[sdiy] question about cables

[David G. Dixon]

I use stranded wire (22 gauge, but 24 gauge will also work) with insulation
in various colours for board-to-panel connections, but I never solder this
wire directly to the board -- I always use 0.1" connectors.  This makes
panel wiring infinitely easier.  Belden is one of the best brands of wire,
as the insulation is pretty robust and doesn't get all gooey with soldering.
However, it is pricey and, really, any decent wire works.  Incidentally, I
don't twist wire -- too much trouble.  I just use little plastic garden ties
to bundle wires together.  I also mix up the colours, usually along some
sort of system to make it easier to see what's going on in the circuit.  I
tend to keep 6 to 8 different colours of stranded wire around.

For on-board jumpers I use 22 gauge single-conductor (solid core), stripped
and bent to length, like staples.  As I etch my own single-sided boards, I
use a lot of jumpers.  For this purpose I use a piece of broken protoboard
-- works great!  Just strip a length of wire, bend about 1/8" of wire at the
end at a 90-degree angle with your pliers, stick the bent bit in the
appropriate hole of the protoboard, bend the wire over the edge of the
protoboard with your fingers, and snip it off.  A perfect jumper, every
time!  With this technique, I can make about 6 jumpers per minute.  I
actually put the number of jumpers and their lengths (in multiples of 0.1")
in my bill of materials when I lay out a board -- anything to make assembly
quicker and easier.


> It's just that I have no cable at all for the inside and was wondering
> what you guys have in your workshop, colours etc...
> 
> Do you solder the internal cabling directly in the hole of a print ? I
> was thinking of soldering in one of those little pins so I can turn the
> wire around it and put some solder on it.
> I had problems in the past with wire snapping of when you solder them
> directly in the hole...