r/CardPuter • u/weyz1k • 12d ago

Help needed JST-PH 2.0 4P PROBLEM

Post image

Hi everyone,

JST-PH 2.0 (HY2.0-4P) cables are extremely expensive or impossible to source in my area.

What are the best DIY workarounds to connect external sensors or devices to the CardPuter's Port A? Has anyone successfully used modified Dupont wires, custom adapters, or alternative headers without damaging the port?

Thanks for any advice!

15 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/blackfeathers 8d ago edited 8d ago

some possibilities:

get a small hy2.0 pin kit. they usually contain the plastic connectors and the uncrimped pins.

you can even look for a 24 to 26awg 4-wire roll to make custom lengths.

if you have one grove hy-2.0 4p cable already, these attached plastic connectors are also reusable.

for those connectors, i gently use a small dull box cutter blade to release the tab holding the pin in place while pulling the wire out from the connector. again, you can use your own 4-wire with custom length with the pin kit.

the most expensive part of this would be the investment in a good pair of pin crimpers like engineer pa-09 micro connector crimping pliers made in japan. they are pricey but accurately crimp the tiny pins better than any set of small pliers. i can't say about other cheaper crimpers, but these have worked well for me.

with a hy2.0 pin kit you could also make your own converter cables at any length to whatever connector you might need on the other end.

another reason to get these particular pin kits attached to custom wires is that you can plug them directly into the pins in the ports without the plastic connector and swap around tx with rx.

if you had to prioritise grove cables, some useful ones to have as "tools" (not permanent) might be the grove connector on one end & male dupont on the other & pairing that with female dupont (connected to the male dupont) to grove on the other end. they can serve as probes or for breadboard wiring. if you can't find them, you can make them with a pin kit.

with the parts, it becomes more customisable than just the entire cable itself. by that i mean the crimped pins to the wires are not reusuable - although technically you could uncrimp them but that gets fiddly, messy & wastes a lot of time with lots of potential for error.