Re: Sanken Lav cable
- From: Bill White <Microphone.Magic@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:28:48 +1000
Douglas Tourtelot wrote:
Now at the top of my most hated item to solder, far surpassing Lemo
connectors. Who was the Einstein that decided that the signal wire, the
diameter of a mouse whisker, needed polyester filler? Brilliant! And three
shields? OMG! And wire that doesn't twist up?
Okay, what nimble-fingered tech has the secrets to soldering connectors on
this tuff? I consider myself a pretty able-bodied bench tech, but this
stuff has me pullking out my polyester-fill hair.>
Hello Douglas,
As one who terminates Sanken COS-11 lapels into LEMO connectors on a regular basis (I’m an Audio Ltd dealer) let me start by saying that is far from a challenging task. I would rather do that ten times over than replace a surface mount infra red transceiver or an SMT device with eighteen legs. Wiring a Sanken to a Lemo is something I would do afterwards to settle my nerves!
To answer your question… the polyester (sometimes fiberglass) is not added for ‘filler’. Copper wire is very soft and easily stretches. It is deliberately chosen to be fine as that gives maximum flexibility and minimizes handling noise. The ‘filler’, as you term it, stops the cable from stretching.
Plan A
Preparing it for soldering is quite simple. With the aid of a magnifier carefully separate the copper from the other fibers. Then carefully, and neatly, trim away ALL BUT the copper. The remaining strands will twist together easily but may splay apart when you let go. I use a suture clamp (aka hemostat) to clamp the copper strands together before twisting them. If your surgery kit is looking a bit sparse, a simple crocodile clip or small bulldog clamp may suffice. A small ball of blue-tack will also do the trick. With the aid of a nurse or assisting surgeon, I then tin the strands together. Cut the tinned strands to the desired length and then solder the wire into position. The strands do not usually splay apart if you solder quickly. If that is a problem, you might want to consider Plan B.
Plan B.
Disassemble some very small insulated multi-strand hook-up wire and remove one strand only. Start winding this around your loose copper strands and bind them together. Start your winding on the insulated part of the conductor before the copper is exposed. Keep the winding close-pitched with no gaps between turns. After you have tinned the lot, trim off the excess binding strand. This arrangement will definitely not splay apart when you are soldering.
While I have the floor…. Some time back I saw some r.a.m.p.s. postings decrying the 4-pin Hirose connector as expensive and difficult to solder.
Guilty on both counts I admit; but infinitely more reliable than those wretched coaxial plugs used in consumer grade electronics. At least the Hirose is insensitive to handling movement and won’t fall out.
The only decent coaxial power plug I ever saw was the one that Lectrosonics used on their UCR210 receiver. At least it had a lock ring and could not be accidentally disengaged. They dropped that connector after the UCR210 (why, oh why, Larry?) and I haven’t seen one since.
Yes the Hirose is expensive and requires a greater degree of competence to solder. Unfortunately, that is the price of quality and reliability.
Bill White (who still has a full head of hair ;-)
http://microphonemagic.tv
.
- References:
- Sanken Lav cable
- From: Douglas Tourtelot
- Sanken Lav cable
- Prev by Date: Re: music in a scene
- Next by Date: Re: Sanken Lav cable
- Previous by thread: Re: Sanken Lav cable
- Next by thread: DPA boundary mount for lavaliers: comments asked
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
