There's some good wiring info in the wiki.
http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/WiringIn the attached pic I have the green wire (16 AWG?) coming from the PCB that I'd like to connect to the red wire (12 AWG?) via the bullet connector pictured.
Mixing colors and wire sizes seems like it could get very confusing.
Might be better to have
stranded (not solid) AWG 22 or 24 wires with a female spade QD crimped on one end and a Dupont connector on the other
or you can use a euro-style terminal strip with pre-crimped Dupont jumper wires and QD wires.
QDs are very easy to crimp with
this very inexpensive ratchet crimper from Harbor Freight.
- Double check the quality before you buy it. I almost bought one that was slightly defective.
1) Will this bullet connector work despite it saying on the box that it's only good for 16-14 AWG?
There are ways to make a smaller wire work in a larger crimp, but it's always better to get the right size connector for the wire.
2) Is bullet connector even the best way to go? I need it to be easily disconnected but was unsure if spade connectors are preferred as best practice.
Bullet connectors aren't commonly used.
Why do you want to use them in your CP?
I recently built a
very small (5.5" x 3.5" x 1.5") dual top-fire stick controller that used 0.110" QDs in the middle of the wires because it would have been too hard to solder the wires to the stick switches (had to do that for clearance) and also in case I ever needed to replace one of the sticks. You should have more than enough room in a full-size panel to run wires from the controls directly to the encoder.
3) Where can I get the little single black connector of the green wire that plugs into the PCB?
The small black connector is a Dupont connector. (2.54mm/0.1" pitch)
- They are harder to properly crimp than QDs. A properly adjusted ratchet crimper is a must.
- Squeeze too hard, and the pin can come out bent like a banana.
- The black housing can be used with male or female pins.
- You can extract the pin from the housing by lifting the lever arm with the tip of an X-acto knife or a straight pin.
There are lots of Dupont pin/housing kits like these. Choose one with a good selection of M/F pins and housings.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QGBKFYZ/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DF9BJKH/I use an HT-225D crimper like this one for Dupont pins. Mine is made by Hanlong, but the Jameco appears to be the same thing.
https://www.amazon.com/Jameco-Benchpro-HT-225D-R-HT-225D-Contacts/dp/B00B888TB0/The tutorials I'm seeing on YouTube show the person removing the pin from the strip they are mounted on before they do the crimp.
- This is only necessary if the dies are too wide like on the Iwiss SN-28B shown at 2:45 in this video.
- With dies that aren't too wide, you can cut the strip between the pins so it makes a "T" shape that acts like a depth gauge. After you do the crimp, wiggle the strip to remove it.
While I'm at it, is there a preferred resource for wires, wiring and connectors besides just rolling the dice on Amazon?
Paradise Arcade Shop has a great selection of pre-crimped wires and daisy-chain grounds.
They also carry euro-style terminal strips if you want to connect pre-crimped QD wires and pre-crimped Dupont wires/jumpers without having to do any crimps yourself.
I'm also unsure of the AWG exactly as I'm using this little gauge measuring wheel I got on Amazon that doesn't seem terribly precise.
Your estimates sound like you're measuring the insulation, not the conductor.
The green wire looks like 24AWG. (Probably the smallest AWG you'll work with comfortably.)
Not sure about the red wire but it looks way larger than the AWG 22 or 24 you typically see in a control panel.
- You might need to strip it to be sure what size it is.
Scott
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Topic: Connecting wires of different gauges (Read 2425 times)
