Handy hints for wiring D-plugs and sockets:
1 - Get someone else to do it. Preferably the sort of person who likes this sort of thing.
Seriously, it's a fiddly job better suited to an electrical whizz.
If that's not possible:
1 - Fill each little hollow tube inside the plug/socket with solder.
2 - Tin the wire and then cut it so only 3mm or so is exposed.
3 - Heat the connection and poke the wire into the molten solder. Because both wire and connector have solder on them, you don't need to introduce more to the joint, reducing the number of hands required.
4 - Let the joint cool and then tug the wire. If it doesn't come off, it's probably good.
5 - Scrutinise the joint to make sure mo stands or wire are touching other connections.
6 - Where appropriate, cover the wires with the appropriate plastic covers and use these to plug and unplug things. Never pull on the wires. If you catch someone doing this, stick a soldering iron in their ear. If they keep doing it, switch it on first. Fault finding in these things is a nightmare when an idiot tugs a connection lose. Guess how I know...
Work slowly and methodically with regular tea breaks and it's do-able, just not the most fun in the hobby.
3 comments:
One further thing that might help:
It's worth plugging the connector into another connector of the opposite gender which you then hold in a vice. This will then hold the pins of your connector in alignment while you solder the wires in as sometimes the plastic the connections are mounted in can be rather soft and prone to melting.......at my former employers we used to make cables with D-type connectors in batches of 25 at a time so I know this works!
We used small (4") machine vices to hold the connectors as these didn't raise them up as high as a normal vice.
Happy soldering!
Simon H
I'd echo these comments - again based on experience.
In a previous job, I often needed to wire up both D connectors and DIN connectors.
I could also add that I wasn't alone in hating both these types of connectors with a vengeance.
Some cynics might suggest an unofficial reason for those small, round, connectors being known as DIN connectors.
Apparently, this might have something to do with the anguished screams and "extended vocabulary" which might be audible when some people are trying to solder up some of these ... errm ... delights.
Of course, I couldn't possibly comment ... .
I'm sure you've seen this tongue in cheek list form "El Reg"
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/31/electrical_connectors/
Post a Comment