[Elecraft] Re: Oh where, oh where, has my little tone gone?- PowerPoles

[Paul Cavnar]

Don -

> Folks,
> I have had no problems crimping the APP connectors when using #12 wire,
> but have had NOTHING BUT trouble doing the same with #16 wire.

From one who has crimped thousands of lugs and terminals, including the
APP's, there are several crimpers on the market that will do a good job and
just as many that are very marginal and a few "bad" ones.  The 30A APP
contacts are rated for a #10 gauge wire.  If you crimp the terminal with #10
or #12 wire, it will form nicely in the crimper groove and should have very
little or no distortion.  Using smaller wire will deform the crimp tube in
such
a way as to make it more of a "crescent" shape rather than an indented
half-circle.

Lowes and Home Depot sell the Gardner Bender tool.  Thomas and Betts
sells another one that costs more but, not as much as the APP tool that
is specifically designed for their connectors.  The T&B number is WT-111.
If you use #16 wire in the 30A rated contacts, Don's solution below is
precisely the best one and it will allow the contacts to be properly seated
into the connector....

> I do use the Gardner Bender crimp tool, and find that the crimping process
> doew distort the 'roundness of the connector.  after doing the initial
> crimp, I rotate the connector pin by 90 degrees and squeeze it a bit in
the
> rounded part of the crimper tool - after that I have no problem inserting
> the pin into the connector body.

Personally, I would prefer to solder my connections because there is NO
distortion of the crimp tube and I feel it is the most reliable connection
you
can make.  I've done it both ways and when crimped properly, that works.
When using the #16 gauge wire, you can also strip the insulation back
twice the length needed and fold the wire over onto itself before inserting
into the crimp tube.  It may be a tight fit but, you should get a crimp that
is much less distorted than the single conductor would result in.

Lastly, avoid the El-Cheapo crimpers in the $.99 "special" bin at the
hardware stores.  No two of them crimp the same and 90% of them will
do more harm than good.

I have a Burndy ratcheting crimper that makes "mil-spec" crimps on a
range of terminals that I used when building control panels for years. It
crimps the APP contacts nicely but, still can distort them slightly so, I
have been soldering mine for the last year or so....

Just my two cents...

73, Paul Cavnar - NN7B
K1 - (#coming)