Airsoft Battery Connectors: Never assume your connector's gender!
Deans Connector
This is the easy one! The Deans connector is exactly how one would expect, the connector with the external contacts is the male connector, and the one with the internal contacts is the female connector.
Deans connectors are the more modern of the two common Airsoft connectors and have the benefit of reduced electrical resistance and a stronger interface than the older mini-Tamiya connector
In the case of every single AEG on our website currently, the male Deans connector is the one attached to your gun, and the female Deans connector is the one on your battery.
When it comes to polarity, if you orient the connector so it appears as a "T", the horizontal contact connected to the red wire is the positive contact and the vertical contact connected to the black wire is the negative contact. This battery connector business is super simple eh? Think again!
Mini-Tamiya Connector
This is the confusing one. Many skirmishers and even experienced retailers get this wrong! In their defence, terminology isn't actually that important, but if you are rewiring your gun you will need to pay attention to polarity and replace the original connector with that of the same gender in your new connector.
The external design of the Mini-Tamiya connector is what leads (teehee) to confusion as the looks of the external plastic housing are the opposite of the configuration of the internal connector pins.
While the external housing may lead one to think the connector on the gun is the male, it is in fact, the opposite. Inside the female connector on the gun are two cylindrical pins into which the pins on the battery-side connector(male) insert. With the mini-Tamiya connector, the usual gender norms do not apply!
The battery side connector should always be the male, and the gun/charger side should be the female connector. The same rules of polarity apply as with the Deans connector; with the red wire leading to the positive contact and the black wire the negative contact.
Hopefully, we have now cleared up some more Airsoft hearsay and you now know a bit more about battery connectors! If you are now equipped with the knowledge you need and are ready to get soldering you can hit the button below to check out our Upgrades and Maintenance products!