Bare wire to screw terminal connection?

[Nopiano]

More looking at the possibilities of stray strands in his pics.

Exactly what I was looking for too. The second effort leaves much less chance of any unwanted contact if speakers are moved without taking care of the wiring.

 

[Sokel]

Can't see any tinning.
And specially with silver solder that would be more apparent by it's effect on the insulation.

I think you should repeat it properly,the strands are an accident waiting to happen and poor tinning is worst than bare conductor (in a time constrain,as it will go bad over time)

 

[Blumlein 88]

Wire directly to screw terminals is fine of course. I've seen that work for more than a decade at a time. If it were me I would use the appropriately sized spades or rings on the end of the wire.

You could use these adapters on gear with screw terminals that adapts to banana plug use. Never used them, but they should work.

https://www.amazon.ca/HiFi-Banana-Plug-Spade-Adapter/dp/B09ZSJ4X4T/ref

 

[fieldcar]

Can't see any tinning.
And specially with silver solder that would be more apparent by it's effect on the insulation.

I think you should repeat it properly,the strands are an accident waiting to happen and poor tinning is worst than bare conductor (in a time constrain,as it will go bad over time)

I cant see any tinning as well. This is usually an issue when no flux is used. Rosin core solder or flux paste works well.

Though. I would re-strip it and use some fork terminals without any solder if it were my setup.

Soldering:

 

[frodaddi]

I used those gold adapters on my vintage McIntosh amp, they worked fine. They actually have two threaded holes at 90 degrees so you can insert the screw into either location

What I did was put the screw in on the ‘top’ and insert bare wire into the ‘end’ then tighten down the screw to hold it. Not as nice to use as binding posts but easier than the terminal screws, especially with thicker wire.

As far as spades or rings are concerned, be aware that the terminal strips are pretty small and larger spades will not fit. If memory serves, the older Mac gear uses #6 spades (but don’t hold me to that).

Also if you use banana plugs those screws are pretty close together, the barrel of the banana plug needs to be narrow enough that they don’t touch each other. Although maybe you could fit fatter ones by alternating the orientation of the adapter screws up vs out, or up and down on the terminal block itself.

 

[RichB]

I used those gold adapters on my vintage McIntosh amp, they worked fine. They actually have two threaded holes at 90 degrees so you can insert the screw into either location

View attachment 373883

What I did was put the screw in on the ‘top’ and insert bare wire into the ‘end’ then tighten down the screw to hold it. Not as nice to use as binding posts but easier than the terminal screws, especially with thicker wire.

As far as spades or rings are concerned, be aware that the terminal strips are pretty small and larger spades will not fit. If memory serves, the older Mac gear uses #6 spades (but don’t hold me to that).

@Doodski recommended ferrules in this thread: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/wiring-speakon-and-banana-plugs.53934/

They are great with a hex crimping tool. I have redone all my systems, and they work great.

- Rich

 

[motorstereo]

I used these adapters on my Mac barrier strips when using heavier gauge wire. I found it didn't take too much stress to snap the legs off the gold adapters.

 

[Prana Ferox]

View attachment 373818

I end my turn

I end my turn

 

[Speedskater]

In industrial & military installations, stranded wire is never used under screw terminals. Because with time, temperature changes and vibration the solder tinning will cold flow and allow the terminal to loosen.
What you can do is solder tin the very end of the strands, then place bare copper strands under the screw.
Note that Tinned Copper strands is not the same thing as solder tinning.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

FWIW -- and with all due respect to concerns about the known metallurgical properties of tin -- in my 50+ years of experience there have been zero long-term problems using fully-tinned wire ends with 5-way binding posts or even vintage style spring terminals. With barrier strips like on these speakers and wire ends tinned only at the tip, I would use some flat washers with a bit wider outside diameter than the screw heads so they barely fit between the barriers (assuming of course that the screws are fully removable). That would prevent strands of the wire from being squeezed out from under the screw head when the screw is torqued down. IMO barrier strips are more suitable for J-bent solid wire or spade/ring lugs than the stranded stuff, and tip-to-insulation solder tinning is a way to make stranded wire ends approximate solid wire.

I'd venture that the tendency of bare copper to corrode -- the green oxide "patina" that is copper's equivalent to iron's rust -- would be just as (or perhaps even more) problematic long-term than any hypothetically concerning property of the tin content of solder, but of course I could be wrong and YMMV....

Speaker and Amplifier Connectors

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

The direction of the loops, so when it screws in it holds the wire in place better.

The bonus is that when the loops go in the screw tightening direction, tightening the screw tends to wrap the wire more tightly.

 

[Speedskater]

in my 50+ years of experience there have been zero long-term problems using fully-tinned wire ends

I didn't realize it at the time, but now I know the problem.
When I started working at a FM radio station, the Chief Engineer showed me a failed low voltage power connector.

 

[sam_adams]

What did you reverse?

The direction of the loops, so when it screws in it holds the wire in place better.

I replied in the thread that was deleted—without the comments being moved—to this issue:

The wires are wrapped around the screw terminal in the wrong direction. The wire should be wrapped in a clockwise direction around the screw with the incoming wire on the left—not the right. Done this way, the wire loop will wrap around the screw as it tightens making a more secure connection.

 

[olds1959special]

Tinning is the worst thing you can do. The tin is soft and will always give way over time and worsen the contact. In addition, the contact resistance with tinning is always higher with a clamp connection.
With a higher power, e.g. with a power connection, the resistance can become so high that the tin liquefies and begins to scale or lead to a cable fire.
There are good reasons why it is forbidden in electrical engineering. Technically, this means that tin begins to flow under pressure.

I redid it with bare wire. Fortunately it's working with no apparent shorts! Some solder broke off when removing the old wires, so you were right.

 

[Count Arthur]

Some crimp ring terminals would tidy it up:

If the screw is captive, use fork terminals:

You'll need to buy or borrow a crimp tool though:

INSULATED CRIMP TERMINALS RING SPADE BUTT FORK BULLET ELECTRICAL WIRE CONNECTORS | eBay

MB =Male Bullet,FB =Female Bullet,MS =Male Spade,FS =Female Spade. reveal all available connectors of that size in the middle list, then select your required quantity from the bottom list. Coarse Pitch Bolts & Screws.

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Ratcheting Wire Crimping Plier Tools Insulted Terminals Butt Connectors Crimper 190459224512 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Ratcheting Wire Crimping Plier Tools Insulted Terminals Butt Connectors Crimper at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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[Bruce Morgen]

You'll need to buy or borrow a crimp tool though:

View attachment 373978

IMO a fancy ratcheting crimper like the above is overkill for speaker wire termination -- just stay away from the really cheap crimping tools, because their crimping surfaces rarely line up correctly. I got a perfectly adequate one from U.S. bargain tool importer "Harbor Freight" a couple of year ago -- but it's apparently been discontinued.