The most horrid connector ever...

[TonyDuell]

Least favourites of mine

Mini-DIN. Try wiring an 8 or 9 pin plug sometime. And they don't make propper contact half the time.

American and British telephone connectors. The locking clip thing is certain to get caught on the cable and then break off. A really stupid design.

Audio-type DIN. Is it in the spec that the plug insulator must melt at a lower temperature than solder They all do.

UHF (PL259 etc) for the reasons already given

There will be more..

Ones I like :

D connectors (good quality ones, not cheap rubbish).

Microribbon connectors (as used for HPIB, etc)

BNC and TNC

[Paul Stenning]

Originally Posted by ThePillenwerfer

From a termination point of view DIN, SCART and USB for me.

Another vote for SCART. Flimsy, no screening of signals, and (back in the day) often sold made with rubbish unscreened cable. When used with decent cable the weight of the cable can pull the plug out. Pins tend to get pushed back into the plug at the slightest provocation too.

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Dave Moll

... or with one of those (thankfully now obsolete) Screwit porcelain threaded cones.

They're not so bad. Remember they were designed for use in conduit boxes, the screwing action tightened the conductors pretty evenly with no 'choc-block' type screw pinching one spot and weakening it, and they were insulated if you happened to touch one (if the wire was stripped correctly, of course).

Aren't they still used in the U.S., but made from plastic?

My least favourite connectors are the concentric sockets designed for the likes of laptop SMPSUs, handlamp chargers, electronic keyboards etc... They have different pin sizes which aren't always easy to spot, there appears to be no standard on polarity so you can't just 'grab and go' and I've known correctly matched sockets and plugs get hot to touch.

[factory]

I don't know if it counts for this thread, but I vote for the Schaffner IEC mains filter connector (the time delay stink-bomb variety), some say they contain the infamous RIFA paper capacitors, but the last one I opened had at least two of the WIMA version, I couldn't work out the make or type of the third one.

And another vote for IDC connectors, the wires used for power connections were often found burnt out after becoming loose.

David

[G6Tanuki]

The "Scruit" things - yes, made from plastic, are still used in the US; over there they call them 'wire nuts'.

I believe theyre only considered 'to code' for copper wire; there's still quite a bit of alumin(i)um wire used for power cabling in some countries.

[stevehertz]

Stereo 3.5mm plugs aren't a bundle of fun to terminate. Lots of opportunities to burn insulation, for solder to travel too far up conductors (making them fragile), the need for each conductor and insulation to be cut to the perfect length, soldering the coax part to the outer housing, and all very miniature to boot.

[wave solder]

Originally Posted by stevehertz

Stereo 3.5mm plugs aren't a bundle of fun to terminate. Lots of opportunities to burn insulation, for solder to travel too far up conductors (making them fragile), the need for each conductor and insulation to be cut to the perfect length, soldering the coax part to the outer housing, and all very miniature to boot.

You should try the 4 pole version of the 3.5mm plug, those are even worse. A complete nightmare. 😨

WAGO quick connectors seem to be popular now for mains work, but i personally don't like the idea of them.

They are so good so they are certified for inaccessible use. They seem odd but are very very reliable.

You should try the 4 pole version of the 3.5mm plug, those are even worse. A complete nightmare.

Maybe a pain to wire, they do work well as connectors.

[Malcolm G6ANZ]

Terminating multiway sub miniature Lemo connectors must rate fairly high up the scale. Excellent connectors but difficult to make off.

[Nuvistor]

Originally Posted by Dave Moll

... or with one of those (thankfully now obsolete) Screwit porcelain threaded cones.

Obsolete in the UK, I have seen them still in everyday use, well 6 or 7 years ago in another country, plastic not porcelain though.

Edit, just noticed Russels post #23

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by wave solder

You should try the 4 pole version of the 3.5mm plug, those are even worse. A complete nightmare. 😨

I wouldn't do it. I'd smash the equipment up with a lump hammer first.

[Leon Crampin]

The war-time Pye co-ax connector gets my vote for one of the worst designs. Inadequate contact pressure on the stupidly short centre pole and the need for a wire clip to be both present and in use to stop the whole lot falling apart make this design a real liability.

Thank goodness it hasn't survived.

Leon.

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Nuvistor

Obsolete in the UK, I have seen them still in everyday use, well 6 or 7 years ago in another country, plastic not porcelain though.

I wonder if Scruits were designed for speed of installation? My childhood home (1930s Semi) had them and pin-grip conduit too.

[AC/HL]

I recently disposed of a few domestic thermostats for a friend. Each one had a short piece of rigid wire and a Scruit/wire nut in the box. They weren't recent, but by no means vintage!

[Radio Wrangler]

I agree with all of this EXCEPT, I quite like the GR874 and have a fair collection of them ans a superb set of GR874 to just about everything else adaptors.

They work very well

And in orter to have a network analyser calibrate-able without leaving some sort of back-to-back connector out in the cold, we need hermaphrodites.

David

[Nuvistor]

Originally Posted by russell_w_b

I wonder if Scruits were designed for speed of installation? My childhood home (1930s Semi) had them and pin-grip conduit too.

Speed of installation was my thought.

[m0cemdave]

Originally Posted by russell_w_b

My least favourite connectors are the concentric sockets designed for the likes of laptop SMPSUs, handlamp chargers, electronic keyboards etc... They have different pin sizes which aren't always easy to spot, there appears to be no standard on polarity so you can't just 'grab and go' and I've known correctly matched sockets and plugs get hot to touch.

^^^

Another vote for the above...

[Techman]

Originally Posted by Dave Moll

one of those (thankfully now obsolete) Screwit porcelain threaded cones.

These should be dreadful, but they're actually the best and most reliable connector (or should I say method of connecting) ever made!

My house, wired in 1967, has these all over and never a problem with hot or bad connections, unlike normal junction boxes or anything else with a brass screw that presses down on copper wire for a connection. I've happily worked on these live with suitably insulated tools when making additions. I think they should bring them back, but they'd have to use the original type of porcelain threaded cup, and not a plastic one.

PL259 plugs are, as said, a screened banana plug, but they've stood the test of time - DON'T SOLDER THE BRAID! The new ones are a bit of a problem, so stick to old stock if you can.

Scart plugs exactly as said - heavy cable at an angle pulling the plug out and pins pushing back inside when inserting.

I think if we're honest that there's no such thing as a 'good' connector - they're all 'horrid' in varying degrees of 'horridness'!

[ThePillenwerfer]

Screwits aren't dead. Maplins used to sell small ones and CPC have a range of sizes. I love ’em.

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Techman

I think if we're honest that there's no such thing as a 'good' connector - they're all 'horrid' in varying degrees of 'horridness'!

Quite so. They're all a means to an end; an inherent weak spot unless undisturbed.