Easy power supply upgrade.
Added 2020-09-30 03:57:45 +0000 UTCThis was long overdue. The original power supply cables were quite thin and had very loose feeling plugs on the end. By making a new set the same length, but with thicker cable and better connectors it will result in much lower voltage drop, giving more accurate voltage and current indications.
Goodness knows what size of cable the banana plugs are designed to accept. The cable port is enormous.
Comments
I was recently looking at the SKS Hirschmann BUELA 30 K Au connectors: https://www.sks-kontakt.de/en/test-measurement/products/product/?nr=9307277 Gold plated and able to fit 2.5 mm2. Using a wire ferrule it is possible to use it with 1.5 or 1.0 mm.
Frank
2020-10-03 13:47:55 +0000 UTCThere were two screws (one was lodged inside the red plug). They seem to grip to the same depth.
Big Clive
2020-10-03 05:00:01 +0000 UTCDid they supply 2 screws so the inner one grips the core and the outer one grips the sheeting as a strain relief?
2020-10-02 22:12:36 +0000 UTCMakes them nice & tight(for now). But solder cold flows over time and the screw will get loose.
Paul Malloy
2020-10-02 13:18:02 +0000 UTCNice, but at £54 for just 15m (https://uk.farnell.com/search?st=pomona 6733), that's extremely pricey!
2020-10-02 12:23:36 +0000 UTCNice work Clive. My bench supply does up to 15A so the leads I use with it are 12AWG/3.3mm^2 silicone, but they're a bit scraggly now so I think remaking them is due.
Chewie
2020-10-01 23:33:44 +0000 UTC10AWG is 5.2mm^2 - you're thinking of diameter
Chewie
2020-10-01 23:28:01 +0000 UTCIt's a common slim lab power supply branded for Maplin when they were about. I don't recommend it, because despite being well made it has a horrific design flaw that can result in random voltages being applied to circuitry when it glitches. (There's a way around it.)
Big Clive
2020-10-01 05:25:58 +0000 UTCGoing for the ridiculous 2.5mm2 size is the only rational way to go, at least for one set of leads. If you were ONLY powering small loads, a 1mm2 cable would be ok and you should certainly make a set of them, but start throwing full reels of high output LED tape on that and that smaller lead is going to heat up fast! I use my power supply in the field for testing installed tape before I power it up with a driver, so I went with 10AWG battery cable (fine strand).
Peter Argyropoulos
2020-10-01 00:21:35 +0000 UTCWhat bench PSU is on the end of these leads Clive, and would you recommend it?
MarcT
2020-10-01 00:04:25 +0000 UTCThere are issues with tinning cable like that. The solder flows along the cable and where it stops is prone to stress fractures of the strands with movement.
Big Clive
2020-09-30 21:23:38 +0000 UTCIt seems to be parallel all the way down. I guess it's intended for very big cables.
Big Clive
2020-09-30 21:20:01 +0000 UTCIn short: crimp, solder, screw. This is what I learned a long time ago. For my test leads I use 1mm2 silicone wire. Very flexible and it is not afraid of a soldering iron ;) For the crocodile clips: the plastic cover sometimes will glitch off the clip. So I put a little glue at the border of the plastic and the cable. Works fine.
Hub Rijcks
2020-09-30 20:03:21 +0000 UTCSilicon wire is available up to 8 awg, 10 being 2.5 square mill and is very finely stranded :)
2020-09-30 19:12:55 +0000 UTCGood banana plugs are hard to find. I like these Cinch 108-1722-101. They have a brass stud you solder the wire to, then screw into the banana part, then screw the cover over. Watch out for ones that have an exposed screw on the side, or too much metal exposed at the front.
