In my project enclosure I have the ac and dc sides seperated by a plastic divider wall. I'd like to apply some copper shielding connected to ground to try and catch any EMI when the relays click on. Ive seen copper shielding tape (self adhesive) but not sure if this can be soldered directly onto or if it has a plastic coating on top.
does anyone have any experience of how you connect a drain wire to gnd to this sort of thing?
I've used it to make experimental log-periodic antennas (first prototypes of this ) and yes, you can solder to it but if it's stuck to a plastic surface you'll have to be quick.
Russell
so the copper is bare. not encapsulated?
mearsy25:
so the copper is bare. not encapsulated?
It was on the tape I bought. I think it was 3M brand.
Russell.
Yes, it is bare copper. if it is tarnished, you can use lemon juice to try to remove the tarnish before soldering. Clean with isopropyl alcohol after using tarnish remover. using steel wool or scotchbrite may be a little rough.
Tin the connecting wire and use solder paste to reduce the heat requirement on the tape. Too much heat will kill the adhesive and may result in the copper separating from the carrier.
I use it in guitars. To connect a wire to it, I first solder a wire to a smaller strip of it, then put the strip on top of the main shield. The adhesive is said to be conductive, I'm not sure how much but I have measured continuity. But that is probably overkill. You should be able to solder to a large piece, but as it is a thermal sink, it's a tricky solder join.
Maybe you can use PCB (circuit board) to replace the plastic wall.
Leo..
Why not a piece of aluminum? It's easy to buy in the hardware store and easy to cut and bend into shape. Then attach the earth wire with a bolt. Soldering to aluminum doesn't work.
Say, is your enclosure metallic? Because if it isn't, putting a little shield between sections won't do much.