<p>I'm one of the developers of the Miniscope. We have been very happy with #FL-2-C from dragonfly. This commutator is very low torque and we have never had an issue with sending power or data through it. The key is to minimize the length of non-coax cabling coming out of the top and bottom of the commutator. We trim the lead wires short and solder coax connectors to both ends of the commutator.</p>

<p>For a slightly cheaper option you can check out the commutators sold by <a href="http://www.moog.com/products/slip-rings/commercial-industrial-slip-rings/compact-slip-ring-capsules.html" rel="nofollow" title="MOOG">MOOG</a>. I should mention that we haven't tested these with the Miniscope system yet.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-14T16:32:38.293Z
2016-10-14T16:32:38.293Z
Daniel Aharoni
<p>We have found CRJ-05 to work fine for rats.  It requires a bit of starting torque (~0.4N*cm), so may not work for mice.  It is designed for high frequency coax communication though.   The quote we received was ~$250. <a href="http://www.barlintimes.com/product/coax-rotary-joint/high-frequency-rotary-joint.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.barlintimes.com/product/coax-rotary-joint/high-frequency-rotary-joint.html</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-16T00:09:05.277Z
2017-08-16T00:09:05.277Z
honi
<p>NeuroTek Inc (neurotek.ca) specializes in motorized commutators and is in the process of building a commutator to handle digital and analog. Specifically it is being built for mini microscopes and electrophys. Contact neurotek@gmx.com for more information.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-22T21:29:30.210Z
2016-08-22T21:29:30.210Z
Hank
<p>I haven't seen any either. But what I do know is that there is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5a-SPW9oWE&amp;feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow">wireless</a> version coming out. It Might make sense to wait for one since commutators tend to be expensive. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-02T16:24:12.000Z
2016-09-02T16:24:12.000Z
nachosan
<p>The <a href="http://miniscope.org" rel="nofollow">UCLA miniscope</a> is an open source alternative to the Inscopix system for calcium imaging in freely behaving animals.  One of the benefits of their system that they tout is <a href="http://miniscope.org/index.php?title=FAQs#How_does_the_Miniscope_system_differ_from_the_nVista_system_from_Inscopix.3F" rel="nofollow">the ability to have a commutator on the data cable</a>. A commutator allows for a cable to rotate without twisting, a major problem when trying to record from freely moving animals. Other methods that I have heard of to allow rotation include a MMCX connector on the cable.</p>

<p>I haven't seen any specific recipes for solving this problem; the <a href="http://miniscope.org" rel="nofollow">miniscope website</a> has no instructions on including a commutator in the cable, only vague references to the possiblity.</p>

<p>Any solutions out there?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-25T19:51:20.933Z
daniel aharoni from the miniscope dev team suggests #FL-2-C from dragonfly: http://www.dragonflyinc.com/commutators.htm.  email jamesgroer <jamesgroer at mindspring dot com>.  i don't know about this myself.
honi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-04T14:55:44.337Z
You can also give the open-source version on https://neurogig.com/commutator a try...
Sias Jordaan
<experimental-neuroscience>
How does one add a commutator to the UCLA miniscope cable?
honi
# How does one add a commutator to the UCLA miniscope cable?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-08-12)

The [UCLA miniscope](http://miniscope.org) is an open source alternative to the Inscopix system for calcium imaging in freely behaving animals. One of the benefits of their system that they tout is [the ability to have a commutator on the data cable](http://miniscope.org/index.php?title=FAQs#How_does_the_Miniscope_system_differ_from_the_nVista_system_from_Inscopix.3F). A commutator allows for a cable to rotate without twisting, a major problem when trying to record from freely moving animals. Other methods that I have heard of to allow rotation include a MMCX connector on the cable.

I haven't seen any specific recipes for solving this problem; the [miniscope website](http://miniscope.org) has no instructions on including a commutator in the cable, only vague references to the possiblity.

Any solutions out there?

**Tags:** experimental-neuroscience

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: daniel aharoni from the miniscope dev team suggests #FL-2-C from dragonfly: http://www.dragonflyinc.com/commutators.htm.  email jamesgroer <jamesgroer at mindspring dot com>.  i don't know about this myself.  
> **username_1**: You can also give the open-source version on https://neurogig.com/commutator a try...  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-10-14. Score: 4

I'm one of the developers of the Miniscope. We have been very happy with #FL-2-C from dragonfly. This commutator is very low torque and we have never had an issue with sending power or data through it. The key is to minimize the length of non-coax cabling coming out of the top and bottom of the commutator. We trim the lead wires short and solder coax connectors to both ends of the commutator.

For a slightly cheaper option you can check out the commutators sold by [MOOG](http://www.moog.com/products/slip-rings/commercial-industrial-slip-rings/compact-slip-ring-capsules.html "MOOG"). I should mention that we haven't tested these with the Miniscope system yet.


---

### Answer by username_0 on 2017-08-16. Score: 3

We have found CRJ-05 to work fine for rats. It requires a bit of starting torque (~0.4N\*cm), so may not work for mice. It is designed for high frequency coax communication though. The quote we received was ~$250. <http://www.barlintimes.com/product/coax-rotary-joint/high-frequency-rotary-joint.html>


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-08-22. Score: 2

NeuroTek Inc (neurotek.ca) specializes in motorized commutators and is in the process of building a commutator to handle digital and analog. Specifically it is being built for mini microscopes and electrophys. Contact neurotek@gmx.com for more information.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-09-02. Score: 2

I haven't seen any either. But what I do know is that there is a [wireless](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5a-SPW9oWE&feature=youtu.be) version coming out. It Might make sense to wait for one since commutators tend to be expensive.


---

