Panasonic plug for LA Free

[sparky5]

Hi all I have done some intensive searching on the good old internet and think I may have found the strange din type plug used by panasonic on the la free battery.
It is manufactured by Hirose Electric co.
its part number is RPC2-12P-7S
if you "plug" this into google (sorry) a couple of americian sites pop up one showing stock at about six dollars each.

HTH

Cheers, Mark.

Update.
Farnell.com have them in stock in the uk at £2.77 + vat each, Farnell part number 1077725.
Minimum order £20+vat.

 

[JohnInStockie]

Wow - Is this right - have you found it - it certainly looks like it (after all this time!!

If this is the one then WELL DONE!!

John

 

[flecc]

Well done Mark, great find.

I've ordered 10 of these from Farnell and as soon as they arrive I'll amend my Charger site pages with this information. If anyone wants one in the UK they can get in touch via the contact link and dodge either the £20 minimum with Farnell or going to the USA for one.

Farnell only have 483 left now.
.

 

[sparky5]

That Elusive plug!

Hi again all.

"flecc
Well done Mark, great find."

This is hi praise from the "GURU" thanks, very much appreciated it makes the hours spent searching well worth it.

They did have 501 when I placed my order for 8, now their stock level is droping like a stone !!
If your interested, the way I found it was, (yawn) you can switch off here if you like.
I figured that any decent company would mark their product with there logo, so using a pair of very strong glasses - and a large magnifying glass I found the letters HRS on the front by the no 3 pin.
I entered this in google as "HRS CONNECTORS" and up popped the web site for Hirose Electric Co it was then an easy job to trace the offending item.
After finding the americian sites I first tried RS components No luck there, But Farnell came up trumps...WHOOPEE.

Glad to be of some help !

Cheers, Mark.

I guess that if at first you dont succeed keep looking !!
I love the internet!!!!!!

 

[flecc]

Yes, that was great detective work Mark. I'd previously scoured RS components and US suppliers in general, but not having a Lafree any more I had no way of directly checking the inline socket, only able to rely on memory.

I'm still baffled as to why Hirose would want to make a non-standard DIN connector when theres a perfectly satisfactory 7 pin one already, and even more baffled why Panasonic should use it for a four connector system, one of which is void anyway!

There was absolutely no reason why they couldn't have used a three pin connector like everyone else.
.

 

[sparky5]

Connector

Hi
As you say flecc there is no reason to use more than three connections to the battery as most of the others ground one end of the thermister to the negative terminal ??????
Strange that on the lafree they brought the thermister wires out seperate also if you trace the PCB in the charger the thermister is eventualy grounded to the negative any way ????

Anyway I can now fit a pukka plug on my second mains charger,
And one on my car cigarette socket charger for when on holiday!
Never have a dead battery again.
Happy days.

Cheers, Mark.

 

[flecc]

Hi
As you say flecc there is no reason to use more than three connections to the battery as most of the others ground one end of the thermister to the negative terminal ??????
Strange that on the lafree they brought the thermister wires out seperate also if you trace the PCB in the charger the thermister is eventualy grounded to the negative any way ????

Anyway I can now fit a pukka plug on my second mains charger,
And one on my car cigarette socket charger for when on holiday!
Never have a dead battery again.
Happy days.

Cheers, Mark.

As you say, the thermistor is grounded anyway. The only guess I could make about this is that the Panasonic unit was around for a long time in several incarnations, often with tiny batteries in e-folders. Possibly some of those used different connections in some way.

Panasonic seem to have an attachment for multiple connections, the latest unit with the Li-ion battery has a five way in line connector, completely non standard of course, with different pin coupling combinations used for charging, power delivery and monitoring in both circumstances.

Other companies manage with three connections on Li-ion.

Mind you, it has to be acknowledged that their battery management has always been by far the best, as shown by battery life.
.

 

[sparky5]

Confirmation

Hi all
I have just recieved the eight "panasonic" plugs I ordered from Farnell components and I am very pleased to confirm that they are a perfect fit in the LAFree battery.

Enjoy.

Cheers, Mark.

 

[neil mcfarlane]

Hi Flecc, Sparky...

I need one of these. Before ordering from Farnell (and I know this is an old thread), do either of you have one of these to spare from your previous orders? If so, let me know (also the price and how I can pay). It would be a great help.

Regards

Neil

Hi all
I have just recieved the eight "panasonic" plugs I ordered from Farnell components and I am very pleased to confirm that they are a perfect fit in the LAFree battery.

Enjoy.

Cheers, Mark.

 

[flecc]

Sorry Neil, my last stock one went a few months ago. Farnell do sell them individually, the price £3.81 for one currently with plenty in stock. Here's the link to that product:

Hirose RPC2-12P-7S connector at Farnell
.

 

[neil mcfarlane]

Thanks Flecc, I made a trade account and got one for a tenner. Also followed your instructions to connect the plug to the powerstream charger and it works great. Many thanks!

Sorry Neil, my last stock one went a few months ago. Farnell do sell them individually, the price £3.81 for one currently with plenty in stock. Here's the link to that product:

Hirose RPC2-12P-7S connector at Farnell
.