In this instructable i will teach you how to make a perfect inline wire splice, every time
What is an inline splice?
Well, if you work with any type of electrical wiring, and need to join 2 pieces of wire you have 2 choices, pigtail or inline
Pigtail splices are when you hold the 2 pieces of wire, one end going up, the other going down, and twist their stripped ends together.
The issue with pigtails are...
1) They are ugly
2) They redirect the wire 180 degrees, so going from point A to B requires a sharp bend
3) After making that sharp bend you have this chunk of pigtailed wire flopping about, usually with a nice wad of gooey black tape, and sometimes a zip tie to act as a strain control
4) Since the connection is 180 degrees (or going the totally opposite direction) without some form of strain control, all it takes is a stout yank to sheer the connection (even with solder), altho honestly this is an extreme con
The pro's of pigtail's are
1) they are "easy"
Inline splices is where you take two pieces of wire, and join them in a nearly seamless extension of wire
Inline the issues with inline splices are ...
1) the are "hard" (and I claim shenanigans!)
The pro's of inline splices are
1) They are almost invisible, and look professional
2) They do not redirect the wires natural flow, going from point A to point B is just as simple as if you had the chance to place a wire from point A to point B
3) Since there is no bends in the wire, there is no chunks to manage, which is especially handy in tight situations or where you do not have a lot of wire to waste (ie: repairing wires in a vehicle)
4) they are really strong, even without solder bonding them (keeping in mind that they are not permanent, stress and vibration will eventually disconnect them without solder)
What is an inline splice?
Well, if you work with any type of electrical wiring, and need to join 2 pieces of wire you have 2 choices, pigtail or inline
Pigtail splices are when you hold the 2 pieces of wire, one end going up, the other going down, and twist their stripped ends together.
The issue with pigtails are...
1) They are ugly
2) They redirect the wire 180 degrees, so going from point A to B requires a sharp bend
3) After making that sharp bend you have this chunk of pigtailed wire flopping about, usually with a nice wad of gooey black tape, and sometimes a zip tie to act as a strain control
4) Since the connection is 180 degrees (or going the totally opposite direction) without some form of strain control, all it takes is a stout yank to sheer the connection (even with solder), altho honestly this is an extreme con
The pro's of pigtail's are
1) they are "easy"
Inline splices is where you take two pieces of wire, and join them in a nearly seamless extension of wire
Inline the issues with inline splices are ...
1) the are "hard" (and I claim shenanigans!)
The pro's of inline splices are
1) They are almost invisible, and look professional
2) They do not redirect the wires natural flow, going from point A to point B is just as simple as if you had the chance to place a wire from point A to point B
3) Since there is no bends in the wire, there is no chunks to manage, which is especially handy in tight situations or where you do not have a lot of wire to waste (ie: repairing wires in a vehicle)
4) they are really strong, even without solder bonding them (keeping in mind that they are not permanent, stress and vibration will eventually disconnect them without solder)
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Signing UpStep 1: Supplies
Something to splice
1 thumb and 1 finger per hand
Hemostats or needle nose pliers and maybe some gloves (see below)
Wire stripping utensil
Solder
Soldering Iron
Insulating material (heat shrink tubing recommended)
let me go off on a green note for a moment, my wire was scavenged from an old computer power supply, if you see anyone throwing away an old pc, snag it, its LOADED with wire thats good for jumper wires on your veroboard , or ribbon cable witch is also good for jumping, but since its tiny it works well with smd devices ect ...
your standard "still working but junk" power supply will net you a fiist full of wire, some voltage regulators, a heat sink, at least 1 good fan, a couple big caps, some other random electronic components, a handful of molex connectors for fans, or a nice +- 5v, +-12v and 3.3 volt bench power supply that can handle 10+ amps!
scrap the motherboard and you end up with MORE voltage regulators, connectors and swag, and if the case is at least ATX, well there you have a perfect platform for your pimping case mods, all for the cost of stopping the diptards at work from tossing that Pentium II thats been in the closet for over a decade, which equates to "hey let me have that!", as its headed to the dumpster
OK, about the hemostats and or needle nose pliers. you can do this technique with any gage wire, solid or stranded, but a brief word of warning!
