Tamiya connector

Tamiya connector showing plastic housing gender

A Tamiya connector is a type of DC power connector, commonly used on radio-controlled model vehicle battery packs and chargers.^[1] They are also commonly used on airsoft guns.^[2]

Wiring

The usual wiring has the positive (red) wire running to the terminal with a square profile, and the negative (black) wire running to the half-circle, half-square terminal. This is true for both genders of connector. The female sockets are in a male housing and the male pins are in a female housing. The male pins (female housing) connector is usually on the battery side.

In electrical and electronics engineering, the convention is that gender refers to the metal contact parts of a connector in order to avoid ambiguity. A large number of hobbyist retailers selling these connectors refer to the gender of the plastic housing, which is against convention and can lead to errors.

The picture above shows the plastic housing-based gender reference, which is against the convention and used by some hobbyists.

In some cases, Mini-Tamiya connectors are wired in reverse polarity. This is often the case with airsoft guns, where the square profile terminal is the negative terminal and the rounded terminal is the positive terminal.^[3]

Sizes

There are two sizes of Tamiya connectors, regular and mini. The outside dimensions of the female connector are:

• Regular: 14mm x 7mm x 28mm (about 17/32" x 9/32" x 1 3/32")
• Mini: 10mm x 6mm x 22mm (about 3/8" x 7/32" x 7/8")

The two sizes are not compatible without an adapter.^[4]

Advantages

Tamiya connectors are useful because the locking mechanism ensures they do not come undone easily, and they are therefore reliable for use in remote-controlled aircraft, cars and the like.

The connector physically isolates the positive and negative wires so that the connectors remain safe to use in damp conditions. This makes them safe for use in relatively low-current applications (up to about 15 A) in dirty conditions (for example, model boats or RC cars used outdoors).

See also

• DC connector
• Electrical connector
• Anderson Powerpole

References

1. ElectriFly: Adapters and Connectors shows converter cables for connectors commonly used in the RC community.
2. "Battery Junction". Battery Junction. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
3. "Mini-Tamiya Leads - Component-Shop". Component Shop. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
4. "Chargers and Dischargers shows a converter between the two sizes of Tamiya connector". Trinity Airsoft. Retrieved 2011-06-22.

External links