Geoff Smith 1 Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 Posted by leccyflyer on 04/04/2011 20:00:57: Geoff Tim is correct - 12 gauge wire should fit okay into most 4mm connectors, if done correctly, but if you've already spread the ends of the wire you might have trouble. If you start from scratch with a freshly stripped section about 5-6mm long then you should be okay. Bear in mind that if you are stripping the wire, then giving it a twist with your fingers you might be getting finger grease on there. A little smear of a non-corrosive flux would help. If you don't want to start from scratch and you have a big blob of solder on the wires there is another way, but it's a bit of a botch. You can use a set of side cutters to trim that blob into a neat cylinder of solder and wire that will fit in the connector. When you have done that tin the connector fill the hole with molten solder, apply the iron to the wire and connector simultaneously and as the solder melts on the wire, push it gently home. You'l lose a small amount of contact area on the trimmed wire, but if you make sure you get a good joint it'll be close enough for jazz. Give it a good tug afterwards to ensure a good joint. Oh and be sure to do the wires one at a time, with the other safely secured to the lipo with a rubber band or similar so that you can;t possibly get a short out. Ok mate I'll give that a go. I'm wondering if I got the wrong 4mm connectors, the hole for the solder in the end is not very big, in fact the sides of the hole are a lot thicker than female connector. Cheers mate. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bandit Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hi Geoff, It's the 12 AWG that's confusing me now as well. I used to play around with electronics, but it's been quite some time and AWG sounds familiar but I can't remember what it means, or it's relationship with SWG. I'm sure someone can enlighten me . Found this thread on soldering which has some good idea's http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=31195&p=2 Cheers, Chris. Many thanks for this Chris. Trouble with this wire is that it appears to be woven, a bit like coax sheilding, it will not twist, it just seperates into a jumbled mess. Regarding the iron, I dug out my old iron, I have no idea what wattage it is but it performed a lot better than the Draper. On the wire I'm trying to fit into a 4mm connector it says 12 AWG. Does this mean 12 gauge? if so Leccy says it will not fit into a 4mm connector. I am still at a loss, Tim says it should fit but I've looked at it again and there is no way. Ah well onward ever onward. Cheers mate. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Posted by Geoff Smith 1 on 04/04/2011 20:05:30: Ok mate I'll give that a go. I'm wondering if I got the wrong 4mm connectors, the hole for the solder in the end is not very big, in fact the sides of the hole are a lot thicker than female connector. Cheers mate. Geoff I've had some like that, the walls are thick and the hole for the wire is just a small depression, no more than a couple of mm deep. Pain in the neck to install. The 4mm connectors on some of my Loong Max packs are nearly twice the length of some 4mm connectors and, over the years i've seen a lot of variation in the size and construction. Once had a big discussion over whether there was actually any gold anywhere near them. The usual sort of thing, someone claiming that the connectors were not really gold plated just shiny brass. So I stuck one in the electron microsope and got a trace of the elemental composition - to show they had a thin coating of the real shiny stuff. on an alloy base Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 AWG - American Wire Gauge Similar to SWG but there are significant size variations at parts of the range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Posted by Martin Harris on 04/04/2011 14:58:34: I'll have to have a good look when I get home and see if I can find a data plate ...and surprisingly it is still readable and states140W so quite a bit more powerful than Timbo's and Geoff''s - perhaps that explains my relative happiness with the instant heat irons? Thinking about Tom's point about damaging sensitive components, is there any more magnetism around than that in an electric motor connected to one end of an ESC? If we're talking AC fields, then it's only at 50 Hz - hardly RF! I must admit I've heard similar comments before and perhaps there's something I haven't considered so feel free to educate me! I don't think I'd be contemplating using it to assemble a PCB with CMOS ICs or other static sensitive components somehow, but I wouldn't have any concerns with typical power train connections.Edited By Martin Harris on 04/04/2011 23:51:43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Wright 2 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Hello Martin. As i am quite sure you are aware that a140w unshielded element roughly represents a single turn of copper with a current of say 70 amps assuming a 2v supply, the radiated field can be sufficient to induce a high current into a sensitive component particularly if common earthing precautions are not employed and if that component is an i/c that may have inputs designed to be driven by very low voltages the risk of damage when making a soldered joint to such a component is regarded as significant . The effect can be simulated by inserting a current measuring device in series with a small loop of copper wire and placing the iron element close to the coil,The induced current indicated would not be present if a good quality conventional iron was used.Now let me be quite clear this is no attempt to educate ,as the above is simple stuff that i am sure you are more than familiar with,but during my six years training with REME and five years with a well known TV company using trigger type irons was regarded as bad practice,and that may have been a shorter and better reply.As for EP trains yes i agree (spotted your edit late) trigger irons are no problem , ESCs are full of