14 Sep
2014
14 Sep
'14
9:41 p.m.
On Sep 14, 2014, at 6:46 AM, Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
Yes, that?s what I meant.
Then you should solder things. Or get one. I finally broke down and got a ratchet crimp
tool. Spent $50 on it at least, probably a bit more, but I have never regretted the
investment.
Right. A good crimp connection is nearly as strong as the wire.
paul
...
If it?s crimped properly, everything is compressed together. Stranded wire has gaps
between the wires, but crimping closes those up. And the connector is forced into the
crevices between the strands.
Solder helps keep things mechanically sound, but
for high current
connections a well executed crimp is probably better.
Really? I thought that while AC was carried in the skin of a conductor, DC was
carried spread evenly throughout, so I assume(d) that the wider cross-section
of a soldered connection would allow it to carry more current.
Perhaps the industries that stopped using soldered connections in favour of
crimped did so because with hand-soldering, you can get variation (and also
of course bad solder joints), whereas with a crimp it's pretty uniform from
joint to joint?
Could be. Speed is also a likely consideration. And with crimp you don?t have to worry
about insulation damage due to heat.
What I would do is pull the old lug off, clean
off the wire, and crimp
on a new lug
Ah, to make sure I understand, you're talking about replacing the terminal
attached to the wire, right? (I tend to think of the 'lug' as the
spade-shaped thing soldered onto the board.) with a good quality (commercial grade, not Radio
Shack) ratchet crimp
tool.
And if I don't have such a tool? ? If it's done right it should be on very
tight; if you can pull it off
without serious force it's either the wrong size lug or the wrong tool.
You're talking about the wire into the terminal here, right? Yes, I've
always made sure a crimped wire _cannot_ be pulled loose (whatever size
connector).