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Lionel & MTH Connector Crimper

gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

If you end up doing many upgrades and repairs, you will likely run into situations where it would be really nice to be able to crimp new pins onto wiring.  If you price the crimping tools, sticker shock QUICKLY sets in, they're $400-500 for a single style of connector!  Clearly, I'm not going to invest around $2,000 for the tools to do the various connector families!  I have been keeping my eye out for a tool that will do these crimps, and finally I spotted one that had decent reviews and seemed to cover the sizes I wanted to use.  Since I have the pins, I dug out the pins for the Lionel 2.54mm connectors and the common Legacy 1.5mm connectors as a good sampling.  I did a couple of sample crimps of each with the new tool, and I can say that I think it's a keeper!  They may not be quite as neat as the $500 tool, but they're close!  This hopefully ends a quest that I've had for some time.

 

Here's a sample of the crimps, and here's the tool that did them: Engineer PA-09 Micro Connector Crimpers

 

 

 

 

2.5mm & 1.5mm Lionel Connector Crimps

Engineer PA-09 Micro Connector Crimpers

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  • 2.5mm & 1.5mm Lionel Connector Crimps
  • Engineer PA-09 Micro Connector Crimpers
Last edited by gunrunnerjohn
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gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

I updated my post, I bought them on Amazon, same price with free shipping, and I got them in a couple of days.

 

The ones that Nelson found look to be the exact same ones at the same price, so either listing should get you the proper tool.

 

Note that you have to crimp the strain relief on the insulation as a separate step with these, they only crimp one of the two sets of crimps on the connector at a time.  That's a small price to pay for the difference in price from multiple tools and one that will do many of the small JST connectors.

 

I don't think these would be appropriate for any large volumes, but most of the time I just want to crimp one or two wires.  I feel these will be quite adequate for that type of task.

Last edited by gunrunnerjohn
SH Southwest HiawathaOGR Forum Member

John

 

I'm curious as to why the PA-09 and not the PA-20 or PA-21, also from Amazon at about the same price. After reading this thread, and the one on the main forum, I poked around Amazon a bit and found these tools: PA-09 (1.0/1.4/1.6/1.9mm); PA-20 (1.6/1.9/2.0/2.3mm); and PA-21 (1.6/1.9/2.2/2.5mm). If we are mainly crimping Lionel 2.54mm, Legacy 1.5mm, and MTH 2.0mm connectors, as mentioned in your posts, wouldn't either of the larger crimpers be a better fit? Or is there a need for the smaller size (1.0mm) crimper? It would seem to me that the 1.6mm crimper should be OK for the 1.5mm fitting, and either of the bigger crimpers would be better for the larger 2.54mm Legacy fitting. 

 

These Engineer brand tools from Japan are good quality and attractively priced. I posted a few months ago about an Engineer brand specialty pliers for grabbing screws with damaged or broken-off heads. It's the same tool as the one sold here as the Vampliers and the price, including airmail from Japan, is at least ten bucks less than the Vampliers. This also came from Amazon.

gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by Southwest Hiawatha:

Thanks John. If there's no need for the 1.0mm crimper I'll probably get a PA-20 or PA-21. Doesn't look like there's much difference between the two for train purposes. 

I thought about your comments, so I did some looking at the connectors and some measurements.  One thing I will point out is the MM markings on the tool are NOT the spacing of the connectors in the shell, but rather the actual connector width size at the crimp.  In truth, the 2.54mm connectors used for TMCC perfectly crimp with the 1.9mm slot in the PA-09 tool, and it also provides a perfect crimp for the connector.  Given that fact, this tool appears to cover all the common connectors quite well.  In addition, the 1.25mm connectors found on a few Lionel boards actually end up requiring the 1mm slot, which is the smallest one on the PA-09 tool.  I'd consider carefully before ordering the tool, I happened to get lucky. 

 

Here's the instructions for picking the proper crimp slot.

 

 

connector width

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gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Great guys, I'm glad this thread helped some folks.  I've been looking for a crimp tool that I could do these connectors for some time, all the "proper" tools are from $400 to $900 for a single connector pin type!   I realize they will yield a perfect crimp every time, but who has $3000 or so to stock the toolbox with all the tools for Lionel and MTH?  I know how nice it would be, but I can take a few extra seconds to do a double crimp with these tools that's needed to properly crimp the contact.

 

I have several connector specific AMP tools DB and MTA connectors, and the really expensive kit for ribbon cable connectors, and they work great.  Of course, I don't do any of those anymore, so they're just expensive paperweights nowadays.  I'll stick to the $40 tool this time.

gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Just finished doing a TMCC upgrade on a diesel locomotive.  Since I was using left-over boards and not a "canned" kit, I needed about 30 new connector contacts as I just wired it from scratch.

 

Some observations on using the tool.

 

For the 2.54mm connector contacts, I got more consistent crimps using the 1.6mm slot and then doing the insulation crimp with the 1.9mm slot.  For the 2mm connector contacts, I just shifted down one set and used the 1.4mm and 1.6mm slots.  I got several bad crimps using the 1.9mm slot for the 2.54mm contacts, so I looked a bit closer and decided that the slightly smaller slot fit better.  Once you get the hang of using the tool, the crimps go pretty quickly.

 

B BobbyDOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
gunrunnerjohn posted:

That does look good Matt, it also has the larger and next size smaller crimp, it should work with the 1mm terminals for PS/3 connectors.   I ordered one, we'll see if I like it better than the PA-09.

