Ring terminals for very thin wires?

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20 Jun 2007
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Live in Kent, boat in Canary Islands
www.bavariayacht.info
I'm remaking all the NMEA connections on my boat, building them into a box inside the chart table. I've got some barrier blocks that take 3.2mm (I think) bore ring terminals. Some of the wires are very thin, less than 1mm OD. None of the ring terminals I've found are designed for wires this thin, even clamping the insulation.

Example: http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=CN16903

Any suggestions?
 
I'm remaking all the NMEA connections on my boat, building them into a box inside the chart table. I've got some barrier blocks that take 3.2mm (I think) bore ring terminals. Some of the wires are very thin, less than 1mm OD. None of the ring terminals I've found are designed for wires this thin, even clamping the insulation.

Example: http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=CN16903

Any suggestions?

I've had no trouble using red ring terminals with NMEA cables. Strip off a lot more of the insulation than normal and double the wire back even over the insulation. I got that tip from the manual for one bit of kit, although I can't remember exactly which.

I use heatshrink terminals so that the crimp is not taking the entire mechanical load.
 
To clarify, the wires in question are not from a standard NMEA cable; they are much thinner. They are the wires that used to go to a DE-9 connector on a dual RS-232 to USB converter, and I have three of them. Like this: http://amzn.to/1ccP1fG
41z5k3bfx0L.jpg


Inside the box in the cable is a PCB with this connector, which is 1mm pitch, so about an inch long:
62d5d226e986530e197dbc920d4bb28c_zpse1dd8ec3.jpg


I've removed all but six of the wires: TxD, RxD, and GND for the two RS-232 ports. One option is to solder larger wires onto short tails, but I'm looking for other options first.
 
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One of the few situations I solder is on this kind of thing, crimps are available down to that size as is the tool but sadly not rings so I use solder tag rings with heat shrink for strain relief, they are available in tiny tiny sizes. Obviously some other strain relief would be required but I shouldn't need to mention that, because it is a case that should be easy to provide.

http://www.mecint.co.uk/sitedocuments/1331203167collettsoldertags.pdf
 
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