Do you know this connector?

Like these ?

That's a header, with friction lock, and it looks like the lock is about

I'm looking for a housing, with a hook lock like the mating connector to the Molex whose link I supplied, only higher up on the housing.

Probably a JST connector? NH series Or VH series.

Cheers

No dice -- but thanks.

Not something like this?

Is it actually 2.54mm or could it be a 2.50mm?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

People are being astonishingly helpful, but they're off on paths that don't seem to be profitable. Clearly, my explanation is insufficient.

First, the encoder is a Dunkermotoren RE20 -- if you have one, you may just know the answer.

Second, Spehro asked if it could be 2.5mm -- it certainly could. I'm just measuring it with a ruler, and with only five pins it could mate up to a 2.54mm connector housing just peachy if the pins were on a 2.5mm pitch.

Third, here's a picture of the encoder with the connector I have plugged in, and just the hole in the housing:

or

In the shot with the connector plugged in you can clearly see the retention feature on the encoder housing -- this is where the connector housing I have fails to match: it has a retention feature, but it doesn't engage the hook on the encoder housing until the contacts are already disengaged, so you can bump the thing and it comes out. What I have is useful in the lab, but isn't at all useful for a product.

I've been looking for something with ears just like the Molex connector I have -- that may be trying too hard. But I certainly need something with a ridge of some sort, at the distance I mention above: that's about the only way I can see that a connector would be retained by this housing.

No and yes, respectively. See my reply to my original post -- it has more information, including well over 1000 words worth of picture.

could it be that it is really made to match up with ridge on a connector, but instead to capture the back edge of a connector

something like this is about 8mm from front to back:

-Lasse

It could be. That's why I posted the picture.

There's just too many connectors in the world. There ought to be a law or something.

there are several different 2.54mm-pitch plugs that can be substituted fairly easily, your encoder appears to use a normal 2.54mm square-pin header internally and have the retention bracket moulded into the housing.

I've seen a 2.54mm pitch inline socket with a squeezeable retention clip that looks like the right family for that it was on the audio cable for a CD-RW drive, so, only 4 positions :( but it did have the clip. This PDF has vector drawings which can be zoomed

perhaps this one?

Huh. I see what you mean. Oh joy -- a whole new set of things to find out.

It's too bad I'm working through a customer on this. If I were talking straight to the factory rep I could just say "Oh, I'm sorry, if I don't know the number of the mating connector your whole encoder-motor-gearbox assembly is useless to us; we'll have to find someone else." That usually gets pretty prompt results -- and when it doesn't, you know that you just saved yourself truckloads of grief.