quick disconnect terminals

[Beretta]

ok so i go to check on my terminals.. i've got a fairly good supply..

the problem.. they're the more common .25 where as it seems nearly all modern micro switches use .187

the .25 fit it ok.. some are a bit loose but a quick adjustment with a light squeeze with some pliers makes them snug enough to stay put but easy to disconnect.. i know QD's can sometimes be a real pain to pull apart when the correct sizes are mated.

further more the ones i have on hand are partially insulated.. which means the tips them selves are bare.

im curious what you guys use.. how many out there actually went and hunted down the elusive .187's.. and how many are using the very common .25?

any opinions as to what i should do..

should i tweak the .25's to fit a bit snug.. or should i buy .187's?

is it worth buying fully insulated terminals?

[surface tension]

You should use the crimp that's designed for the mating part. My panel shares a mix of both and I make the loom to suit. They should be a bit of a pain to pull apart if they are a good fit.

As far as bare crimps are concerned, as long as they are all snug, and they aren't touching other terminals you'll be fine. Because we're only talking about 5v here, if a crimp comes off and touches another, worst case is it will cause strange behaviour. But having one drag itself across your keyboard encoder, now that's a different matter...

[wweumina]

If you've got metal touching metal you're ok.  Agree that the correct mate is ideal but again it can cause problems if you want to get them apart.  I think they could be more accurately named Quick Connects, as for the most part getting them apart shouldn't be that easy...

[mini77]

I'm in the UK and ours are 4.8mm which is 0.189.  Even though they're slighlty bigger they can still be difficult to push on (and pull off) Cherry microswitches sometimes.

[saleem]

funnily i bought these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270341771691

and they fit perfectly.