yrdbrd@bmcg.UUCP (Larry J. Huntley) (06/04/85)
Howard Hull (hull@hao) writes: (Concerning AC powered wire-wrapping tools) > > 1. If you press the gun too firmly down around the base of the post, > the wire will not feed properly, and (if you are lucky) the... > > 2. If you suffered from linear withdrawal symptoms while doing the > wrap, and you thus lifted the gun slightly while wrapping, you will > have an even, but nonetheless a *stretched* wrap. Since a... > > 3. Always strip wire_wrap wire with a "gauged" stripping tool. Just > pulling the wire from the reel until it breaks, or use of a... > > Regards, Howard Hull It is clear that Howard has made more than a few wraps in his time. All of his points are valid and lack of attention to these details can cause hours or days of grief when debugging begins. Luckily, there are solutions to these problems. "Mashed" wraps (where the gun was held on the post too forcefully and the wire is overwrapped) and "stretched" wraps (where the tool was moved off the post too soon) can be eliminated by using wire-wrap guns with what is variously called a "Back-Force Nosepiece" or an "Anti-overwrap Device". This is a spring loaded widget that sits on the front of the gun; the wire-wrapping bit is mounted into it and when the whole assembly is put over the post and as the wrap is made, the bit is backed off of the pin just the right amount. You (the operator) don't have to really do anything but hold the gun straight over the post and pull the trigger. This accessory adds about $10.00 to the cost of a wire-wrap gun. Is it worth it? Do birds have beaks? Proper strip length, lacks of crimps in the wire, etc., etc., can be had by using a special wire-wrapping bit called a "cut, strip, and wrap" bit. This marvel of chemical machining replaces the standard bit and sleeve in a wire- wrap gun. You take the unstripped wire, push it up into the bit, as in a regular bit, put the tool over the post and pull the trigger. As the wrap is being made the tool cuts the wire to length, strips off the insulation, and wraps the wire around the post. Repeat for the other end. Repeat for next wire. All the operator has to do is cut the unstripped wire to some- where near the right length (slightly longer than needed.) It's great. We have used them here at Burroughs ASG for 5 years; they've been trouble free. Now about the price. These little mothers cost somewhere between $125 -- $225. Unless you're the world's most affluent hobbyist, then it's unlikely that you'll buy one for personal use. However, in a development lab, I feel like these are indispensible. I like to trouble-shoot circuits; I do NOT like to trouble-shoot wiring problems caused by being too cheap to buy the right equipment. This thing here is the right equipment. If you're on a tight budget, buy a cheaper DVM or something and use the difference to get one of these. You'll never go back to the ordinary bits and sleeves. If any of you want addresses of places these things can be had, drop me an electronic line; I'm no salesman, but I like to think that I know a good product when I see one. If we buy enough of these things, maybe the price will drop and then we can buy more and the price will get lower and ....... Hey guys, isn't this discussion more fun than "Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: 286 "C" Benchmark Needed" or "Why I Like The 680xx" or "Dog Pile on Intel!"? More useful, too. Yours for better one-of-a-kind systems, 'brd P.S. I just noticed that I used 'guys' 5 lines ago. Is that sexist? Perhaps I should have used 'guys & gals'? 'Folks'? I'm so distraught. -- Larry J. Huntley Burroughs -(B)- Corporation Advanced Systems Group MS-703 10850 Via Frontera San Diego, CA 92128 (619) 485-4544 -*- "Dear Friends, It's 'ORGAN LEROY' at his organ again." -*-
hull@hao.UUCP (Howard Hull) (06/09/85)
