sick of paying $3 for deans plugs

[scarletboa]

i saw a pack of 10 pairs of deans plugs for like 6 bucks on hobbycity, but now they are gone. is there another source of cheaper imitation deans plugs?

I purchased these when I saw that HC wasn't carrying the T-connectors anymore:
http://www.himodel.com/electric/Dean...et_W_Ribs.html
They seem to be about the same quality as the HC ones and mate up well.

-Jeff

[scarletboa]

Originally Posted by blanchjd

I purchased these when I saw that HC wasn't carrying the T-connectors anymore:
http://www.himodel.com/electric/Dean...et_W_Ribs.html
They seem to be about the same quality as the HC ones and mate up well.

-Jeff

PERFECT!!

thank you

[BL_RV0]

Anyone notice something wrong with this picture?



Last time I checked you were supposed to put the male end in the other way...

[Slowkrawl]

*rant on*

I guess I just have an issue with buying imitation parts. I don't care if they work all the same, I will pay the original creators for their product. Imagine you design something, just to have someone else steal the idea... It's just like integy and how all of their rock crawling tires are EXACT replica's of other companies tires, just shittier.

*rant off*

Hey, you're entitled to your opinion, I've got no problem with that. However, I will continue to save my money by buying less expensive options that are functionally better - No Deans product has ribs to make disconnecting easier. The picture, though, is kind of funny looking even if no one would attempt to connect them that way.

BTW, I also purchase "compatible" toner and ink cartridges from non-original manufacturers at considerable savings, and don't think twice about it.

-Jeff

[BrianG]

I agree with you Slowkrawl, to a degree. I don't have a problem at all with paying the asking price to the original makers, but it does seem like they are price gouging. I mean, c'mon! $3 for a single pair of connectors? You can get a set of gold bullets (which have a lot more material) for the same price, and Deans are not exectly a complex design. After all, they are just two flat bars encased in a type of plastic. Oh, I guess we can't forget the curved springs on the male units.

Prices tend to lower over time as the "technology" matures and the manufacturing process improves, but not these. And you'd think with the millions of these things sold, they aren't exactly hurting. IMO, $3 would be a fair price for 3 sets of Deans.

Not to mention Deans has not improved the design over the years. Back in the day, they were perfect, but today's larger setups need a design that has at least 50% larger contact area and slightly longer casing for easier grip.

Oh, and if we are gonna gripe about copycat companies, why not complain about Traxxas connectors? The connector design is very similar when you look at them. Actually, they are more of a combination of Deans connector with PowerPole wire entry.

And while we are talking overpriced parts, how about tires/rims and lexan bodies?

I guess that is the price we pay when the term "hobby" is used on a product.

[brushlessboy16]

i agree with you brian. 30 bux for a peice of formed lexan is a bit much... :(

[zeropointbug]

It's called 'royalties' guys.... something you get when you have a patent and other companies want to use it.

[nitrostarter]

and licensing fees...

[Snipin_Willy]

Over the years I believe that Dean's has earned their share. I'm going to look into getting the imitation dean's with the ribs. My C-tech Lipo had those on them and they are fantastic, and for 1/3 the cost. It's a free market and I like competition. Someone improved the deans connector by adding some grip to them. I'm sure Dean's has known about this problem for sometime, they just haven't done anything about it :(

Edit: not saying I don't/havn't had loyalty to the original Deans Ultra plugs, and I'd gladdly go back to supporting the original designer if they improve the design before I go out and buy 50 pairs of the imitation plug.

[Slowkrawl]

Brian, I see what you are saying. I would also like to think that deans will realize they have new competition, and be continually changing their product.

[zeropointbug]

They never changed it, because they don't care... they have been made the same for years, and they are not going to change there molding/manufacturing equipment so we can have some grips, you know. I'm sure it costs them pennies to make as well.

It's the way it is...

I am sick of dean's connectors frankly, they wear out quickly IMO, and they are causing problems with charging (resistance increase, and false charge readings) and the connectors are heating up alot when charging even at 10 amps for A123 packs.

[BrianG]

It's not just the grip, it's the contact area. The current ones work fine for 1/10 scale applications, or maybe lighter/2WD 8th scale applications, but I personally think they are too small for buggies, truggies, etc unless you are running HV/LowA setups. Yeah, they handle it ok, but how about at least 50% more contact area. Make the prongs wider, a tad longer, and thicker and I'd be happy. I still don't like paying what they cost though - just not worth it for what you get. Now that there are more options out there (powerpoles, Traxxas, etc) maybe, just maybe they might see lower sales a new larger version and/or cheaper price on the current model. Pipe dream, I know. The biggest hurdle for us (and in their favor) is that most people don't want to re-invest hundreds of dollars in replacing what they have on their current ESCs, batteries, charge adaptors, etc.

[lincpimp]

Are powerpoles as good as deans? Seems like they have less contact area than deans... I would like to see some deans xl plugs... Maybe go to something like the ec5 connectors? They should be better than deans/traxxas/etc for handling power.

Scratch that on the ec5 connectors, though they had 5mm bullets in there, turns out they are 4mm bullets... Why does someone not make a polarized 5-6mm bullet housing like the ec3-5?