Hello! Learning about lights for 2022 Christmas

TerryK said:
@DarkwinXThe bit of extra copper showing on the blue does not concern me too much. For the ground connection, I typically slide a bit of heat shrink over the crimp part of a terminal. One can use insulated terminals but I've never had much success with not severely damaging the insulation sleeve when crimping the terminal.
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A properly crimped insulated lug will be strong than an uninsulated one, because they "double grip" the cable - there's a crimp onto the insulation that acts as a strain relief for the metal-on-metal crimp. But you'll need a proper crimper to use them - the dirt-cheap ones from car shops won't work reliably, and pliers definitely wont work. One like this will:
https://www.altronics.com.au/p/t1552a-crimptool-ratchet-automotive/
 
Yes a hairdryer will work but would just get a cheap heat gun or smallish gas torch. my wife wasn't fond of hers living part-time
in the garage
 
I have used a hair dryer with success, but damn it takes it's time. I just use a refillable lighter for stove tops/bbqs with the longer stem on it. Works a treat as long as you are careful and understand where the heat is in the flame.
 
In my sleep deprived 3am settling of my 6 week old I ended up grabbing a cheap one of Amazon since they were around $20. Hoping this will do the trick! https://amzn.asia/d/7Ph06bn

I also picked up some fork connectors as the mini kit I bought only had rings, spades and bullets! The rings were too big to go on the terminal ends.
 
I got a small heat gun from a store on Aliexpress similar to what you ordered. It was inexpensive and puts out more heat than a hair dryer. It works great on heat shrink. I have also used it to put together 3D printed parts where the fit was a bit too snug. To be honest I just got tired of filing but it did show me where I needed to file a bit more. Just be careful not to get burned...it does get hot.
 
@Yendor : Pretty sure somewhere in the past I've used a crimper like that. Agree that terminal variations amongst the manufacturers and terminal types a 'matching' crimper is needed for a proper crimp. However, still say that experience over the years indicates non-insulated terminals crimp better as a general rule than insulated terminals. Probably should add that's a manual crimp. Automated crimp equipment can be tweaked to produce repetitive good crimps.
 
TerryK said:
@Yendor : Pretty sure somewhere in the past I've used a crimper like that. Agree that terminal variations amongst the manufacturers and terminal types a 'matching' crimper is needed for a proper crimp. However, still say that experience over the years indicates non-insulated terminals crimp better as a general rule than insulated terminals. Probably should add that's a manual crimp. Automated crimp equipment can be tweaked to produce repetitive good crimps.
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The crimper indicated can also be tweaked to give a tighter crimp before release by adjusting the rachet on the side of the crimper but I had only ever had to adjust this once to meet a work site strength test in my 40 years of working as a control wring installer and that week I end up with having to use two hands to close the crimper as they were so tight
 
I've a similar one; the crimp and stripper sections are reversed though. Regardless, that tool should crimp a fair number of terminals reasonably well I think. I would suggest a 'pull test' for the crimps especially if the terminal does not seem to fit nicely into the crimp 'saddle'. Also when stripping do not strip deep to the point of scoring the wire. Depending upon how hard the wire is, depth of score, and amount or movement/vibration the wire will eventually fracture at the score point.

At the risk of opening a 'can of worms', I also suggest when crimping with this tool that the crimp 'stake' be on the bottom of the terminal; keep the crimp 'saddle' on top of the terminal where its seam is. If one crimps with the crimp 'stake' aligned with the terminal seam, the seam will generally split. The result of course is a poor or weak crimp.
 
Cheers @TerryK and all others in this thread. I'm sure I'll be posting more as I work my way through this - learning as I go.
 
Hi Darkwinx,
Welcome to one of the most addictive hobbies there is. This will be my fourth year.
There is great support from the community out there, they are amazing.
Locally, Hanson Electronics I've used heaps for different bits, very reliable, located in Vic.

I'm located in Ringwood, Melbourne. If your ever in the neighbourhood, drop in and I'll give you a walk through and answer any questions I'm able to. The first year is the biggest learning curve.


Kind Regards
Colin
 
Puddsa said:
Hi Darkwinx,
Welcome to one of the most addictive hobbies there is. This will be my fourth year.
There is great support from the community out there, they are amazing.
Locally, Hanson Electronics I've used heaps for different bits, very reliable, located in Vic.

I'm located in Ringwood, Melbourne. If your ever in the neighbourhood, drop in and I'll give you a walk through and answer any questions I'm able to. The first year is the biggest learning curve.


Kind Regards
Colin
Click to expand...

Cheers Colin, I may take you up on that offer in the next month or so - I'll shoot you a DM if I do!
 
So thanks to all the advice in this thread and the chatroom - I managed to do my first successful test despite the rain. Here is how it all turned out
photos.app.goo.gl

Christmas Lights 2022

18 new items · Album by Nathan Gaughan
photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl

Happy for any criticisms/comments

I think the only things that I would change are
  • Use 12AWG instead of 10AWG to connect the PSU - I used a video from "Learn Christmas Lighting" and I think the wire birdcages if you're not really slow putting them into the terminals.
  • I'm sure I could've put in a smaller PSU - this is the 350w one. With only 3 terminals can you reuse a few of them to power inject as required? IE turn 3 terminals into 6?
  • Redo my spliced wire joins to attach an Xconnect plug to the RayWu style lights - I don't think the heat gun I bought is hot enough to melt the solder of the self soldering connections. Plus I want to put a heat shrink cover over the whole lot. Any suggestions on cutting the outer rubber on the connector so I can give myself more wire to work with? Just carefully or with a bigger wire stripper?
Next steps are:
  • Put it in a waterproof case of some sort. Not sure if its going to be wall mounted or on the ground - seems like most of the waterproof cases are for wall mounting.
  • Link it up with the F48 board and do some testing with xLights
 
If you are asking about the outer sheath of a multiconductor cable, strippers do not work very well. I use a utility knife, score around the outside, and then bend the cable to open the score followed by using the knife to slowly and carefully open the outer sheath to see the inner conductors. Depending upon the sheath composition, the score and stretching will sometimes 'finish' tear the cut. And last, practice makes perfect (don't ask how many times I've started over). For a long length from the end, one will typically need to create a lengthwise cut again making sure not to go deep enough to hit the inner conductors. Regardless, quite a bit of trial and error.
 
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TerryK said:
If you are asking about the outer sheath of a multiconductor cable, strippers do not work very well. I use a utility knife, score around the outside, and then bend the cable to open the score followed by using the knife to slowly and carefully open the outer sheath to see the inner conductors. Depending upon the sheath composition, the score and stretching will sometimes 'finish' tear the cut. And last, practice makes perfect (don't ask how many times I've started over). For a long length from the end, one will typically need to create a lengthwise cut again making sure not to go deep enough to hit the inner conductors. Regardless, quite a bit of trial and error.
Click to expand...
Yep I've already found this with everything I've been learning so far. I just need to expect to mess it up a few times before I get it correctly
 
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