Jump to content

Connecting wires


Paul-1207980

Recommended Posts

I have a three-rail layout that I have donated to a young friend. There's no space for him to keep it up all the time. The controller needs to be disconnected and the board leant up against a wall, each time he's finished. That means undoing the DC wires from the terminals at one end.

His manipulative skills aren't great (actually mine aren't brilliant either) and to do away with the need to wind/unwind I am looking for a simple way to reconnect. I am thinking of getting small crocodile clips and putting them on the ends of the wires and then rapidly clip/unclip the crocodiles.

Does that sound OK or perhaps someone could suggest a better way?

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I wouldn't use crocodile clips. The contact area is quite small, plus they could twist and turn if the wires are tugged and touch together causing a short circuit.

I would use a 2 way Molex connector, these are designed for power and are keyed so that they can't be accidently reversed.

You could cut your existing wires in the middle and insert the Molex connector in the wire run to make a plug and socket connection. See link below for an example Molex.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170588198911?hash=item27b7d957ff:g:xuAAAOSwXy5eng18

If finger strength & manipulation is a real issue, then Banana plugs and inline Banana sockets would provide a very robust electrical connection that can be easily pulled apart with weak fingers. The Bananas can be colour coded to help with polarity identification. Links below are examples.

Inline Banana Sockets

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324184896335?hash=item4b7aecf34f:g:GKEAAOSw5r9eKE4m

Banana Plugs

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221692595397?hash=item339de88cc5:g:-fgAAOSwv0tU4f3y

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
  • Create New...