34-Position IDC Receptacle for 0.100" Ribbon Cable
The TE Connectivity 2-1658527-8 is a 34-position IDC receptacle from the 622 series, built for mass-terminating 0.100" (2.54mm) pitch ribbon cable. It accepts 26-28 AWG stranded or solid wire and terminates with a standard IDC press — no wire stripping, no individual crimp contacts. The dual-row layout mirrors the same 0.100" row spacing, so the whole cable lays flat into the slot and the press seats all 34 connections at once. That thickness puts it well into the field-service range — good for repeated mate/unmate cycles in equipment that gets opened for rework or reconfiguration. The housing is blue and includes a polarizing key, a feed-through design that lets the cable pass straight through, and an integral strain relief that grabs the cable jacket so a yank on the wire doesn't load the IDC slots. The polarizing key prevents a reversed or misaligned mate, which is the kind of mistake that kills an IDC termination on the first try.
Where It Goes and What It Handles
This connector lives inside equipment where a ribbon cable carries parallel signals between boards — think card-edge adapters, test fixtures, industrial controllers, or internal peripheral interconnects. The feed-through housing means the cable exits straight out the back, which keeps the routing clean in a shallow enclosure. The gold resists corrosion if the cabinet sees humidity or temperature swings.
Wire Prep and Termination
Termination is a one-shot IDC press: lay the 26-28 AWG ribbon cable across the slot, align the conductor centres with the 0.100" pitch, and press the cover down with a hand or arbor press. The slots pierce the insulation and grip the conductor — no solder, no crimp. Stranded or solid wire both work, though stranded needs a clean square cut across the ribbon to avoid stray strands shorting adjacent positions. The strain relief is built into the housing — it clamps the cable jacket behind the IDC slots. That matters because a ribbon cable's individual conductors are thin (26-28 AWG) and will pull out of the IDC slot if the jacket isn't anchored. Give it strain relief or it'll pull apart.
RoHS compliant per current directive — no lead, cadmium, or restricted phthalates in the housing or plating. That's the standard for new equipment shipped into EU or REACH-regulated markets.