Changing wire-wrap configurations on DEC circuit boards

[Tony Duell]

On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 1:32 AM, Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net> wrote:

> I have a hand tool from OK Tools (looks a bit like a coil alignment tool).

Ditto. Wrap one end, unwrap the other. I've never bothered to get a more
advanced wire wrap tool. I even made a couple of DEC backplanes using
it.

> It works fine.  It also has a wire strip blade built into the handle, which is
> by far the best tool for stripping wrap wire.  (Typical wire strippers don't
> handle wire that thin, and the tip of a soldering iron won't do the job either
> because the insulation is heat resistant.)

But I will disagree with you there. The best tool in my experience is a hand
rotary wire stripper (which spins a pair of blades around the wire, doing a very
clean cut through the insulation. A close second is the little hand stripper
made by CK tools, designed for wire wrap wire.

Incidentally, since the insulation is heat-resistant and the wire takes solder
very easily, I find wire wrap wire to be the best thing (soldered in place) to
repair or modify PCBs.

-tony