Paul Cataldo

My Feedback: (10)

Guys,
I just bought some JR male connectors/pins from Custom Electronics, and some HD 20awg wire from ServoCity.
I need to crimp these JR male connectors to the end of my custom length extensions, in order for them to plug into the Rx, of course.
Well, I've ALWAYS had a problem with doing this!!!!!
I think I am getting the pin correctly crimped on the wire, and I also believe I am getting the pin correctly crimped on the insulation part itself.
However, EVERY time I go to slide the pins into the plastic, MALE housing(s), the WILL NOT GO ALL THE WAY IN!!! AHHHH!! My pins ARE NOT bent, and they appear that I have correctly crimped them. They will slide about 3/4 of the way in, and then, right there at the last little bit, where it needs to "snap" in, to keep from coming out, it just won't go. It is also hard to PUSH anymore, at this point, due to the servo wire, just bending, and not allowing me to have a stiff object to push with. Does everyone understand this? I hope so! LOL!!
I am very good at tedious work, and I've done tasks a LOT harder than this before, so what is it guys??
I have also had this problem with 22 awg wire before, so I did not think the 20awg wire was too big to slide in. Am I mistaken? Is the 20awg wire TOO big? It doesn't appear to be too big.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

Paul, might be the size of the wire. I use a little pick to push them in the rest of the way if they wont go.

higheronnitro

I have had the same problem in the past. You may find that you have been installing the pin in upside down. They go in ok, will not lock and you can't pull them all the way out. I now have the crimp tool marked with top /bottom and a sketch on the wall after wasting a number of pins/plugs getting it right.

Paul Cataldo

My Feedback: (10)

Hmmm..
Well, I THOUGHT that the way to know if you crimped them correctly, was to hold the crimper in your left hand, and the numbers on the crimping tool (22, 26, etc) should be facing to your right.
This is how several instructions have shown to do it....

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

I hold mine in my right hand when I do it.. You just have to make sure you insert it into the correct side, as the crimper has two steps as it does it...

Wayne Miller

Hi Paul,

I used to crimp, but I had one wire pull out.

I now cut off the edges of the crimp part of the pin. This makes a trough at the back of the pin where the wire connects. I then tin the wire and pin and solder them together.

As far as pushin the pins in to the connector housing, if I have a difficult pin I use a set of straight forceps to push the wire and pin. I would suspect a small pair of needle nose would do the same thing.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Wayne Miller

dcairns

I have noticed that the pin itself at the area around the insulation crimp, can have a little tail of bent metal from the pin being removed from the strip. A gentle squeeze from some needle nose pliers takes care of that.

John_H

It has occurred to me that the problems I have always had with crimping arise from that standard red-handled crimper tool most of us use. In my experience it is pretty hard to get consistent results. I have run through quite a few connector kits. I think on maybe one out of three trys, I get a good solid result -- that is, a connector I really trust.

The result doesn't improve with practice. I used to work as an electronic technician so I am not all thumbs with this stuff. I am inclined to go to solder, but maybe I am missing something about crimping-- a trick or subtlety. Absent some sort of enlightenment, I am inclined to blame the crimp tool.

Professional level crimpers are too expensive. What I want to try is a middle way -- that is, a tool that costs less than $184 but more than $11.

Here is a link I found to a seller of Paladin crimp tools.

http://www.tecratools.com/pages/av/u...l_crimper.html

The idea here seems to be that you purchase a standard tool without dies, and then pick out a specific die for it. This way, you don't buy a bunch of dies you don't need.

I gather from reading about servo extension techniques on the net that our crimpers operate on a "d-sub" connector of the "open barrel" type. In my particular case, Futaba servos are being used, so this means AWG 26 wire. (power wires are bigger). So my thought was to try and find a set of crimp dies for AWG 26, Sub-C connectors of the Open Barrel type.

I am shooting in the dark, however. Has anyone gotten into this? Is there a best choice in crimpers? Or should I go back to the red-handled crumpler and try again, this time using some sort of special trick to make it come out right?

Many thanks for your thoughts.

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

Try the hobby pin crimp tool from radicalrc http://radicalrc.secure-mall.com/sho...riteria=&rec=0

Removing a few strands of wire before crimping might help for wires lower than 22 gauge

John_H

Thank you for the link. That one looks a whole lot like the one I already have. It was a while ago but it seems to me I got it here:

http://www.maxxprod.com/mpi/mpi-4.html

I understand you can get identical crimpers from Radio Shack.

Sometimes this tool works for me, it isn't a complete washout, but more often than not, it produces throwaway connectors.

What I am looking for is a crimper you could use in a factory or on the job, where you would get consistently good results on every crimp. And it doesn't depend on, you know, how you hold your mouth when you squeeze the handle. I am guessing the secret is a proper tool and die.

A connector has to be perfect.

djashjones

Hi,

I'm expecting delivery of some crimp tools in the next couple of weeks. This tool crimps really well & sells well.

