cat samich

which is better? i have deans now and i find that the heat sometimes melts the plastic while soldering the wires to the plug thus making it useless.
i just watched the how-to video on traxxas's website and it looks as though it is a better system based on installation.
with the taxxas system you simply solder the wire to a tab then after it cools insert it into the plastic plug, thus causing no distortion of the plastic plug.

do the traxxas connectors work as well as the deans in high current applications?

or am i better off with the deans?

twomanytoys

If you are melting the plastic then you are doing something wrong. I have never melted a deans connector. You have to tin or flux the connectors and wire first. Then put a drop of solder on the connector, let cool, Drop of solder on wire, let cool then put both solder joints together then hit it with the solder iron. Only takes about 1 sec to fuse both joints together. You dont need a big blob of solder either. Just a small ball on each and when heated they fuse together. You dont need to get the connector really hot before you touch the solder to it. Thats what the tinning is for. Tinning or fluxing will make it stick almost instantly with very little heat.

cat samich

my iron must be too hot then because that's exactly how i do it and if im not super careful it just melts them

Willystylz

um i don't see a powerpoles option in the poll

Chris_RC

I use a 40 watt iron for soldering deans and works just fine. I use 60 watt for most applications.

Matt_Gruizinga

My Feedback: (1)

i like deans because i can re-use them. i've used the same deans at least 4 times on my esc. but i still like the traxxas better because they are easier-just never gotten up money to get everything switched. (i usually on switch when i buy a new charger or something)

Airbus 9e

I've always used the Sermos/PowerPoles style connector till I got my RC18T....I used the Deans Ultras on that because my Brother Inlaw had used them on his foamy flyers with good results....I have them on my newly built E Maxx, and they work just fine on that....I'm a bit leery of Traxxas stuff.......some of the plastic they use is crap....

redfisher1974

Deans get my vote...

Access

I have melted a deans connector once when using an unregulated 60W iron, but never using a temperature-regulated iron.

Personally I use the deans as that's what I was using when the traxxas came out. The deans is suitable for a wide range of applications, from minis to 1/10th scale to large-scale to aircraft / helis. The traxxas can't be used for a mini or for aircraft / helis. So it's not really universal. Traxxas might have an okay system, but I run a lot of different things and I like to be able to use just one connector.

Powerpoles have the same problem, not truly universal. They're common in some brands of aircraft but they're too big for a mini.

Everything is a step up from Futaba (which is awful) and I think either one can work, but there are reasons to stick with deans. A true standard has to fit for everything, if it's not going to work for minis or aircraft/helis or such, it's not a viable standard. What traxxas gave us is fine for the things Traxxas sells (no minis, just 1/10th scale and up, no aircraft or helis, just an occasional boat) but Traxxas is not the whole of the RC industry.

redfisher1974

Well said and i agree 100%

guver

My Feedback: (325)

All 3 are pretty good , my vote goes to powerpoles. I decided to go with them because of the ability to series connect packs together at will.

I just happened to connect 2 pairs of packs with powerpoles tonite. They can be quickly done. Another thing is they can be crimped if desired.

ElectricGuy007

Deans because they are most common and last forever.

HJJFFFAA

Deans. They're red!

dacaur

I used to use deans exclusively. Till I tried the traxxas connectors, and was immediately converted. AS far as being "better" they both perform the same, neither will have an advantage. I like the traxxas because they are bigger and have built in finger traction, so are easier to get apart. Ive broken stuff trying to get deans apart when they suddenly pop apart as I am applying all my strength to them... I also like how easy they (TRX) are to solder compared to deans. I no longer sweat and pray when I solder a connector onto a lipo...

choptank330

Powerpoles gets my vote for the favorite connector!! but not listed on the poll. Traxxas comes in second just because they are bigger and easier for me to solder. Deans are great but for me traxxas connectors are better.

cat samich

power poles arn't on the the list because they arn't an option i wanted to go with. the reason i posted this pole was to discuss the trx plug vs. deans. nothing more nothing less.

