28 May
2002
28 May
'02
3:47 p.m.
On Wed, 29 May 2002, Tony Duell wrote:
I'm not going to debate that one, though I personally think both an
assortment of soldering irons/tips and hand tools (including crimpers) are
essential for computer restoration and maintenance.
Paladin Tools and Ideal Industries both make high quality tools. Paladin
is a favorite among many telecom/datacom installers here in the states,
and Ideal has been a favorite among electricians for ages. Ideal got into
telecom/datacom tools more recently, and it appears that their tools are
getting popular in that trade now too. Of course, then there is Klein
Tools [http://www.kleintools.com/], who makes some of the best
electricians tools known to man. I'm still waiting for them to get into
telecom/datacom tools :)
For one or two
connections, a crimp tool might seem a little expensive,
A soldering iron has many more uses :-) but the types
that use interchangeable die sets are not a bad investment.
For "budget" use, I find the Paladin Tools [http://www.paladin-tools.com/]
1300 series crimper outfitted with the proper die set will do a very nice
crimp job. Another crimper that is virtually identical (and appears to use
the same dies) is the Crimpmaster crimp tool made by Ideal Industries
[http://www.idealindustries.com/]. Typically the crimper (either one) can
be had without a die set for under US $35, and the die sets range from US
$8-20, depending on the type of connector(s) they are designed for. If the
That sounds _far_ too cheap to me. The tools over here (decent ones,
not the things sold in PC shops!) are well over \pounds 100. The die
sets are almost that price (and more in some cases, I think). Cheap crimp tools may appear to work, but unless the
crimp is done
properly (i.e. the die set is correctly made and hardened, the tool
applies sufficien pressure and won't release until the crimp is
finished) then you will have reliability problems. In my experience
about 90% of crimp conenctor problems are due to poor quality tools.
The remaining 10% are due to people using the wrong connector for the
cable (solder-type connectors are much more 'forgiving' about people
using the wrong diameter cable :-)).
I personally own a Paladin 1300 series, as well as a few others. I haven't
had any problems with it (other than the fact I lost a screw that holds
the die, and I don't want to spend $8 for a pair of screws...) Both of
those tools are ratcheting types with adjustable tension. The die sets are
indeed hardened steel. I found it next to impossible to engrave or stamp
the die part number into them. Newer die sets already have the part number
stamped into them from the factory, which certainly makes them easier to
identify. I'll take a photo of my 1300 and die sets if you want to have a
closer look at one. It has about 10 years of wear on it, and still looks
good.
Since we are on the subject of tools and crimpers, is anyone aware of a
company that makes a crimper for AMP insulated flag-style faston (quick
connect) connectors? Due to the terminal's design, even a good ratchet
crimper for insulated terminals won't work. AMP sells a suitable crimper,
but they charge upwards of $300-500 for it.
-Toth