Sparkun has 900 XBee PRO XSC’s in stock, but without the RP SMA connector.
Anyone got a lead on an RP SMA connector that will fit? The problem is it needs to be for a .031 board, not a .062. The only .031 I’ve found is the one with the looong threaded barrel on it.
Greg
From what I can see, they don’t even have any board-edge connectors, let alone the specific type of connector I’m looking for.
Any one else care to post a specific link to the part I’ve described? I’ve spent hours looking to no avail (and digi.com was less than helpful, getting all legal on me!). They have to exist somewhere. After all, digi.com is buying them from somebody!
– Greg
L-Com sells all sorts of antennas with varieties of cables/connectors. In 2.4GHz, most antennas are available with RPSMA or Type N.
By “board-edge connector”, do you mean RPSMA?
The 900MHz XBees have SMA or RPSMA as I recall.
The 2.4GHz XBees (series 1) have U.FL (which is what I normally get and connect to a 6 inch pigtail that goes to RPSMA), or you can get an on-PCB antenna.
Here’s an example of an external antenna - available with a variety of connector types - affects the part number you order.
http://www.l-com.com/multimedia/catalog … tennas.pdf
Here’s some simple rubber-ducky dipoles - available with RPSMA, 2.4GHz.
http://www.l-com.com/productfamily.aspx?id=6350
And for 900MHz
http://www.l-com.com/productfamily.aspx?id=6088
also with RPSMA and other connector options
I’m looking for the RPSMA connector that lives on the XBEE board itself, not the antenna that connects to it.
That is, I have an XBEE board with NO CONNECTOR, and I want to find an RPSMA EDGE CONNECTOR for a .031" board.
Similar to digikey part #WM5534-ND, except .031 and RPSMA instead of SMA
I hope this makes things perfectly clear.
– Greg
Oh… connector for the XBee. I didn’t think Digi sold them minus any antenna at all. The ones I’ve seen all have some sort of antenna or connector - sometimes a U.fl connector (tiny).
You could just buy a short “pigtail” coax/connector. solder the coax to the board.
you can by them with all three flavors. RP-SMA, U.fl, and wire antenna. I have some w/ the U.fl, and wanted to add the RP-SMA to it.
If you have U.fl, you cannot change it on the board. You’ll need to purchase a U.fl to RPSMA pigtail coax as discussed above. This is very often done with the U.fl connectors.
Sure I can. I’ve done it. Have a board right here in front of me that used to be u.fl, and now it’s RP-SMA. Soldered the connector right on. Why do you say it can’t be done? And, yes, I’m ware of the legal / FCC implications. I’m not looking for legal advice, I’m looking for a connector.
Perhaps I should change my question. Anyone know of an RP-SMA connector with the same footprint as the one on the XBEE? And, No. No way, would I be thinking of putting this on an XBee – it’s for a different board all together. My own design as a matter of fact, that I"m just making for my own purposes.
I work for Digi (makers of the XBee) and I was curious to know which connector we order on our own RPSMA XBee XSC modules. We order our connectors from these guys: http://www.socaa.com.tw/
The problem is we are ordering a part number which isn’t listed on their website. I’m afraid that the part may be custom to us. You may want to contact them and see if they can help you out!
Any particular reason you wouldn’t order them with the RPSMA connector already soldered on? Are you just looking to convert “your owen design” you already have built up? 
Jordan I think the issue was that SparkFun is out of stock. Just checked other places and it looks like also a 30-day lead time from other channel suppliers. Not clear if Digi direct has any but worth a try, especially if you only need a small quantity:
BigRedBee:
Sparkun has 900 XBee PRO XSC’s in stock, but without the RP SMA connector.Anyone got a lead on an RP SMA connector that will fit? The problem is it needs to be for a .031 board, not a .062. The only .031 I’ve found is the one with the looong threaded barrel on it.
Greg
I know this is a year-old post but I’ve found myself needing the same connector. I want to convert my XbeePro 900 from a wire antenna to a RPSMA without buying another. All I could find at first was the ridiculously long threaded barrel.
Linx Technologies part number CONREVSMA003.031 is a female, edge-mount, .031, RP SMA connector plated in nickel with a gold center contact. A search in Mouser never brought this up as an option, so I got the part number from Linx catalog and Mouser does have a bunch in stock. I’m ordering two today and will report back in case anyone else doing a Google search needs help.
Careful – looks like that one does NOT match the required footprint.
probably common, and on Digikey or Mouser.
There are two different SMA footprints. Regular (xbee) and small (the one you linked to).
BigRedBee:
Careful – looks like that one does NOT match the required footprint.
You were right, I ordered without paying proper attention to the datasheet. Luckily Mouser gave me an RMA and a refund, so nothing lost but time.
The footprint on the Xbee is about 11.80 mm measuring the outside edges of the outside connectors. It’s about 9.06 mm on-center for the same two pads. I’m also getting 4.17 mm on-center from the middle to either outside pad.
With that said, check out this Molex-brand connector here http://www.molex.com/pdm_docs/sd/732511150_sd.pdf. For starters, it does NOT look like it’s Reverse Polarity. But the recommended pads are almost dead on except the middle is a bit too-narrow on the Xbee. So if we can find this part in RP, we should be good to go.
Seriously though, I’m ready to call it quits and order a U.fl connector with a RPSMA pigtail.
Per the FCC regulations, a reverse polarity connector is required. This goes way back to the 80’s as I recall, as an attempt to discourage use of high gain antennas. Dumb.