How to attach commutator?

[konell]

I currently have two commutators (2-channel and 5-channel) from Dragonfly, and I'm trying to figure out how and where to place them. Do I cut the coax near the SMA connector and solder the commutator wires to the inner wire and/or braided shield of the coax on each side of the cut? Is there a way to solder the commutator directly to the connector on one end and to the wire on the other? I wasn't able to find any sort of instructions online, but if a tutorial video or something exists that I don't know about, that would be great to have. Any guidance on how to start would be much appreciated. Thanks!!!

[konell]

Found the cogsci stack exchange answer (https://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/15683/how-does-one-add-a-commutator-to-the-ucla-miniscope-cable) -- thank you. I have a few followup questions to that. What kind of coax connectors should we use? Something like these (http://fieldcomponents.com/FC10M-FC21F-2.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw16HLBRDF9L2UmOCH7U8SJAASVESoOycffJEIHUEG71nxpDJFG_3fbllBod6r54klh8BAJxoCk3vw_wcB)? Also, when we solder the coax and commutator wires to the connectors, which parts should be soldered where? Should the coax be stripped so that the inner wire and outer braided shielding connect to different places? Thanks!!!

[Daniel Aharoni]

Hi Konell,
We usually use something like this to connectorize a commutator, https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/5-1814832-1/A97594-ND/1755982. We solder one of these connectors to each side of the commutator. It is important to cut the wires coming out of the commutator as short as possible (a centimeter or two should be fine). You will solder one of the wires to the inner pin of the connector (power and signal) and the other wire to one of the outer legs of the connector (ground).

[konell]

Thank you!!!

[ONECore]

Instructions for an inexpensive passive commutator tested with the Miniscope can be found: https://optogeneticsandneuralengineeringcore.gitlab.io/ONECoreSite/projects/SlickPassiveElectricalCommutator/