Wires

[Anonymous]

I have found the main problem I am having is wires snapping off at the board, and when I try to remove them, the silver lining on the holes are coming out and then not completing the circuit.I have jumped to further down the PCB which works but it looks messy

I have decided to buy new boards and remake the pedals, To ensure I don’t make the same mistake I have decided 1) To use much higher grade wire and 2) to use header plugs so that wiring can easily be changed without de-soldering. I have also found using ribbon cable adds a bit of strength over individual wires

My questions are; is there a particular header/ plug system/brand that you guys recommend and are the boards built to accept headers/ plug sockets

Thank You

Tim

[Barry]

Use quality stranded wire which needs to be tinned at the very least.

My wire in the SHOP is bonded and then tinned so it has all the strength of solid core with the flexibility of stranded. It is also the perfect gauge for our circuit boards.

Then make sure that the wire is soldered to the board with the sleeve absolutely flush with the board.

I have more than 2,000 prototype boards from over 15 years in more than 20 different shoe boxes and I will say it is rare that a wire snaps off. I have messed around with headers and honestly it seems like a lot of extra work when I really do not have an issue requiring them.

You would be surprised how much a difference it makes to have good wire.

I hope that helps.

[Cybercow]

I’m with Barry on the use of his “Barry’s Best Wire” in his shop. It retains its shape nicely while still flexing enough to allow guts removal from an enclosure many times.

And the same with the idea of using headers and connectors. I found the attempt to use them in pedal builds quite tedious and un-necessarily adds to the cost of the build. They take up a bit more space too.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the advice I don’t seem to be able to order any of Barry’s wire I am getting a message not available in your country.

I have used tefzel wire on am amp builds but their thinnest is 22 gauge I’m not sure if that is too thick or not, I am having trouble sourcing quality wire Ill just have to keep trying

Tim

[Billy]

You want 24 gauge Tim

Which country are you in

I’m in agreement pre bonded stranded wire is best with the insulation pushed flush to the board as mentioned stick your wire through then heat the bare end for a couple of seconds at the same time pushing the other side flush to the board the insulation becomes sticky and adheres to the pcb a little helping secure it

 

 

[Anonymous]

I’m in Australia and finding small quantities of high quality wire is difficult I have ordered some on eBay from America (24 AWG Mil-Spec(PTFE) Stranded Silver Plated Copper Assortment 50ft) for pedal building hopefully it will be of better quality than the chain electronics stores wire here sell.
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[Anonymous]

This is what I have ordered  ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/24-AWG-Mil-Spec-Wire-PTFE-Stranded-Silver-Plated-Copper-Assortment-50-ft/273816083259?hash=item3fc0b5db3b:g:~EkAAOSwPGtcQMFV&shqty=1&isGTR=1#shId )

Usually I buy Tefzel stuff from tube depot which is great stuff for building amps, I am finding pedals a bit trickier, especially if you muck up and need to redo as PCB’s  are not as forgiving as turret boards, all good teaches new skills

Tim

 

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