10-Position IDC Receptacle at 0.156" Pitch — the MTA-156 Workhorse
The TE 4-643817-0 is a 10-position, single-row IDC receptacle from the MTA-156 series, terminated to discrete or ribbon cable with no crimp tool required. The orange housing is a position-count identifier within the series, so a 10-position receptacle is visually distinct from, say, a 6- or 14-position one on the same harness. This means no crimp die or separate terminal is needed, but the wire gauge is fixed at 18 AWG for this variant.
For a wire-to-board connection inside an enclosure that sees occasional service, this is the right call.
Mating and Termination — What Connects and How
This receptacle mates with the standard MTA-156 pin headers — the same series, 0.156" pitch, 10 positions, single row. The IDC termination accepts 18 AWG discrete wire or ribbon cable — the wire is simply pressed into the slot using a hand tool or an arbor press. No crimping, no separate terminal inventory to manage. The closed-end design means the back of the housing is sealed — no wire pass-through, and the polarizing key prevents mis-mating with a keyed header. For a free-hanging (in-line) installation, the connector simply plugs onto the header pins; there is no panel-mount hardware.