Maybe I'm a bit clumpsy, but some cable's wire seems very small to me,
this is the case of some DS18B20 I bought, less than my Dupont cables.
They are 32 AWG, parallel stranded, I only hand twisted the stripped part.
Being so small, each strand composing the wire is very brittle.
Stripping the wire is also not easy, I tried to flame burn the insulation in order to strip it.
One stranded wire seems to be made of non tinned copper strands, while the stranded ds18b20 is made of some material I do not know, I presume tinned copper strands.
I'm facing the problem, that the tin does not "want" to stick onto the strands and solder the wires together.
I guess it is oxydation, see picture.
Questions:
1/ how to clean the wires, if need be?
I read to use paper sand, but those strands are so minuscle...
I fear to loose so strands into the process
2/ Is it a good practice to hand twist the stripped part of parallel stranded wires??
I do this because I fear to loose to strands
Good plan, works even for those coated headphone cable wires. But you will have to clean the residu. Usually just some rubbing and pulling with your nails or not to coarse sandpaper.
put the sandpaper on the table, put the strands (untwisted) on it. fold the paper over the top. Apply some pressure, and pull the cable out of the fold.
yes it is.
as with soldering always is the case, getting the proper temperature is essential.
You heat up the wire and then you add solder. Modern leadfree solder is harde to work with in my opinion, but not impossible.
If the wires are old and corroded like they can be on a car, it helps to add a bit of S-39 flux into the mix, but be careful with that stuff, not only is it poisonous, but it can be conductive (mainly to AC but it can cause issues)
Do not attempt to solder in mid air, but rather have a small piece of wood that you can apply some pressure onto with the iron, so the heat of the iron can transfer into the wire. A little solder on the tip increases the conductive surface.
And last but not least. Make sure that the connections can not move while the solder is cooling.
Use plenty of liquid flux. It is used to both clean the wires and protect the solder from oxidation. Only works when heated by the hot solder and iron.
I would guess that there is some aluminium wires, and these will not stick to normal solder. These sorts of wire are normally used where you have crimped connections.
Burning the insulation off is not a great plan , it oxidises the cable and gives off toxic fumes . The result is scruffy ends and wire that won’t solder!
Strip the wires cleanly and solder .
There are guides on google .
What you have in your picture is a bit rough and won’t last .
As said some wires may be aluminium or aluminium coated and won’t solder .
Get some heat shrink tubes to cover your joints and make it stronger.
Humm, I think you're right their made of aluminium strands and not copper.
Googling:
flux for aluminum soldering
maybe epoxy
maybe superglue
Strip the wires cleanly and solder .
Easier said than done, if you have some tricks...
I wanted for instance to strip 1cm F-F Dupont jumpers in their middle and solder onto the naked part, instead than cutting in 2 and than soldering everything together.
Cut the DuPont in half and solder up putting heat shrink over the joint .
Or , better still ,make a strip
Board with a number joined pins in it - then you can make multiple connections
Thanks, I was thinking of the same alternative for powering.
Still, I'm wondering how I'll do with those 30 or 32 AWG alumium cables, to wire them.
If I try onto a strip board, then I'll face the same issue: I see that aluminium wires are difficult to solder.
