holy cow wireing is TIME CONSUMING.....uggg

[GroovyTuesdaY]

I have just started cutting the wires for my 4 player control panel and MAN O MAN is this time consuming......
For any newbies out there like me who think this will go relatively quickly .......WRONG!!!!!    I've spent nearly an hour just getting the pieces cut i need to wire.  I have to still get all the ends stripped and then start  crimping.  UGG.
what a process!

If anyone has any helpful tips for wireing, i would sure LOVE to hear them! Anything that would make the cutting process and crimping go a little quicker would be WONDERFUL!!

Oh, did i mention the hands hurting like a  b%#&!!
OYE!

LOL

g~

[Veeb0rg]

get a nice sharp pair of dykes.. and a decent crimp tool..  or a nice wire cutter/stripper tools *all in one motion, put in wire, squeeze handle, the tool cuts and strips in one shot*

[skirge66]

the right size strippers is a must, a good pair of dykes like said above, and crimpers with decent length handles will take the pain out of the hands...did a whole lot of wire work in the navy. the right tool for the job goes a long way

[shmokes]

What are dykes...besides something to do with water or mannish lesbians?

[GroovyTuesdaY]

i found a nice tool for crimping lol.   Might sound kinda silliy to some of the more seasoned  wire workers out there but a nice pair of channel locks   work GREAT for crimping!   Ive done used the channels for about half of my  workings so far and you can set the adjustment screw so it doesn't clamp down too tight and take a chance on breaking the wires (which i have had happen a few times already! grrrrr.  The channels seem to be  working out GREAT so far!

I have the same question ...........what is dykes besides another term for gay women lol.

[rampy]

Heh... you guys are so crass (ok I am too)

Dykes is short/slang for diagonal cutters (usually diagonal wire cutters)

Hey groovey noticed you changed your profile name to mixed case, and your subjects aren't all caps... you're my new hero!

BTW there is a tool to make crimping easier it's like a ratcheting crimping tool or soemthing... but it's kinda costly for a 1 off project... but can be a worthwhile investment if you do  alot of crimping.

*Shrug*  

rampy

EDIT -> I got your dykes right *here* buddy

[SlikStik-Christian]

Yeah, wiring is time consuming, we can vouch for that  

We have tried all the ratcheting, gripping, automatic stripper tools out there. Commercially we had to move to automatic pneumatic and electric equipment, but for a DIY'er we have found that the absolute best way is to just use a standard wire stripper/crimper like the one below.

[OSCAR]

I agree with Christian, you aren't going to get more more efficient crimping than with a standard crimping tool unless you move into high-production/professional equipment.  Sometimes the all-in-one tools are a bit cumbersome, and I personally don't care for them.

I have found that a decent set of wire strippers will really make the wire stripping go quicker.  The spring return saves quite a bit of hand motions, and you may be surprised how much faster you can go with them.

On my last couple of control panels, I have used a multiconductor cable that is also a timesaver.  With one cable run,  you get all the wires for a set of buttons or joystick, so you only make one cut.  You can see a pic of the multiconductor cable I used here:  http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=6545;start=msg45941

Between using standard crimpers, good wire strippers, and the multiconductor cable, I am able to completely wire a full 2P layout in less than a half hour.

[Odonadon]

I have just started cutting the wires for my 4 player control panel and MAN O MAN is this time consuming......
For any newbies out there like me who think this will go relatively quickly .......WRONG!!!!!    I've spent nearly an hour just getting the pieces cut i need to wire.  I have to still get all the ends stripped and then start  crimping.  UGG.
what a process!

If anyone has any helpful tips for wireing, i would sure LOVE to hear them! Anything that would make the cutting process and crimping go a little quicker would be WONDERFUL!!

Oh, did i mention the hands hurting like a  b%#&!!
OYE!

LOL

g~

Wait until you start dreaming about it - if you haven't already  Took me two sessions to complete the wiring - each session on a different day.  In between days, I dreamed about it.  It easily took me over an hour, maybe over two hours to finish wiring the CP and other miscellaneous parts - power button for monitor/PC, marquee light, etc.

Odonadon

[weizur]

Yeah I start dreaming in code when I'm programming which I suppose is similar to wiring heh
Not long ago I was coding in matlab and dreamt in matrices, boy was that frightening...

[Hoagie_one]

i once saw these press on connectors that bite into teh wire to get to the metal so no stripping is nessesary, and it has a universal connector on it so you only have to press the connectors onto each other.

the guy who installed my dsl line had a bunch of them, they were sweet.

ill see if i can get a pic of one for you guys