CD-ROM Audio Connector

What is a good part number to put on a PCB that connects to the 3 wire "CD
Audio" cable that comes from an ATAPI CD or DVD drive?  I know I can just
put a .1" header, but it looks like the PC boards use a keyed receptacle
that also provides some friction to hold it in place.  Thanks.

> What is a good part number to put on a PCB that connects to the 3 wire "CD
> Audio" cable that comes from an ATAPI CD or DVD drive?  I know I can just

Motherboards and audio cards generally seem to use JST's PH-series 2mm
connectors, which are very very cheap (I just recently went on a very
similar quest!). The specific part you would be looking for is PHR-3
(for the shroud), SPH-002T-P0.5S or SPH-004T-P0.5S for the crimp pin
(depends what wire gauge you want to use), and  B3B-PH-K-S for a
through-hole top-entry socket. Also available in through-hole
side-entry and SMD top- and side-entry versions. There is also an IDC
version of the pin. Lots of possibilities!

Note: For your _specific_ application, it seems to be more common to
use a 4-pin connector, with two center ground pins. I don't know why!
Appropriate parts are PHR-4 and B4B-PH-K-S.

"Lewin A.R.W. Edwards" <larwe@larwe.com> wrote in message
news:608b6569.0402121334.57d94a9b@posting.google.com...

> Note: For your _specific_ application, it seems to be more common to
> use a 4-pin connector, with two center ground pins. I don't know why!
> Appropriate parts are PHR-4 and B4B-PH-K-S.

Thanks!

The 3 pin connector is exactly this series.  But the 4-pin connector is
something else -- a polarized, latching connector.  I see two types of
cables discussed out there.. One is nominally called "ATAPI-to-ATAPI" which
has 4 pin latching plugs on both ends, and another nominally called
"ATAPI-to-JST" which has the 3-pin JST PH plug on one end and the  4 pin
latching plug on the other.  What I actually want to do is put both headers
on the board to deal with both possibilities.  Any idea what this polarized,
latching 4-pin connector is?

OK.. For posterity.. I *believe* the 4-pin "ATAPI CD-Audio Connector" (aka
"MPC3 Audio Connector") is this:

  MOLEX P/N 70553-0003

This (or it's equivalent) is on the drives, and it's on newer motherboards.

As Lewin said, there is a 3-pin header that's used on older PC's:

  JST P/N B3B-PH-K-S

And sometimes, just to make things even more impossible, there is another
4-pin connector used as well, although when this connector is used, it seems
to have an alternate pinout (L-G-R-G instead of L-G-G-R).

  JST P/N B4B-PH-K-S

A sanity check is in order, of course.  This is a deceptively complex mire.

Hi Ian,

> The 3 pin connector is exactly this series.  But the 4-pin connector is
> something else -- a polarized, latching connector.  I see two types of

Wellll... I haven't seen a connector like this recently, but older
sound cards used to have a 100-mil latching Molex C-Grid connector,
the Digi-Key part number of an equivalent _right angle_ _through hole_
header is WM4902-ND. You want the "G" version shroud, which has the
latch.

If you search for that part number, you'll get to page 97 of
Digi-Key's catalog. Page 96 is the page you actually want to look at,
with the illustrations and all.
<http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T041/0096.pdf>.

>   MOLEX P/N 70553-0003
> 
> This (or it's equivalent) is on the drives, and it's on newer motherboards.

> As Lewin said, there is a 3-pin header that's used on older PC's:
> 
>   JST P/N B3B-PH-K-S
> 
> And sometimes, just to make things even more impossible, there is another
> 4-pin connector used as well, although when this connector is used, it seems
> to have an alternate pinout (L-G-R-G instead of L-G-G-R).
> 
>   JST P/N B4B-PH-K-S

Interesting. Your results differ from mine. The JST 4-pin you mention is 
the one I've seen more often (the one I recommended in fact :). The 
motherboards I have around here - various vintages - have either that or 
the 3-pin connector.

I've only seen the Molex connector on quite old audio cards - 1998 
vintage. And on those cards, it was paralleled with the JST 4-pin connector.

"Lewin A.R.W. Edwards" <larwe@larwe.com> wrote in message
news:I-GdnbEjaI2ycbHdRVn-ig@broadviewnet.net...

> Interesting. Your results differ from mine. The JST 4-pin you mention is
> the one I've seen more often (the one I recommended in fact :). The
> motherboards I have around here - various vintages - have either that or
> the 3-pin connector.

OK.  I think you're right.  The Molex is really an older connector.  It's
nice for this application because of the latch, but I am putting all three
of these connectors on the board to cover all bases:

JST P/N B4B-PH-K-S   (L-G-G-R)
JST P/N B3B-PH-K-S (L-G-R)
MOLEX P/N 70553-0003 (L-G-G-R)