Off topic: Crimp connectors

[Kevin Ward]

  This question comes up over and over, and I always see contradicting 
answers.  So here's my two-cents worth. 

I used to work in avionics.  Whenever we made wiring harness for new 
radio installations we _always _avoided soldering.  Vibration and wire 
movement are the reasons.  Besides the fact that even an experienced 
technician can make a bad solder joint, solder can actually compromise a 
wire/connector joint. 

Stranded wire is used in the harness for flexibility.  Even a little 
excess solder will wick up the stranded wire, essentially turning it 
into a solid, and quite rigid, wire.  If the wire needs to flex at that 
point, as when putting radios in and taking them out, it does.  But 
bending solid wire repeatedly is an easy way to break it, and that is 
exactly what happens. 

SOP from the radio manufacturers mandated _crimp only_, and _only with 
the approved tool and connector pins and specified wire size and strand 
count_.  The resistance of the proper crimp will easily match a solder 
joint, which is primarily made up of a higher resistance metal than 
either the wire or the pin. 

So how does that apply here?  Ask yourself when you make up a wire 
harness, "Do I have to allow for movement or vibration?"  If the answer 
is no, use either technique.  If it's yes, buy the proper tool, the 
correct connector, and the matching wire. 

Kevin  N2IE
(ok - i'll put away the soapbox now.)

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