Soldering vs Crimping for CP Switches

Cyberwhiz

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I tried a search to find if this has been discussed before but I didn't come across anything. Just looking for general opinions on soldering wires directly to the CP switches vs using crimp connectors.

Obviously I've seen it done both ways on games I've bought in the past and I do recall reading someplace that, in the industry, soldered connections were favored for reliability and crimped connections for ease of replacement, but which method do most hobbyists use and why ?
 
I tried a search to find if this has been discussed before but I didn't come across anything. Just looking for general opinions on soldering wires directly to the CP switches vs using crimp connectors.

Obviously I've seen it done both ways on games I've bought in the past and I do recall reading someplace that, in the industry, soldered connections were favored for reliability and crimped connections for ease of replacement, but which method do most hobbyists use and why ?

I always use crimp connectors. Then I use a needle nosed pliers to firmly secure the female connector to the male connector on the micro switch or leaf switch.
 
It depends on my current supply of crimp connectors. Usually, if I am building it from scratch, I use crimp connectors. But if I am working on an original piece and it was originally hard-soldered, then I leave it that way...
 
It depends. On Chinese knockoff Wicos, you have to use crimp connectors, I don't know what they made those leaf switches out of, but they just don't solder. Most of the time I solder the connections, just so I don't have to worry if a connector is going to come loose.

ken
 
It depends. On Chinese knockoff Wicos, you have to use crimp connectors, I don't know what they made those leaf switches out of, but they just don't solder. Most of the time I solder the connections, just so I don't have to worry if a connector is going to come loose.

ken

may just need a different type of flux. i used to solder to stainless steel wire in another life (job), using a liquid flux designed for the job, off the shelf stuff. just dont ask me where we used to get it 20 years ago. worked a treat.
http://www.sra-solder.com/fluxes.htm
 
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It depends. On Chinese knockoff Wicos, you have to use crimp connectors, I don't know what they made those leaf switches out of, but they just don't solder. Most of the time I solder the connections, just so I don't have to worry if a connector is going to come loose.

ken
Wordx100.

I have never seen any metal like that shit! I tried and tried to solder, 2 different fluxes that I had as well. Went to crimps, but then found that those thin brittle tabs on the switches like to snap off as well.

Still beats microswitches anyway..
 
hard-soldered

i solder whenever possible. if i do, i know it will be ok for a long, long time.

been working on a FISH TALES pinball with electrical problems for a friend.
there's a bunch of crimp ons in the back box and part of my trouble shooting will be to replace those crimp ons, as well as the connector pins.

i love crossing potential problems off my list. if i see a bunch of shrink wrap tubing on splices and one turns out to be nicely soldered, i dont even think twice about the others.
 
I use both. It really depends on the game. My preference is to use crimp connectors but if I'm building something like a cheap multi-cade I'll usually use solder. It's cheaper, faster and works just as well. Crimp connectors look cleaner and replacing switches is easier.

I wouldn't personally call either method right or wrong. Whatever works...
 
I'm a little surprised at the remarks about crimped on connectors for a CP being a source of failure.

I've nearly completed totally rewiring my CP for my Gauntlet Legends game which uses microswitches. Crimped properly the crimped connections are unbelievably strong -- I know because I torture tested several of my crimps and I couldn't pull them apart even with a LOT of force. I can't believe a soldered connection would have held up that well. The kind of force I'm talking about would rip a microswitch apart if it were ever subjected to it.

Now having said that early in the crimping process I discovered that if I wasn't careful I'd produce a crimp that would hold up well but would fail under moderately severe stress. So I changed my process so I test pull on each crimp to ensure that it is rock solid before I crimp the stress relief part on the insulation and that's worked very well for me.

Is your point that people that don't give a crap or are poor crimpers might have done the crimping on your game before you acquired it or do the crimps age poorly or something?
 
i solder whenever possible. if i do, i know it will be ok for a long, long time.

I've run into a bunch of soldering on cp's and figured it was just ops being lazy and not taking the time to use crimp connectors. I guess this would be the alternate OP mindset in doing it that way. Unfortunately that's only true with a good solder job, the stuff I've seen on these cps has for the most part been shitty soldering. One used crimps on the + end and then ran a lead to the negs on p1 and p2 start, daisy chaining them with a piece of bare wire soldered to the rest of them, it was ugly as hell. I use crimp connectors on everything as it's a hell of a lot easier if I have to pull a CP and take it apart. The soldered cp's i've run into first thing I do is cut/desolder/put on a crimp connector, then try to see which of the microswitches I've desoldered are salvagable, usually most of them.

Haven't had problems with the tabs on microswitches disconnecting, but for me the ease of replacement if that happens due to crimp connectors when I've got a bunch of microswitches around that were maybe a buck a piece far outweighs the possible long term benefits of soldering. Of course the connection can be loose, but a little gentle love with a set of needle nose pliers generally remedies that in a hurry with my stuff.
 
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Here's something weird that just happened to me with my new CP wiring.

I just crimped up all new connectors for my CP and used bob robert's .187 QDs. I pushed the QD connectors on until they 'clicked' and now the SOBs won't come off. I've had them off and on before w/o any issues but I have to pull these off with pliers and they barely come off THAT way.

Am I doing something wrong here? Should I not be pushing them on that hard -- I've never had this issue before.
 
I've never had any problems with crimped properly-sized QDs for the CP connections. All of my machines had those sort of connections from the factory, plus they all have plenty of Molex connectors throughout the harness, which is the same idea.
 
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