i purchased another pack of female deans connectors last night, i let my iron heat up for 15 minutes before trying to solder the pack to the connector. everything went smoothly nothing melted but the bars inside the deans plug wiggle just a tiny bit after your done. when i plug my packs into the charger it shows what voltage is in the pack. if you wiggle the connector the voltage jumps back and forth between 0 and whatever is in the pack. this doesn't seem like its the best situation for optimal performance. im going to stop by the LHS again tonight and pickup enough trx connectors to swap over. i only have half a dozen packs, my 977 charger, and the trucks speed control. and as far as universal applicability is concerned i only have my two emaxx's that im worried about as far as these connectors are concerned.

thanks for the input

warheadforever

Well, they both carry the same amount of concurrent, so the only deference, is that the TRX connector is easier to solder.

And someone asked this before, please use the search.

The Hedgehog

Why is that? You can switch a connector on anything.

Access

Too fat/big. If you put it on your rc18b battery, you'll never get the body to fit with a connector that big. The same is true for the smaller aircaft and helis, where is it going to go?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Hmm, between those two. I voted Dean's.

The Hedgehog

Even on smaller aircraft/helis the size of a traxxas plug is not much bigger to where it won't fit. In fact on my RC18B, the Traxxas plug fits fine. Looking at all my planes and helis there is more than enough room, even on the micros.

camaross427

I prefer the trx, i had deans on a plane, too hard to disconnect, the traxxas one's hold up just fine to my vxl brushless system and 3s lipo, and are a ton easier to pull apart

Access

If you can fit it, more the power to you. I am not sure where you are fitting it on the 18b or if you are using the standard body. I do not see mini users or aicraft / heli users lining up to use it, it is nowhere even close to the penetration of deans in any part of the hobby.

Here is another problem-
http://www.traxxas.com/products/elec...ccessories.htm
If they hold a patent on the design of the plug, no other company can build it into their own products.
That also makes it non-workable for a standard, since the only manufacturer who can legally design it into a product, or sell it, is Traxxas.

For the most part, modern standards demand either that patents, trademarks, etc. be surrendered to the industry group if the IP is to be incorporated in the standard (ie. USB), or in the case this is simply unworkable (ie. MPEG-4) they demand that the patent holder license the IP under a 'fair licensing' clause (a certain amont, no favoritism, etc.) which must be granted to anyone wishing to employ the technology.

It's not that dean's doesn't have a similar problem, though... but at least dean's is decoupled from any actual manufacturer.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...S=PN/5,533,915

mufflerbearing

I have used both, and I like the TRX plugs for stuff that gets plugged/unplugged alot ie:batteries,chargers. I like the deans for motors which doesn't get plugged/unplugged very often. Deans are smaller and cheaper, but TRX are bigger and IMO better. TRX plugs are big and pricey though.

It's really a toss up. They both have pros and cons. I just perfer TRX connectors for my batteries because they are easier to grasp.

dacaur

I don't see that being a problem. Trinity has the "i-plug" which is 100% compatible with the traxas plug, and I don't hear traxas making a stink about that.... I think within the next few years, the traxxas plug will replace the tamiya as the standard....

I also use the TRX plug on my mini's with no problems (mini lst2, mini quake, and mini-v boat)

As for deans being smaller, not by much. Saying the traxxas its enough bigger than a deans plug to cause it to not fit is really stretching the truth bordering on breaking it. The deans might have a smaller connector body, but then you have the tabs you solder the wires onto that stick out, and the heat shrink. A connected TRX connector is 1 3/8" long. A deans connector including the solder tabs and heat shrink is at LEAST 1 1/8" long. And the TRX are only about 1/8" wider. If that 1/4" in length and 1/8" in width is keeping you from putting your body on, you are doing something wrong. Maybe before you claim something wont work, you should personally try it

I'm holding both connectors, I take a plugged in TRX connector, and a plugged in deans connector, and bend the wires into a U with the connector at the bottom to get the shortest connector length possible, and they are virtually identical.....