Is this connector readily available?

February 2, 2011 5:52 PM

Is this electronic connector (pics: 1, 2, 3, 4) easily available, or is it a custom part?

This is the connector for a Pharos GPS-500, aka the MS Streets & Trips USB GPS dongle. These units are cheap (especially with remaindered copies of Streets & Trips 2008) and are very easy to interface to microcontrollers.

Thing is, I'd rather like to keep the unit usable with the serial-to-USB adaptor it comes with. Any guidance appreciated.

posted by scruss to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

It is almost certainly a stock part. I've seen something like it used for the Palm PDA docking cradle. This is not the same exact connector as yours, but perhaps it'll lead you in the right direction.
posted by Mars Saxman at 7:05 PM on February 2, 2011

I did a little digging and nothing came up quickly. I was surprised by how generous they seemed to be on the Pharos forums, so you might have some luck asking the support folks there.

These wacky connectors are often custom jobs. If I understand your constraints right, can you pop the thing open, tack down the 3 wires you need to (on the TTL serial side, you could probably go as thin as magnet wire and be fine), drill an exit hole for them in the case, and re-assemble? That might ultimately be less of a pain than digging through the possible sources: Digikey, Mouser, and Allied.
posted by range at 6:21 PM on February 3, 2011