wot
Member
Rather than rely on my memory, I have this lunchtime, popped into HMS Sultan (Home to the RN Aircraft Engineering & Survival Equipment School) to talk to the Instructor who teaches Aircraft Wiring. His answers to the question were:
Q. Is twisting of the cable allowed?
A. Only to restore the lay of the conductor if disturbed during the removal of the insulation.
Q. Can/should you place more than one cable into a crimp?
A. No.
Q. Should cable ends be tinned before crimping?
A. No. the crimping process is designed to deform the conductors to give a mechanical and electrical connection. Tinning the connectors would mean the crimping tool would be attempting to deform a solid mass, rather than the stranded conductors it is designed to deform.
Q. Have RN techs ever been trained to tin connectors before crimping?
A. No. Never.
Whilst I understand that the above applies to the standard I was taught for use on Military Aircraft, that is the standard which I try to apply as far as is practicable, whenever carrying out any wiring. I do this because it is an approach which gives me confidence that the connections will work correctly.
On your boat/yacht/car/bicycle/whatever apply the standard that you feel meets your requirements. There are after all lots to chose from!
Blowing:
You're correct, not all crimps are equal. Whichever make of crimp you do chose (& there are better ones available than those from Halfords), please ensure that you use a decent ratchet crimping tool.
Grumpy:
There is agreement. Please read the technical literature from AMP and other crimping solution maufacturers.
Danforth - Only because it came with the yacht and I've never had chance/need to deploy it yet.
Q. Is twisting of the cable allowed?
A. Only to restore the lay of the conductor if disturbed during the removal of the insulation.
Q. Can/should you place more than one cable into a crimp?
A. No.
Q. Should cable ends be tinned before crimping?
A. No. the crimping process is designed to deform the conductors to give a mechanical and electrical connection. Tinning the connectors would mean the crimping tool would be attempting to deform a solid mass, rather than the stranded conductors it is designed to deform.
Q. Have RN techs ever been trained to tin connectors before crimping?
A. No. Never.
Whilst I understand that the above applies to the standard I was taught for use on Military Aircraft, that is the standard which I try to apply as far as is practicable, whenever carrying out any wiring. I do this because it is an approach which gives me confidence that the connections will work correctly.
On your boat/yacht/car/bicycle/whatever apply the standard that you feel meets your requirements. There are after all lots to chose from!
Blowing:
You're correct, not all crimps are equal. Whichever make of crimp you do chose (& there are better ones available than those from Halfords), please ensure that you use a decent ratchet crimping tool.
Grumpy:
There is agreement. Please read the technical literature from AMP and other crimping solution maufacturers.
Danforth - Only because it came with the yacht and I've never had chance/need to deploy it yet.