Paul Malloy
2020-09-30 13:09:05 +0000 UTCSilicone Insulated Test Lead Cable is the way to go. Very flexible, high strand count. I splurged many years ago and bought 100' each color of genuine Pomona 18 gauge. Never regretted it. https://www.amazon.com/Pomona-6733-0-Silicone-Insulation-Temperature/dp/B000ODU7HO
Paul Malloy
2020-09-30 12:57:15 +0000 UTCClive I am betting that the reason it has two screws is that the one closest to the jack is just for the conductor and the one closer to the wire end is to secure the insulation jacket of the wire. look and see if the connector is narrowing diameter as it gets closer to the jack.
Charles Bruckner
2020-09-30 11:47:37 +0000 UTCI dunno, I have always tinned the end of those banana connectors before I double them over once and then screw them in. It gives the screw more to bite on.
Rocco Rizzo
2020-09-30 10:09:08 +0000 UTCMy jumper cables are 4/0, i'm not kidding.
Aaron Nadler
2020-09-30 09:21:42 +0000 UTCAgree - clip covers just spin around the clip body and give no grip for operating the clip, totally useless.
Mr B Shepherd
2020-09-30 09:01:39 +0000 UTCA low cost way of getting a short length of silicone cable. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-8m-Silicone-Tattoo-Power-Clip-Cord-Wire-Cable-For-Machine-Gun-Kit-Set-Supply-G/273549980984 This is what I used for my battery powered soldering iron, the conductors do look a bit thin but works ok, nice soft silicon.
John Harrison
2020-09-30 08:48:16 +0000 UTCSquidgy slippy crocodile clip covers, I HATE the new style, my old 1980s crocks were easier to press open I guess they were more like rubber than silicone, UK Tandy specials.
John Harrison
2020-09-30 08:40:22 +0000 UTCClive Nice experiment to see how much power you can run through a 5amp fuse wire compared to the lower "fuse factor" of a cartridge UK domestic fuse. In the 1980s I worked for a domestic appliance manufacture and we used a lot of hard wired fuse protection for DC and mains testing equipment, I remember it having a "FUSE FACTOR" of about 2. I was amazed how much current can flow through a hard wired 5amp fuse wire and not blow.
John Harrison
2020-09-30 08:32:57 +0000 UTCI have always enjoyed making cables. I do all of my own cable maintenance at work and I'm typically the guy they come to to repair cut wiring bundles and stuff. Ah yes, gimme 78 wires on either side and an iron to steer em by... ... and some coffee
Michael Thompson
2020-09-30 07:50:22 +0000 UTCMany years ago you could buy, in the UK (probably RS Components), clear 4mm plugs that included a fuse to protect PSUs. Similar construction to an inline fuse holder. These don't seem available now probably because they were useful but upset some OHS official :-(
Mr B Shepherd
2020-09-30 07:42:58 +0000 UTC"Fiches banane" as we say here in France.
Ozone S.
2020-09-30 07:35:33 +0000 UTCThe banana plugs are also sold as speaker connectors. They take 6mm2 cross section wire (10 awg?) easily.
2020-09-30 07:06:25 +0000 UTCI was yelling tin the wire, tin the wire! When you were connecting the cable to the lantern jacks. 🤣
Lostngone
2020-09-30 06:38:33 +0000 UTCLarger core meaning smaller wire gauge? For 20 ga we use basic on table stuff. For the solar setup its 2/0 because it was setup on 24V but we just updated to 96V
Cerity
2020-09-30 06:03:45 +0000 UTCWe call those banana plugs in the US. Also, use larger core wire and fuse it. Best of both worlds.
Derek Smith
2020-09-30 05:17:11 +0000 UTCOddly, it's a prominent UK supplier.
Big Clive
2020-09-30 05:11:16 +0000 UTCWe must track down the supplier of the fake rubber cable and hurt them in ways they won't enjoy.
Mark Trombley
2020-09-30 04:34:47 +0000 UTCI kind of like the reverse-threaded covers for the banana plug connectors, pity they have other issues
N H
2020-09-30 04:34:02 +0000 UTCGet some welding cables and welding clamps. Hmmmm.
Nani Isobel
2020-09-30 04:33:45 +0000 UTC
