Splicing Electronics Cables

rwoofer

rwoofer

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I'm installing a number of interconnected electronic items: chartplotter, AIS, VHF, Fishfinder etc. Some cables (eg GPS antenna) need to be cut and rejoined, whereas other cables need lengthening. The manuals call this splicing.

Is cable splicing a specific technique or is it a generic term for joining cables?

What does the panel recommend as the best way to join cables (bearing in mind some of them have 12 cores)? I was thinking chocolate boxes, as to crimp each cable individually seems a bit wasteful.

Thanks
Richard
 
I'm guessing by splicing they simply mean joining the wires together. Splicing sounds like an american term.

For 12V power supply cables you would probably get away with choc blocks. But i would use crimp connectors and if possible solder them after crimping (belt and braces).

If I was joining radio cables: antennas for GPS, VHF, Navtex, AIS etc. then I would use the proper type of connector, and solder them, not crimp connectors. Directly soldering, crimping or using Choc blocks on coaxial cable will introduce unnecessary losses and probably noise. It may still work, but its not good practice.

Antenna cables can be joined by putting a plug connector (male type ) on each end, then using a socket coupler (female-to-female) to connect the two ends together. It is important to use the correct type of connector as some are more lossy than others. This is especially important for the GPS receiver. I think PL259 for the VHF, and probably BNC types for the GPS, not sure for other electronics, but someone else will know.

You may already know this, but if your adding more length to the antenna cables, make sure you use 50 ohm coax. There is also 75 Ohm coax and its easy to buy and use that by mistake. Again, it'll still work, but will introduce a lot of loss.
 
True, AvastMark brings up a good point. The method will generally depend a lot on what type or wire you "splice", ie Power, Antenna, lowlevel signal. Also, some cables, like those from an echosounder should not have their length changed.

Another point is to use tinned cable.
 
With small multi-cored cables, my method is to solder each core.

After stripping back the outer sheath, and any screen, about 30mm, strip each core about 5-8mm. Slip a long length of adhesive-lined heat-shrink over the outer core to later cover all the soldered joints.

Slip a short length of heat-shrink sleeving over one core, allowing the stripped wires to show, twist both wires around each-other lengthwise. Now solder. Slip the sleeving over the joint and shrink. Do this for each core.

If you have a screen, you should then solder this together, by twisting all the strands into one core and twist both ends together lengthwise.

Twist all the cores to lay them tidily, and then wrap insulating tape around all the exposed cores to build up the "mechanical" strength. Slip the outer sheath heat-shrink over all the joints, and shrink.

This is the method I used when at sea as an MN Electrical Officer.
 
I suspect splicing is joining as others have said.

Also agree that wires should be soldered and and heat shrink with the resin inside used to ensure no air or moisture can enter, tinned wire is best.

When joining multiple cables cut the wire so that the joints are staggered, this makes the finished job less bulky and gives you more space to work in.

Avagoodweekend......
 
When jointing multicore cables, I stagger each individual joint so as not to have an unsightly bulge in the cable, cover all the joint with a heatshrink sleeve and you will have a nice evenly spread joint. Always crimp power cables.
 
My preference is these crimp connectors . They have heat shrink with glue built in and the in line ones give a connection that is watertight.

If using separate shrink wrap as suggested there are two types, 1 with glue and 1 without. With glue is waterproof. I've avoided soldered joints (they are not allowed on planes, only crimps) but there are people here far better qualified than me that say it's a good method, and I'd certainly now consider it for multicore where a load of crimps would be very bulky.
 
A Trip to maplins would provide you with the correct din plug and socket to connect any cable. This method also provides you with an easy point at which to break and reconnect if the needs arise. also by using plugs especialy on NME you can have a ready break in point for adding new Kit.
 
Your guess about American is spot on - it is all Standard Horizon kit with US English manuals.

Since splicing is just joining, I will probably investigate junction boxes of some kind as soldering sounds a bit permanent to me. Also I have a 12 strand multicore cable acting as the main cable, which is another reason why individual solders/crimps would just be too bulky.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.
 
Crimping gives the best possible electrical connection. Crimping is also called "cold welding". Soldering might be damaged by vibrations; probably the reason why it's not allowed in planes !!! Soldering is more difficult than most people think; the wires has to be 100% clean and the temperature must fit the tin solder and wires, if you want a safe connection.
 
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