even small gage solid core wire has a habit of screwing your hands up, ive had 24 gage stuff go deep into my thumb with little effort, and one time it went in to my thumb, to the side of my bone and thumbnail, and poke out the other end quite a bit (felt like a paper cut, until i pulled it out)
same with thick stranded wire, get some thick stranded wire and those strands become stray needles
if your working with these types of wire, pigtailed or inline, i recommend the use of metallic objects when you get to a point where twisting the wire
You should be able to start, and nearly finish the twist with your hands, but once it gets tough for your fingers, go for the tools, rather than a gash / piercing, and some nasty words spoken out loud around your loved ones
In this instructable I was using 20 gage stranded wire, which is quite soft, and wont poke my tough old work fingers at all
1 thumb and 1 finger per hand
Hemostats or needle nose pliers and maybe some gloves (see below)
Wire stripping utensil
Solder
Soldering Iron
Insulating material (heat shrink tubing recommended)
let me go off on a green note for a moment, my wire was scavenged from an old computer power supply, if you see anyone throwing away an old pc, snag it, its LOADED with wire thats good for jumper wires on your veroboard , or ribbon cable witch is also good for jumping, but since its tiny it works well with smd devices ect ...
your standard "still working but junk" power supply will net you a fiist full of wire, some voltage regulators, a heat sink, at least 1 good fan, a couple big caps, some other random electronic components, a handful of molex connectors for fans, or a nice +- 5v, +-12v and 3.3 volt bench power supply that can handle 10+ amps!
scrap the motherboard and you end up with MORE voltage regulators, connectors and swag, and if the case is at least ATX, well there you have a perfect platform for your pimping case mods, all for the cost of stopping the diptards at work from tossing that Pentium II thats been in the closet for over a decade, which equates to "hey let me have that!", as its headed to the dumpster
OK, about the hemostats and or needle nose pliers. you can do this technique with any gage wire, solid or stranded, but a brief word of warning!
even small gage solid core wire has a habit of screwing your hands up, ive had 24 gage stuff go deep into my thumb with little effort, and one time it went in to my thumb, to the side of my bone and thumbnail, and poke out the other end quite a bit (felt like a paper cut, until i pulled it out)
same with thick stranded wire, get some thick stranded wire and those strands become stray needles
if your working with these types of wire, pigtailed or inline, i recommend the use of metallic objects when you get to a point where twisting the wire
You should be able to start, and nearly finish the twist with your hands, but once it gets tough for your fingers, go for the tools, rather than a gash / piercing, and some nasty words spoken out loud around your loved ones
In this instructable I was using 20 gage stranded wire, which is quite soft, and wont poke my tough old work fingers at all
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http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_western-union_splice
As for lap soldering....yes, it works. But as the experts say, solder is not designed to make a mechanical connection - only an electrical one. Wires should be mechanically secured before soldering. A lap solder joint should not be used for heavy duty connections or heavy-duty use.
LOL
Ok... I went and took a slight nap. After I woke up, I started a bit of testing with some of this. Its not like the spare cable wasn't replaceable...
Anyways, this is what I found out after some testing:
The 3 wires in the one cable were colored Red, Yellow, and Black. The other cables, and previously mentioned, were one wire coated and surrounded by the 2nd. I scrolled through google a bit more and saw that black was pretty much the same as the wire surrounding the first one in the 2-wire cable.
So I twisted red and yellow together, and twisted that pair to the single inner wire on the other cable.
That worked, and pretty well. The only down side is that it is mono by default. Thats not a big issue for me, seeing as im going to mostly use this "patch panel" for linking more speakers to different places easily. I am pretty sure most of the speakers I have are one channel each... ('Course, if they are multi-channel by whatever freak chance, that'd be cool =D )
Anyways. Now I guess the bigger question to ask would be if its possible to make it a stereo splice... I have several ideas, but they dont make complete sense...
If you have any info, please let me know. I hope this little bit of info helps someone else, too!
(If you want me to take some pictures with detailed instructions on any findings I make, including this one, feel free to contact me... Not like I got much of anything else to do for a few weeks...)