Can you identify this connector?

January 27, 2007 4:22 PM

Can you identify this connector? It's actually for bluetooth in the Mac Pro, but I want to figure out what this 10-pin connector is officially called so that I can buy a male analog of it.

For a secret project of mine, I need to be able to get at the USB internally inside this Mac Pro. Apple states that the bluetooth module, which I don't have, is actually just a USB device. So I decided to hijack this port. However, I'm stuck trying to find something that will plug into it that will give me something to hook up to and I'm also dumbfounded as to why a USB device would need 10 pins instead of four or five.

Any ideas?

Here are the pictures (click for usable size):

posted by floam to computers & internet (16 comments total)

You'll have to post a link to the images (on Flickr, for example), because the img tag is banned.
posted by matthewr at 4:25 PM on January 27, 2007

Doh! Pictures showed up just fine in Preview, but not now!

First Picture

Second Picture
posted by floam at 4:25 PM on January 27, 2007

Actually, here are the pictures: One, Two.
posted by matthewr at 4:26 PM on January 27, 2007

It looks a little like a regular 10-pin USB header, but it's not quite right. Unfortunately, Apple has lawyers.
posted by Kwantsar at 5:21 PM on January 27, 2007

I actually do have the Mac Pro service manual that those lawyers are freaking out over. There is nothing of interest in there other than confirmation that it is indeed USB 2.0.
posted by floam at 5:29 PM on January 27, 2007

It is some kind of board to board connector. It is probably two USB ports, which would at least partially justify the 10 pins.
posted by Chuckles at 6:20 PM on January 27, 2007

That looks similar to the header used to connect the front USB ports on desktop PCs. Here's an article that describes hooking those up.

My guess is that it's that kind of connector. The notch on the top left is to ensure that pin 1 is connected correctly.

However, on desktop PCs, those are usually 9 pin headers. They look like yours except one is missing. It could be the 10th pin doesn't do anything, but on the other hand it may.

I couldn't find an after-market front USB port kit that used a connector in that style, though. That said, there are universal kits that have you connect each pin individually. You could possibly use one of those.
posted by jedicus at 7:08 PM on January 27, 2007

Not sure if this will help me get the answer I'm looking for, but after some more Google-fu I've discovered that the G5 Powermacs and mac minis have the same 10-pin sockets and almost identical bluetooth boards.
posted by floam at 7:09 PM on January 27, 2007

Here's an even better article on those desktop PC usb connectors. (Lots of pictures)
posted by jedicus at 7:09 PM on January 27, 2007

Jedicus: if I could get at the individual pins than all would be well, the problem is they are in that socket where I really couldn't get them unless I had a connector that would spit wires out for me. It is a lot smaller than a standard PC 9-pin header.
posted by floam at 7:18 PM on January 27, 2007

It doesn't look like a standard USB connector would fit around the housing. It may be proprietary, as Apple often makes their own connectors (internally, though, seems a bit unusual).

I would start at the Digikey catalog listings for connectors here (scroll down to the Connectors section). Good luck.
posted by spiderskull at 7:27 PM on January 27, 2007

I was initially thinking that it was something like a Slim-Stack, but it is actually just pins with a shroud around them. However, the pins are shorter, and seem to be on a much tighter spacing, compared to the normal 0.100" on centre PC headers.
posted by Chuckles at 8:44 PM on January 27, 2007

Apple has a lot of proprietary stuff, and it could be you won't find it in the real world as an available item.

When confronted by this sort of thing, sometimes the only thing to do is to buy whatever it is that plugs into that slot and hack IT to access the connector pins. It's expensive, but it works. That one looks like a flex cable connector to me.

It's likely you already know about Digikey, Mouser, Newark, Jameco, Future? Lots of connector possibilities at those places, but I don't recognize that one and it just takes a slog though data books and some luck.
posted by FauxScot at 4:44 AM on January 28, 2007

its probably not a proprietary connector. it would be kind of silly to design a new surface mount connector for that application.

however, i just spent about 10 minutes with the mouser catalog, and i dont see anything exactly the same. JAE makes some similar stuff, and so does FCI. are there any markings on the side of the connector at all?
posted by joeblough at 12:45 PM on January 28, 2007

joeblough: nothing on the side of the connector that I can see. There are pictures of the module that plugs into this, however.
posted by floam at 10:05 AM on January 29, 2007

They're very likely board-to-board connectors, meant for daughterboards (smaller boards that will sit on that connector). Hirose makes a few of these types of connectors, so I'd check out their selection here.
posted by spiderskull at 5:38 PM on January 29, 2007