500 series Edge connector - Gold fingers a must or not?

[elskardio]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a 500 module prototype and I built the edge connector using pads. One on the top layer and one on the bottom. It fits nicely in the 500 slot and looks pretty solid to me.

Now... should I make the final edge connector with gold fingers? Is this a must to guarantee the longevity of the module?

Not all PCB manufacturers give the option for gold fingers and the ones I found are pretty expansive.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[emrr]

They aren't on everything.  This has been addressed in some other threads:

https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=63066.msg798833#msg798833

 

[elskardio]

Thank you for the link

 

[joaquins]

Could depend on your cleaning habits and the frequency you move the modules around, I guess I'd go with tinned fingers. While some audiphile could argue gold plating connection has a lower thermal emf than tinned, and that would mean lower THD or something I'm not sure how much it could damage audio quality.

JS