Understanding The Molex Picoblade Connector & JST PH Connector.

by John Salt 

The Molex Picoblade connector, also called "Pico Plug" along with the JST PH 2 pin connector are very small and have 1 & 2 Amp ratings respectively.

Picoblade & JST PH RC LiPo Battery Connectors

You'll see Picoblade and JST PH connectors primarily used on small micro single cell LiPo RC aircraft such as Blade's micro helicopters and Eflite's micro airplanes.

The 2 pin Picoblade is also a great little low cost connector for LED RC lighting systems or any other very low current application that needs a tiny, yet robust plug.

Molex Picoblade 2 Pin Male & Female ConnectorsMolex Picoblade 2 Pin Male & Female Connectors

The Molex Picoblade is the smaller of these two popular micro sized RC connectors. 

The Pico is rated at 1.0 Amps sustained current handling and the contact pins are spaced 1.25mm apart (center on center). This pin spacing on these tiny connectors is called the "pitch". 

The 2 pin Pico plug connectors can be identified by a small ramped dimple in the center of the connector housing on the female/battery/source side.

The male/ECS/load side has a corresponding center hole for this dimple to snap into; making it difficult to plug in backwards (polarity protection) and it gives this micro connector a moderate locking force to keep it from coming loose/unconnected in higher vibration environments. 

JST PH 2 Pin Male & Female ConnectorsJST PH 2 Pin Male & Female Connectors

The slightly larger JST PH is rated at 2.0 Amps sustained current and has a pin pitch of 2.0mm on center. 

The 2 pin PH connectors can be identified by a center rib running the length of the connector housing on the female/battery/source connector. 

The male/ESC/load side has a corresponding center slot for this rib and like the Pico Plug, provides polarity protection from connecting them backwards.

The JST PH with its larger contact pins relies both on on pin contact force and connector housing friction to keep the connector halves from vibrating loose.

Male Connector Soldering Caution:

The Molex Picoblade & JST PH are both reliable little connectors. You do however have to be very careful when soldering wires to the male connector pins on both as too much heat for too long will easily loosen the pins in the housings causing the pins to push out of the housing easily or become misaligned.  

A little trick I use if I run into this problem is to put a very tiny drop of medium or thick CA glue on the base of the connector after soldering to keep the pins in place. Just make sure the glue doesn't wick all the way up the pins and insulate them (why I don't recommend thin CA).

The female connector pins on the other hand are crimped onto the wires and then slid into the connector housing so soldering heat is not an issue with them. 

JST PH Prewired ConnectorsPre-Wired Picoblade & JST PH Connectors Save Time & Sanity!

You can get Picoblade and JST PH connectors with the wires already attached  since not many RC'ers have the correct crimp tool, or the patience when working with these tiny pins.

There is actually much confusion circulating on the internet regarding all these micro connectors. This stems from each brand such as J.S.T. (Japan Solderless Terminal Mfg. Co.) having many different series of connectors, but many in the hobby just reference the brand name and associate it with a particular connector (eg. JST connector).

Moreover, each series of connector comes in an assortment of pin numbers ranging from 2 up to as high as 20. So to be correct at micro connector identification, you need to know both the brand's particular series designation and number of pins when ordering.

As was previously mentioned, all these tiny connectors are also classified by a "pitch" number. This is the distance in millimeters from one pin center to the other. Molex Picoblade as we know have pins that are spaced 1.25mm on center and the JST PH has a pin spacing distance of 2.0mm on center. 

There is a fairly good J.S.T write-up on Wikipedia showing all the various series of JST connectors and links to the data sheet on each one if you're interested in that deep-dive.

Molex Picoblade Connector & JST PH Connector Links

Here are links to each connector type if you want to order some or just read up on the specifications:

Combination Picoblade & JST PH Para Board

Here's an item I have that I find very useful for parallel charging all my LiPo's that have Picoblade and JST PH plugs - The Micro ParaBoard.

As you can see, it has both Picoblade and JST PH plugs (six of each) to charge small capacity 1S LiPo packs that have these plug types. 

Just one word of caution when using the Micro Paraboard. Some higher power RC chargers won't detect when a tiny 1S LiPo pack is fully charged due to the high internal resistance they all have, and may overcharge the battery until it resembles a small cocktail wiener (don't ask how I know). 

I find I have to have at minimum of 3 LiPo batteries plugged into this Micro Paraboard to work correctly; at least with my more powerful RC Chargers.

For more helpful RC connector information & soldering tips, please see my RC Battery Connector Page.

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