Now that we have the tool(s), a good source for a crimp connector assortment? Thanks!

gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
BobbyD posted:
gunrunnerjohn posted:

That does look good Matt, it also has the larger and next size smaller crimp, it should work with the 1mm terminals for PS/3 connectors.   I ordered one, we'll see if I like it better than the PA-09.

Now that we have the tool(s), a good source for a crimp connector assortment? Thanks!

The connector pins are specific to your application, so if you want stuff for all the possible connectors this tool handles, you'll have a room full of connectors and contacts!

Figure out what you need and buy the specific connector pins and shells for the application.

For Lionel, I keep JST-EH, JST-PH, and JST-ZH connectors and pins.   If you want to make connectors for the Lionel LCS cables, they Molex Pico-Spox 1.5mm connectors.  MTH uses HiRose DF-11 and DF-3 connectors, depending on whether it's the 3V board or the 5V board.  The 1mm connectors for PS/3 are Chyao Shiunn JS-1253 & JS-1254 connectors.

Dave ZucalDave ZucalOGR Forum Member

I always apply a little thin film of grease down in the throat to help the connector's crimp roll over evenly. I believe I picked up this set several years ago in a NAPA store. I was working on the wiring in the steering column in one of my vehicles. Their nice because of the double thickness of the jaws that help to make the crimp in one shot. They could use more graduation of sizes though, like the set GRJ found.

crimpers

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B BobbyDOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
gunrunnerjohn posted:
BobbyD posted:
gunrunnerjohn posted:

That does look good Matt, it also has the larger and next size smaller crimp, it should work with the 1mm terminals for PS/3 connectors.   I ordered one, we'll see if I like it better than the PA-09.

Now that we have the tool(s), a good source for a crimp connector assortment? Thanks!

The connector pins are specific to your application, so if you want stuff for all the possible connectors this tool handles, you'll have a room full of connectors and contacts!

Figure out what you need and buy the specific connector pins and shells for the application.

For Lionel, I keep JST-EH, JST-PH, and JST-ZH connectors and pins.   If you want to make connectors for the Lionel LCS cables, they Molex Pico-Spox 1.5mm connectors.  MTH uses HiRose DF-11 and DF-3 connectors, depending on whether it's the 3V board or the 5V board.  The 1mm connectors for PS/3 are Chyao Shiunn JS-1253 & JS-1254 connectors.

Thank you John! Great reference material.

Matt_GNo27Matt_GNo27OGR Forum Member
gunrunnerjohn posted:

Gary, I like the one Matt found, and it's only half the price.

IWS-2820M AWG 28-20

My IWS-2820M AWG 28-20 crimping tool arrived yesterday and I used it to attach a dozen JST PH series connector terminals in the process of building harnesses. I ruined one connector in the process of figuring out how to use it and I think I bunged up one more due to operator error. That said the tool worked well and is easy to use. If you're looking for an inexpensive crimping tool, I highly recommend this tool.

gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
@SteveH posted:

Maritex has Chyao Shiunn JS-1253 & JS-1254 connectors in stock.

https://en.maritex.com.pl/prod...ategory_id=4625.html
https://en.maritex.com.pl/prod...ategory_id=4625.html

Being in Europe, shipping is going to be a killer.

I look for compatible connectors from places like Digikey and Mouser.  I confess I haven't needed any of the Chyao Shiunn 1mm connectors for the MTH stuff other than the pile of salvaged wire harnesses I already have.

I have found every other size of connectors from Lionel and MTH on Aliexpress, mostly with pre-crimped wires to save me some time and frustration.

I will tell you, without the proper tool to crimp 1mm pitch connectors, you're going to have a very long day!  Once the connector pitch gets smaller than 1.5mm, I depend on pre-crimped wires.

D DashingDanLIRROGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Being in Europe, shipping is going to be a killer.

I look for compatible connectors from places like Digikey and Mouser.  I confess I haven't needed any of the Chyao Shiunn 1mm connectors for the MTH stuff other than the pile of salvaged wire harnesses I already have.

I have found every other size of connectors from Lionel and MTH on Aliexpress, mostly with pre-crimped wires to save me some time and frustration.

I will tell you, without the proper tool to crimp 1mm pitch connectors, you're going to have a very long day!  Once the connector pitch gets smaller than 1.5mm, I depend on pre-crimped wires.

How do you identify whats compatible? For example I'm looking for crimp connectors only for the PS2 3v connectors and the PS3 8 pin boiler header.

SteveHSteveHOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Being in Europe, shipping is going to be a killer.

I look for compatible connectors from places like Digikey and Mouser. ...........

I have found every other size of connectors from Lionel and MTH on Aliexpress, mostly with pre-crimped wires to save me some time and frustration.

I will tell you, without the proper tool to crimp 1mm pitch connectors, you're going to have a very long day!  Once the connector pitch gets smaller than 1.5mm, I depend on pre-crimped wires.

I checked Aliexpres and Amazon looking for these particular Chyao Shiunn connectors, no luck.  The only seller listed on Octopart is Maritex in Poland and those links were to their Polish website version.  Fortunately, they also have an English language version and USD currency options.

But wow, you're right about the shipping. I checked one popular international shipper.  Their slowest option for a 2oz. package was a few hundred dollars.

I guess those pre-crimped connectors you're holding are as good as gold.

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