Wiring Components Together

Wiring components together is a big source of frustration.

It has been many a time my haphazard wiring has lost the connection or caused a short. I decided to stick to a few commonly used connectors.

Connectors - Just Pick One

I like the direction companies like Adafruit are going by standardizing on a specific connection. I am picking up Adafruit’s stemma style of connecting components.

STEMMA connectors are 3 or 4 pin JST PH connectors. The pins of these connectors are 2mm apart (i.e.: 2mm pitch)
STEMMA QT connectors are 3 or 4 pin JST SH connectors. These connectors are quite small. The pins are at a 1mm pitch.

For some reason, I found JST connectors confusing. I oddly found some relief to find out I’m not alone in my confusion.

Awesome Articles on JST

Why JST “connectors” gets complicated and the importance of thinking about connectors up front: JST IS NOT A CONNECTOR .
One man’s voyage through the JST jungle: JST Connector Crimping Insanity .

Wiring growBuddy Components Together

I ended up getting pre-crimped JST PH (2mm between pins…small but not that small) and SH (1 mm between pins.. smallest). I noticed at least one of the comments expressed outrage in the high price and we should just all crimp the wires ourselves. I guess we could. But it would take too much practice so in my equation, the extra money was well worth the time savings.

pre-crimped STEMMA/JST PH 2.0 cable kit from Amazon.
Pre-crimped STEMMA QT/JST PH 1.0 cable kit from Amazon.

STEMMA QT/JST PH 1.0 Wiring Example

Here’s a wiring of a soil moisture sensor I recently did.

The enclosure has a connector area to place the JST connector.