It's a proper crimp tool with ratchet action and not the plier type which most hobby shops sell!

It is a tool and not a dinosaur honest!!




Cheers,

ash.
www.ashtekelectronics.com

John_H

Wow. Nice chunk of machinery.

Absent much feedback here, I went ahead and ordered the Paladin unit I noted above. Will report on how it does.

I think a crimp tool, like other occasional-use, professional quality tools, might make a sensible r/c club purchase. Sooner or later, everyone wishes to shorten or lengthen a servo or battery lead. I am going to bring this up next meeting. There are probably other tools (and instruments) of this type.

Ash, how much are you asking for that tool, approximately?

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

How does it work ? Any instructions ?

djashjones

Hi,

Got an email from my supplier and i should be getting them next week.

They cost £23 (approx $41). It's a professional reall heavy duty tool which will last for years. I brought one from a hobby shop and it cost me £30 which is roughly to going price but it was really poor and always had to use a needle nose pliers to finish them off. Can rate enough how good this tool is.

I will be doing a in depth tutorial on how to use this tool on my forum when i get some spare time but basically you place the wire in the crimp and pinch it slightly using your fingers so hold the crimp on the wire. feed it on the jaws then crimp until it tool releases (cus it has ratchet action).

The standard way is to load the crimp into the tool first then close the jaws until you hear the first click. Now it's locked into place. Then feed the wire through (stripped of course) then crimp until the jaws are released. But i found this way more difficult cus the actual crimp is so small and using the thicker servo cable it was easier to pre crimp first using my fingers first. Just to hold it place.

Pre crimping also allows you to more accurately have all three crimped wires the same length. if you load the crimp first then your feeding the cable in blind! but thats me I'm fussy and like perfection.

Hope this has made it a bit more clear[sm=confused.gif]

ash.

PlaneKrazee

My Feedback: (14)

djashjones,

Where did you get the crimpers?

djashjones

I sell them along with servo connectors + cable + others.

New stock coming soon includes

sanwa, hitec cable.
Futaba, JR Red connectors.
blue sanwa connectors.
Tamyia + mini Tamiya connectors.
etc etc

here is my latest [link=http://ashtekelectronics.com/store/catalogues/catalog_1.pdf]Catalog[/link] in pdf format.

John_H

Here is a report on the Paladin "universal crimper" I inquired about above. I bought one, it came in, and I have now made 3 connectors in a row -- that is, I have crimped 9 open barrel d-sub pins.

Okay, it works great. I did the first three as an experiment, then did the next two for real, that is, for a project I am working on. No throwaways, no uncertainty.

It consists of a ratchet driven crimp tool handle, and a separately purchased (tho from the same place) set of dies. The dies screw into the jaws, upper and lower, with a pair of knurled screws.

Here is the negative. The dies are not wide enough to do the crimp for a futaba pin at one pass.

So you are essentially doing three crimping operations one each pin.

1) you pinch the d sub connector wings onto the insulation, either with your fingers or with a pair of fine pliers. I use electronics pliers that are almost pin pointed for this delicate work.
2) you use the crimp tool to crimp the wings around the esposed wire.
3) you move the connector slightly in the die and crimp more solidly the wings around the insulation.

No complaints, other than the too-narrow die. I think my old "hobby crimper" also had too-narrow dies. But this new crimper has worked every time. A big difference.

The plus for the Paladin crimper is that you can make it a more sensible purchase by getting other dies for it. For example, it will crimp household cable TV connectors, so you can neaten up your Coaxial TV cable wiring. It will also probably -- check this -- crimp telephone and network type connectors. So it is more than just an r/c connector crimper -- you can get some mileage out of it.

Nevertheless it is costly. I still think it makes a most senisble purchase as a shared expense for a club.

djashjones

The one i sell come with the dies.

Your right on the fact that you need to pinch the crimp round the cable for best results. Then place the crimp in the jaws.

This is the best way i found to line up the crimp:
From my pics you can see inside the jaws it's split into two halfs. One half is for the cable insulation and the other is for the cable strands and if you look at your crimp there's two sets of 'wings' (like it) according. The best way to load the crimp is to line up the cable strand wing (the side which points the actual connecton) with the edge of the jaw that crimps the cable strands (bottom pic).

Then crimp until the tool releases. Job done & only one pass, These dies are far better

Your crimp tool sounds like a set I've had & that was recommended by a hobby shop. Had to make two passes as it where. As you can imagine that tool has been sold on [>:]

NEWS:
New price is 19.99GBP == 36USD + shipping

I think thats a good price for this complete crimp tool.

Cheers,
ash
www.ashtekelectronics.com

Rubbernecker

My Feedback: (22)

Ash,
What would it cost to ship yours to the U.S. ? More specifically, Virginia. I am getting really tired of all the solder joints and have been looking for a good crimper.

John

djashjones

Total cost inc shipping to the US costs 24.61GBP == 44.30USD.

Delivery should be within 5 working days.

Cheers,

ash.
www.ashtekelectronics.com