission non precission to see difference) EDIT: Picture show female . But Male are available too)

So... Stephans System is pretty cool and will work perfect.... But Soldering and "thermic shrinkable tubing" is lots of work. for me Crimping is the better alternate.
You can also order Housings ( from 1-20 and multirow) where you can insert the crimped wires and make a "One Touch" Connector for a couple of wires to the arduino.
(NOTE: those Male HEaders can NOT be used in precission connectors ( Like in the Max7219 tubes with removeable diggits) Here a solder solution like Stephans sugestion is better finaly)

Housings for example here.... https://c.76.my/Malaysia/2-4-pin-female-dupont-connector-crimp-pin-2-54mm-pitch-littlecraft-1601-18-littlecraft@1.jpg

Hi Steven,

Yes, the screw in terminal screw is expensive, but it saves a lot of time; my time is more valuable

You can also buy the screw in terminal shield requiring assembly for much more.

The other convenience is the shield has a DIN adapter - I hope to run all my I/O on a DIN rail.

Hi Omni Atlas,

where do you live that the DIN did to you?

If it does not matter to you so much about the money, you are one of the few here in the forum. Many can not afford the prices to buy a finished cockpit. But most people need to build it themselves and stay cost effective.

If I see here in the forum, with which simple means the users here conjure up perfect things, I become pale with envy. In front of such people I take off my hat!
Unfortunately it is not given to me, on the one hand the equipment is missing, on the other hand I do not have these abilities.

Nevertheless, I build for the sake of building, create something own, but still works. Time does not matter to me and many others. Without Mobiflight it would not be so easy and who knows where I would be without today.