e-bay DEANS knock off connectors

[William]

Have you seen them, pretty cheap price and are able to plug in with real DEANS plugs. I picked some up, figured I'd give it a shot.

They look so close that you'd never tell which was which if you didn't know first. Plugs in, and work great, no issues I can tell mixing them.

A tip though, the plastic on the knock-offs seems to melt (faster than DEANS) if your not carefull when soldering to your wires. (I started melting 1 out of a 20 count bag) Put a male and female connector together so that when you solder them you won't missalign the prongs from the plastic starting to melt. I don't know why this 1 was giving me a hard time. :ack

So now I have a few more trucks running ''DEANS'' than I did at much less cost. On some ESC's I kept both the tamiya, and a DEANS plug. :wnk I don't think I'll ever change them all, but I noticed one of the tamiya connectors was looking rough after lending my battery out. So I won't do that again unless he swaps his stuff over since 80% of my r/c connections are upgraded. All my chargers (4) now have pigtails to do either as well. A duratrax, a mrc super brain and my 2 Tekin 112c's.

:tmb

 

[4u2nv]

Will I just made some adapters to run the Tamiya's or the deans. This way if I borrow or loan a battery to someone I always have an adapter handy. All my rigs runs Deans connectors... well wannabe deans anyway. Be careful soldering the connectors while plugged into each other. They can melt together if you are not careful.

 

[HawnMT]

I've been slowly changing my trucks over to deans. I also have a mix of the real ones and a couple of different knockoffs. I can tell the difference between them all by the different shades of red on the plugs. The real deans have a brighter red than the others. Also one set of knockoffs fit a lot tighter.

 

[Savage03]

Ive been using the knockoffs for some time and with my brushless lipo setups I have had no issues yet. Just got these, took about a week to get them, faster then some US sellers :reye
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300207716046&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=020

 

[offroadford4x4]

I use power poles. The real ones, not duratrax brand. I order them through and electronics company and get 3 - 5 times the plugs for the same price.

 

[speedythecat]

I use power poles. The real ones, not duratrax brand. I order them through and electronics company and get 3 - 5 times the plugs for the same price.

I use to get powerpoles in bulk from Powerwerx.com and split them with a couple of other guys. I actually like powerpoles better even if they are a bit inferior to deans. With that said, I have somehow recently found myself going back to deans and I had heard good things about the ebay knock-offs.

 

[quick5pnt0]

I've been using the Deans knock offs on all my stuff for about a year now. So far so good.

 

[joe]

i like useing the deans on my motors (if i dont wire direct)
and i like the powerpoles for the batteries.
(although some are still tamiyas)
:tmb

 

[Electrohacker]

all real deans here...

I like just going down to larry's and buying them. it's good to support such a good local shop.

 

[Rapko]

I've been using deans ever since I had my first rc truck almost 10 years ago, the king blackfoot...that truck ran hot to begin with and when I installed a 17 turn in it, it kept melting the tamiya plugs together. Found the deans and never looked back. Before that I never soldered anything so I wasted quite a few plugs. Deans can be a little difficult until you get the hang of it.

A friend of mine bought some of those knock offs...they were slightly darker in color than my original deans...work just as good.

 

[Locoboy5150]

Someone here, I think it was BloodClod, had some black Ultra Plugs. I asked where he got them from and he mentioned the name of the manufacturer that actually made and sold them to Deans. For the life of me I cannot remember the name, but it wasn't Anderson Power Products, the makers of the Duratrax Power Poles.

 

[twisted8]

100% real deans here all the time.

 

[offroadford4x4]

I use to get powerpoles in bulk from Powerwerx.com and split them with a couple of other guys. I actually like powerpoles better even if they are a bit inferior to deans. With that said, I have somehow recently found myself going back to deans and I had heard good things about the ebay knock-offs.

yup, that is the place I got them from. I bought the 25 set pack for like $20. I'm just about out though. With as much and as hard as I run my vehicles, I've gone through a bunch of them on batteries and ESCs.

 

[team3six]

You know it is funny you mention this. Alot of NAME brand battery companies are offering Deams connectors already soldered to the battery! and guess what. There not! I just got 2 SMC (iB) 5000 Lipos with the Dean's plugs as stated by SMC and just found out today they are not Dean's plugs. Slightly darker red then Dean's. I am wondering if that is even legal!?

 

[bmcswusnavy]

I just got done switching everything over and I've been very pleased with the results!

These for the mini's:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270218530571

And these for the big guys:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270218505785

It's a lot better than $3/pair at the LHS.

 

[Locoboy5150]

I am wondering if that is even legal!?

Well, ever since the start of R/C, battery companies have been calling their plugs "Tamiya plugs" or "Kyosho plugs." In reality they all were and are made by JST.

 

[Savage03]

The one thing and I think would be so easy for them to do is add a little ridge to each side of the plug, something for your fingers to grab onto. Make them the best thing around since that is their 1 major complaint is getting them apart. Funny thing is they do it on the smaller micro plugs :ack

 

[team3six]

I agree. well maybe it will go like Oakley did. Rework the whole program and offer a better made product. I wish deans would make a brushless plug with the three prong connectors. I see that LOSI has a 2 prong connector that has the bullet style plug for HV systems. Im really digging that but, Its that ugly blue color. Venom finally got a clue and started selling thier hard case lipo 5000's in red and black now. Not a bad deal for $89.00 at all! But if deans would just add to thier already great connector, I am sure things would be great! For all of us.

 

[team3six]

Well, ever since the start of R/C, battery companies have been calling their plugs "Tamiya plugs" or "Kyosho plugs." In reality they all were and are made by JST.

On the subject of the Tamiya plugs. That is because Tamiya owned the right to them. Anything copywritten is only good for 10 years, someone would have to change the design a little in order to call them reinvented. But I think it is because they were'nt really that great to begin with on the current level. Besides copywrites are only good wherever there is a copywrite on them. Someone in china is making knockoff deans and there isnt a thing that can be done, Oakley claimed that their glasses were made in the USA, but the fact is the mold plant was in Mexico and the mexicans were smart to take the molds when the plant closed down. Take a trip to cancun someday and you can get a box of 20 oakley knockoffs for $10.00 ANYDAY!

 

[Locoboy5150]

Someone in china is making knockoff deans and there isnt a thing that can be done

Is that really the case or has that electrical connector company in China (or wherever) always been making what us R/Cers know as Ultra Plugs and been selling them to WS Deans since day one?