From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them. OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?


**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.

For $28.
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:57:19 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them.

They say" We use a custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" so that
it's "topnotch".

They say it wiil "eliminate time-consuming and frustrating splicing,
soldering, and crimping", so even they admit one would normally solder.

I also have no wife or kids and wonder what I am saving my money for.

OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?

**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.

For $28.

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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Sat, 16 May 2026 23:08:38 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:

In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:57:19 -0400, micky ><NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay >>Crutchfield to crimp them.

For small jobs, I don't trust vendors to do anything correctly on
their first try (while they are learning to do the work). With
do-it-thyself, you have more control.

They say" We use a custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" so that
it's "topnotch".

You don't need an automated crimping machine to do 20 wires. For
small lots, bigger is not better.

They say it wiil "eliminate time-consuming and frustrating splicing, >soldering, and crimping", so even they admit one would normally solder.

20 wires (or 40 crimps) is not time consuming. Methinks it's likely
that the "custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" takes longer to
setup than to strip and crimp an equal number of wires by hand.

<https://www.google.com/search?udm=2&q=heat%20shrink%20butt%20splice> <https://www.google.com/search?q=heat%20shrink%20butt%20splice%20crimper%20tool&num=10&udm=2>

I also have no wife or kids and wonder what I am saving my money for.

You're saving money so that you can pay the taxes which support my
lavish and decadent life style. Thanks for your tax contributions.

OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?

I would crimp and shrink tube. Soldering is nice if you're
experienced and know how to cut, strip and solder properly. Soldering
is not so nice if you have to train someone to do the work. Crimping
is easier and in some cases, stronger.

**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.

For $28.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272 AE6KS 831-336-2558

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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 2026-05-17 04:57, micky wrote:

If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them. OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?

**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.

For $28.

$28 is not much, and saves you soldering inside the car in a not
confortable position, one hand holding the radio, another the cable,
another the soldering iron, another the solder... oh, wait, you only
have two hands.

What type of crimping? The type that Jeff showed can not be undone, but
is neat. Heat shrink (and perhaps solder)? Needs to be done in a small
space. Ok, USA cars are big, but is yours that big, and the cables are
long enough?

In a car, I might choose connectors that can be unplugged. I had a radio
like that in the 80's, they never failed. One radio was stolen and
another lost, so I had to redo them. Radio was of the type that you
could park the car and take the radio away with you.
--
Cheers, Carlos.
ESEfc-Efc+, EUEfc-Efc|;
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Mon, 18 May 2026 09:44:30 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

On 2026-05-17 04:57, micky wrote:

If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them. OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?


**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.

For $28.

$28 is not much, and saves you soldering inside the car in a not
confortable position, one hand holding the radio, another the cable,
another the soldering iron, another the solder... oh, wait, you only
have two hands.

What type of crimping? The type that Jeff showed can not be undone, but
is neat. Heat shrink (and perhaps solder)? Needs to be done in a small >space. Ok, USA cars are big, but is yours that big, and the cables are
long enough?

In a car, I might choose connectors that can be unplugged. I had a radio >like that in the 80's, they never failed. One radio was stolen and
another lost, so I had to redo them. Radio was of the type that you
could park the car and take the radio away with you.

Ever notice that very few stock automotive wire connections are
soldered? There's a reason for that. Crimps, using a ratchetting
tool, can be stronger than soldering and therefore tend to not fall
apart from vibration.

"Crimping vs Soldering - Which Is Best?" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAr2z6rGV7o> (6:37)

"I tested these connectors and found the best one" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px3ZIYUOE4M> (13:08)

There's a problem on the 2nd video at 1:45: <https://youtu.be/px3ZIYUOE4M?t=114>
The author "spins" the stranded wires so that they fit into the
connector without any loose or frayed wires. The problem is that the
diameter of the stranded wire bundle increases slightly when twisted.
If you then crimp the cable, and later untwist it so that all the
stranded wires are straight, the bundle diameter will decrease in
diameter, resulting in a loose crimp. It's not much of a problem with
small diameter stranded wire bundles, but does cause problems with
larger diameter power cables, battery cables, welding cables, overkill
speaker cables, electrical junction boxes, relay connections, etc.
Therefore, I suggest you NOT twist stranded wires when crimping or use
a crimped wire ferrule: <https://www.google.com/search?q=crimped%20wire%20ferrule&num=10&udm=2>

Incidentallly, my guess(tm) is the rather poor pull strength of the
"crimp and seal" type of connection was at least partly caused by
"spinning" the stranded wires.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272 AE6KS 831-336-2558

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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Sat, 16 May 2026 22:02:13 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

On Sat, 16 May 2026 23:08:38 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:

In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:57:19 -0400, micky >><NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to >>>match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay >>>Crutchfield to crimp them.

For small jobs, I don't trust vendors to do anything correctly on
their first try (while they are learning to do the work). With >do-it-thyself, you have more control.

They say" We use a custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" so that
it's "topnotch".

You don't need an automated crimping machine to do 20 wires. For
small lots, bigger is not better.

They say it wiil "eliminate time-consuming and frustrating splicing, >>soldering, and crimping", so even they admit one would normally solder.

20 wires (or 40 crimps) is not time consuming. Methinks it's likely
that the "custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" takes longer to
setup than to strip and crimp an equal number of wires by hand.

<https://www.google.com/search?udm=2&q=heat%20shrink%20butt%20splice> ><https://www.google.com/search?q=heat%20shrink%20butt%20splice%20crimper%20tool&num=10&udm=2>

I also have no wife or kids and wonder what I am saving my money for.

You're saving money so that you can pay the taxes which support my
lavish and decadent life style. Thanks for your tax contributions.

Money well spent, then.

OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?

I would crimp and shrink tube. Soldering is nice if you're
experienced and know how to cut, strip and solder properly. Soldering
is not so nice if you have to train someone to do the work. Crimping
is easier and in some cases, stronger.

**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.

For $28.

For that price I'd happily get someone else to do it. My soldering
hasn't improved one iota over the last 60+ years. It was shit then and
it's shit now. Get 'em crimped!
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