Phil Williams Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 Hi, I have purchased some silver cable which came with banana plugs pre soldered, which i removed to fit spade connections (usa amp). The cable has 20 strands and is coated in a thick rigid plastic, and it is dipped so cannot be simply cut, to remove/expose. i have heated with a lighter to expose and clamped tightly, but a, am wondering whether this is efficient and a solid connect, and b, how to remove the plastic properly. One idea was to solder the end with silver solder hence forcing the plastic out, , then clamp, ideas appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 It's a bit hard to visualise without more details. - What is the cable brand/model (someone might be familiar with it)? - Can you post a close-up photo to show what you are describing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muon* Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 (edited) Well It's no good if you are not connecting bare wire to the spade, and the wire is covered in plastic/insulation between the wire and spade. If It's injection molded like I'm picturing it, maybe carefully cutting away the molded plastic with a Stanley knife. As AF suggests above....need pics Edited April 7, 2021 by muon* 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Williams Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 Thanks for responding, cable is Wired world, photos attached. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Williams Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Zoomed in to actually see plastic melted around each strand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mac Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 It looks like Litz wire with individually insulated strands. There are a variety of ways to remove the insulation. Dipping the wire in a solder pot/bath is easiest, but most people won’t have one of these on hand. I’d suggest googling the other options, as you may find one which works best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Williams Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Solder pot a good idea. Anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryffles Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 1 hour ago, philwill1971@gmail.com said: Solder pot a good idea. Anyone else? I don’t think Wire world cables are litz. Just individual wires moulded as you’ve suggested. Im not sure how successful a solder pot will be. Perhaps just scrape off what you can and heat shrink to hide it. Looks like you have nothing to lose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 And I'd also suggest some heat shrink to tidy-up the open-weave techflex covering (for aesthetics only, won't influence the sound). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregWormald Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 As long as you clean off the carbon from the burning plastic and bind the strands tightly or solder together then the lighter seems as good as anything. I suspect a solder pot of silver solder could get expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Williams Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Thanks all for responding, heat gun melted plastic enough for me to unravel and then plastic started sliding off taking all residue with it, yay 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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