pretty tough switching devices creating their own version of EMC hell that's one of the reasons i went to 2.4 .By the way since joining the forum it has become clear that your knowledge of things electrical/electronic is well above average and probably more current than mine how come ? if that's not being to nosey. TW2.Edited By tom wright 2 on 05/04/2011 01:33:29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Wright 2 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Geoff. I think BEB is spot on with his comments on post 16-13-39 .Don't worry to much if things don't go quite to plan this hobby can represent a steep learning curve in the early days press on keep asking questions and no doubt one day you will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. . TW2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Smith 1 Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Posted by tom wright 2 on 05/04/2011 14:49:52: Geoff. I think BEB is spot on with his comments on post 16-13-39 .Don't worry to much if things don't go quite to plan this hobby can represent a steep learning curve in the early days press on keep asking questions and no doubt one day you will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. . TW2. Thanks for this Tom and everyone else who has contributed. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed and a little more confident thanks to all your encouragement. As I started this thread off with a gripe about my soldering I'll just finish it off by saying that I've taken on board all you've said. One thing left to say is that I have resurrected my old soldering iron, it's so old it's mentioned in the Doomsday Book, it is much more efficient than the Draper and gets the heat to the job much quicker but how do you stop the overflow of solder running down the side of the job and blocking everything up? Cheers my friends Webbiteer No: 20 AKA Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Dont use so much of it LOLIf Ido get too much around the plug, I just dremel it off with sanding drum. Also do same for any sharp spikes that are left - stops it ripping the heatshrink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Wright 2 Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 The old plumbers used to flood the joint with solder and while keeping the joint hot wipe it with a cloth get rid of the excess and achieve a nice clean job.But if you are new to the soldering process a clean freshly tinned bit, sufficient heat ,a good solder / flux, correct tinning, be sure the solder flows freely,and practice , that's the way to soldering competence.its a bit like covering can seem like a nightmare but a little knowledge and practice can result in satisfying results ..There is always a hard way to do things seek out the proper way and enjoy the hobby. Oh if you use a separate flux keep it off the bits were you don't want the solder to run. TW2. Edited By tom wright 2 on 05/04/2011 17:16:10Edited By tom wright 2 on 05/04/2011 17:19:21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Posted by Geoff Smith 1 on 05/04/2011 16:45:12:Posted by tom wright 2 on 05/04/2011 14:49:52: Geoff. I think BEB is spot on with his comments on post 16-13-39 .Don't worry to much if things don't go quite to plan this hobby can represent a steep learning curve in the early days press on keep asking questions and no doubt one day you will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. . TW2. Thanks for this Tom and everyone else who has contributed. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed and a little more confident thanks to all your encouragement. As I started this thread off with a gripe about my soldering I'll just finish it off by saying that I've taken on board all you've said. One thing left to say is that I have resurrected my old soldering iron, it's so old it's mentioned in the Doomsday Book, it is much more efficient than the Draper and gets the heat to the job much quicker but how do you stop the overflow of solder running down the side of the job and blocking everything up? Cheers my friends Webbiteer No: 20 AKA Geoff If I get any blobs of solder down the side of the bullet connector I just use a pair of sidecutters to snip it off. A decent pair of sidecutters is a marvellous tool for all sorts of jobs. Some folks take the male connectors apart during soldering, to prevent them losing their springiness. I aim to use a large-ish iron, very quickly and so don't have the iron on there for long enough to need to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Smith 1 Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks for this lads. I just had a thought that I am using a block of wood with holes of vaious dimensions drilled in it. ie 3mm 4mm 6mm. If I were to drill the holes deeper so that the rim of the plug is only slightly proud of the surface any overflow would stop there and be easier to remove. Tim, I haven't used my Dremel yet so this would be an ideal opportunity to see what it can do. Cheers my friends. Webbiteer No: 20 AKA Geoff Edited By Geoff Smith 1 on 05/04/2011 17:34:54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Geoff, There's plenty of tuition available on Youtube for all types of connectors. For instance, this is for bullets: I'm not saying it's the best there is but it should give you an idea of just how straightforward it really can be. There are other vids for Deans, XT60's etc, of variable value, but they can be worth a look. I hope it will give you a bit of confidence, tooGood Luck! Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Webb (Steve Webb Models) Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Pete that how I do mine. In a chunk of wood. Sometimes I use one of those 'helping hands' things with the croc clips. The magnifying glass comes in handy now a days Has anyone else here ever mislaid their lump of wood and tried substituting a foam block? ..... I see just me then. Yep...foam doesnt work. LOL Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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