DC wiring help with possible changing to DCC

[Enterprisingwestern]

32 minutes ago, Junctionmad said:

They tend to be “ Ok” where the wire diameter is within the stated spec of the connector. They don’t work so will if you stray outside that. Unfortunately on model railways this is often done , where the dropper wires is 7/0.2 or 17/0.2 stranded and is too small to hold reliably. 

 

If the wire is too small then fold it over on itself a couple of times so that contact is made with the connector blades.

A bodge but it works.

 

Mike.

[sharris]

2 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

If the wire is too small then fold it over on itself a couple of times so that contact is made with the connector blades.

A bodge but it works.

 

Mike.

 

A quick perusal of the Farnell catalogue reveals that Scotchlok connectors come in a variety of sizes to suit different wire gauges - would it not be better to choose the appropriate connector for the wire?

 

[Junctionmad]

8 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

If the wire is too small then fold it over on itself a couple of times so that contact is made with the connector blades.

A bodge but it works.

 

Mike.

It doesn’t work great as it screws up the IDC mechanism and In some cases cut the cable 

 

remember it’s an IDC process. The idea is a cold weld between the displacement knife and the strands of the cable 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Junctionmad

[Enterprisingwestern]

1 hour ago, sharris said:

 

A quick perusal of the Farnell catalogue reveals that Scotchlok connectors come in a variety of sizes to suit different wire gauges - would it not be better to choose the appropriate connector for the wire?

 

 

But are they available in the combination of wire sizes we modellers need and do we need 100 of every combination?

 

Mike.

[sharris]

38 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

But are they available in the combination of wire sizes we modellers need and do we need 100 of every combination?

 

Mike.

 

One thing I've learned from all the IDC connectors I've assembled (mostly for ribbon cables of various types) is that IDC connectors and wire that's too thin for the connector's specifications is not a reliable combination, and bodging isn't a good option. 

 

How many combinations of wire sizes does one really need, and can't they be rationalised to some 'house standard' so you don't need every combination of connector?

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

12 minutes ago, sharris said:

 

One thing I've learned from all the IDC connectors I've assembled (mostly for ribbon cables of various types) is that IDC connectors and wire that's too thin for the connector's specifications is not a reliable combination, and bodging isn't a good option. 

 

How many combinations of wire sizes does one really need, and can't they be rationalised to some 'house standard' so you don't need every combination of connector?

 

 

I'm only being devils advocate, learning to solder would be my best idea.

 

Mike.

[sharris]

3 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

I'm only being devils advocate, learning to solder would be my best idea.

 

Mike.

 

Wandering off the topic of connectors, but as an aside on the topic of rationalising your components, when I was studying electronic engineering, my tutor told me about his colleague who was colour blind, and in all his circuit designs had rationalised his choices of resistors down to the few that he could make out the colour code bands of. 

[Junctionmad]

5 hours ago, sharris said:

 

A quick perusal of the Farnell catalogue reveals that Scotchlok connectors come in a variety of sizes to suit different wire gauges - would it not be better to choose the appropriate connector for the wire?

 

yes and the common ones mentioned , are a minimum of 22AWG , which is around 16/0.2 and the most common ones , ie in the  auto factors are typically a minimum of 18AWG .

 

by and large the series is not suitable for a large bus wire and a small dropper wire , better versions are quite expensive at around 50p each and even they don't have the range to 24AWG ( 7/0.2)