Question: I was sifting through some stuff I got from a friend whose uncle was a professor of electrical engineering and found a few of these 2.54 mm pitch prototyping cables (commonly known as 'Dupont' cables) which are female-to-female but have a removable male pin.

I've looked for variations of the cable name with the word 'removable' but have had no luck. I can find plenty of male-to-male cables but I believe all those male pins are part of the crimped connector and not removable, but I may be wrong.

I can probably get regular female-to-female cables and get the pins separately as well.

How can I find and purchase either the female-to-female cables with the detachable pins, or the detachable pins alone?

[![cable with pin in](https://i.stack.imgur.com/l4Rct.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/l4Rct.jpg)
[![cable with pin out](https://i.stack.imgur.com/22Z0I.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/22Z0I.jpg)

Answer: 
I believe this is a female single-pin connector along with a single 25 mil square pin, probably taken out of a pin header like this one:

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/RDACD.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/RDACD.png)

([image source](https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/harwin-inc/M20-9990345/3728227), just a random part on digikey)

They don't come out easily, but with pliers and a bit of force you can pull the individual pins out.

As an aside, I'm not sure why people call these Dupont connectors. As far as I can determine, Dupont never actually made them. The largest manufacturer of them today is probably either Amphenol, TE Connectivity, or maybe Molex.
I suspect that the pin has broken off the rest of the contact inside the housing - I haven't seen that sort of contact with an intentionally-removable pin.

The contacts for those plastic housings should be readily available from anyone selling the housings. There will be both male and female insertable contacts - you crimp the contact on the wire before inserting it in the connector housing.

Connector housings, both single and multi-pin, and matching contacts, should be available from electronic distributors like Digikey or Mouser (in US and Canada - other companies elsewhere).

There are many variations between makers - don't use company A's contacts in company B's housings.