We got an email that the JAE MM70-314-310B1 connectors are EOL in september 2020. Are there any alternatives for this connector on the market?
I already checked for the other mentioned manufacturers but couldn’t find an alternative which has a good availability and EOL of at least 10y.
Hello Bramw,
First, there are many MXM connectors from JAE that will still be[link text][1] in production. And there is a replacement for the JAE MM70-314-310B1.
the alternative connector (MM70-314B1-2-R300) has two differences to the old one (MM70-314-310B1-1-R300):
The new one has 314 pins while the old one has only 310 pins. The new connector adds the four pins that are missing and create a gap between pin 18 and 23 (pin 19 to 22 are not populated).
The gold plating of the new connector is with 0.3um (minimum) thicker than the old one with 0.1um (minimum)
The rest of the connector is identical. This means the stacking height and physical dimensions are identical.
we compared the new connector (MM70-314B1-2-R300) with the old one (MM70-314-310B1-1-R300). The two connectors are identical except for two differences:
The new one has 314 pins while the old one has only 310 pins. The new connector adds the four pins that are missing and create a gap between pin 18 and 23 (pin 19 to 22 are not populated).
The gold plating of the new connector is with 0.3um (minimum) thicker than the old one with 0.1um (minimum)
The rest of the connector is identical. This means the stacking height and physical dimensions are identical. The different gold plating could increase the price slightly. I do not expect further issues there.
The extra four pins do not create any issue with the modules. We have checked all the Apalis module designs. There are no traces or anything at the location of the extra pin pads. The space is empty which is not a problem at all (on the Colibri VFxx we also have connector pins that do not have a module pad.
On the carrier boards, the situation is a bit different. On the Apalis Evaluation Board as well as Ixora, there are some traces between at the location of the four new connector pins:
So You should adapt your design.
Here is a document that compares the two connectors.
[1]: https://share.toradex.com/9cxoy460ol4hjvc?direct
@matthias.tx the alternative connector you recommended above is also being obsoleted by JAE once they have a replacement released. Are there any other recommended alternates? Is Toradex working on a new reference design with a different connector that is still actively in production?
the new MXM-3 connector JAE MM70-314B1-2-R300 is available from several distributors. it is just a very small difference. we will provide a changed ref design with the new footprint in it later. but you can easily do the change by yourself.