"Modular" RJ25/6P6C connnectors on Load-N-Go

[RF_Developer]

We are using Load-N-Gos as production programmers, with Tag-Connect TC2030-NL programming cables. This has several advantages for us, but their is one nagging issue. The company, in its wisdom, has decided that our service agents should use Load-N-Gos to update firmware in the field. That nagging issue has now become a bigger problem.

The problem is that we get intermittent contacts between the Load-N-Go and the programming cable. We can get better, more reliable contact is we push the RJ25 connector firmly into the socket, but there's a knack to it (one of our engineers spent over an hour on site trying to get it to work, and had to fall back on an ICD3 which he happened to take just in case), and we can't expect agents to suss it.

We don't know if the problem is the connector on the Load-N-Go - some are good, some are bad and our ICD3s are equally susceptible, and equally variable. It might be the connectors on the Tag-Connect cable.

The question is has anyone found a simple solution to this? Replacing connectors is acceptable, if need be? Or are we simply at the mercy of these frankly rubbish for repeated connect/disconnect use, but cheap, modular phone connectors?

[newguy]

Same boat, but by choice. Only issue I've found with the load-n-go is that on some of them the contacts in the RJ connector get slightly bent down enough that they won't make reliable contact with the cable when it's inserted. A dental pick fixes this. Just get under the contact, pull it up, and gently guide it back to its proper alignment if it's off to one side after being pulled up.

We use the stock cable that comes with the load-n-go and our field upgradeable stuff is equipped with a Hirose TM2RG-L66-5S-150M panel mount socket which we manually add a Molex Picoblade 6 pin connector to mate with our PCB. So far our field staff love it. In the past they had to actually take everything apart, pull the board, program it elsewhere, and then reverse the process. Now they just connect their "phone cable", hit "Load" on the load-n-go, wait for the light to turn green, disconnect, cycle power, and they're done.

[RF_Developer]

Don't get me wrong, we like the LOAD-n_GO too. It's got many things going for it, especially for production programming.

We've standardised on the Tag-Connect cable, which is fine (low board space, no part to fit on the board, quick & easy connection) except for the modular connector thing.

I've tried replacing the connector on the LOAD-n-GO with one made by Stewart. Its a drop in replacement and simple to fit. So far its looking good. If it proves reasonably reliable we'll go with that.