> It is clear that Howard has made more than a few wraps in his time. Yep. Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Enthusiasm. > with what is variously called a "Back-Force Nosepiece" or an "Anti-overwrap > Device". This is a spring loaded widget that sits on the front of the gun; >...... This accessory adds > about $10.00 to the cost of a wire-wrap gun. Is it worth it? Do birds have > beaks? But the man said he was going to get an "OK Wirewrap Gun". Do OK wirewrap guns have beaks? Or do they just have "Back-Force Nosepiece" attachments... > Proper strip length, lacks of crimps in the wire, etc., etc., can be had by > using a special wire-wrapping bit called a "cut, strip, and wrap" bit. This > marvel of chemical machining replaces the standard bit and sleeve in a wire- > wrap gun. You take the unstripped wire, push it up into the bit, as in a > regular bit, put the tool over the post and pull the trigger. As the wrap > is being made the tool cuts the wire to length, strips off the insulation, > and wraps the wire around the post. Repeat for the other end. Repeat for > next wire. All the operator has to do is cut the unstripped wire to some- > where near the right length (slightly longer than needed.) It's great. ... > Larry J. Huntley Burroughs -(B)- Corporation Ah yezh. I think I've seen versions of this little hummer, too. You stick the wire in the end and feed in enough wire so that one of the following occurs: 1. You have one of the early versions of these bits, properly called a "cut off bit". It slings a ~1/8 inch chunk of *bare* wire *somewhere* into your nail bed. Or, an inch or so of insulated wire is sticking up through the top slot, and that much gets cut off and thrown *somewhere* when you pull the trigger. But it's insulated, so no problem, eh? Well, not *most* of the time. Ho hum. We'll find it if it does anything outrageous... 2. You have a model that puts all the wire fed to it on the post. (You *do* like 3/8 inch long wraps, don't you?) It only throws the *empty* Kynar insulation frag *somewhere*. Again, no problem. 3. You have a model that EATS the part of the wire that is "slightly longer than needed". Chomp, chew, smack, ...more...??? but I am being unfair, I suppose; the particular bit you describe likely *is* what you say it is, and we can at last wrap in peace. I only wanted to warn the unaware that there are many, many, versions of earlier searches to this particular form of excellence, and you guys and gals (see, I do learn from the doings of others) better find out *exactly* which tool Larry is talking about. But I ain't proud - *I* am going to write and ask! Thanks, 'brders. Howard Hull [If yet unproven concepts are outlawed in the range of discussion... ...Then only the deranged will discuss yet unproven concepts] {ucbvax!hplabs | allegra!nbires | harpo!seismo } !hao!hull
bob@cygnet.CYGNETSYSTEMS (Bob Clark) (06/14/85)
In article <1587@hao.UUCP> hull@hao.UUCP (Howard Hull) writes regarding wire-wrap guns and cut,slit-n-wrap bits: >I only wanted to warn >the unaware that there are many, many, versions of earlier searches to this >particular form of excellence, and you guys and gals (see, I do learn from >the doings of others) better find out *exactly* which tool Larry is talking >about. I am in complete agreement with checking on other peoples' experience. We are using bits from RGB Electronics in Redwood City, CA. The original bits we tried from OK didn't work. In addition, we use OK guns, both with and without the spring loaded nose. I believe that RGB only guarantees operation with a specific type of wirewrap wire for these bits. We take their word for it. Other opinions: 1. The bits ARE expensive (~$170), but well worth it. 2. We add on an OK option for the gun which has a wire cutter you can use with your trigger finger- you never have to put the gun down. 3. It's common to use two wire sizes: 26 AWG for power and ground ocnnections, 30 AWG for everything else. I'm not convinced this is important. 4. It's not that hard to do high frequency stuff with wirewrap. Just be careful with your routing, daisy chain and terminate at the end of the transmission line. 5. I prefer a plug in gun- no batteries to screw around with, no agonizingly slow wraps as the battery goes dead. Never used a hand wrapper, and don't intend to. 6. Buy a bunch of unwrap tools- they always get dull. Or file them from time to time. 7. I want the board itself to have the best power and ground planes I can find. We did some very high speed stuff on boards from ITI (Interconnection Technology Inc.) in LA. These boards had internal power and ground planes. Again, we're talking big bucks (several hundred $$$$). 8. Use a lot of decoupling caps, and a few electrolytics scattered around. Good luck, Bob Clark, Cygnet Systems ...hplabs!cygnet!bob
rde@ukc.UUCP (R.D.Eager) (06/23/85)
I have been following the discussion on making one-of-a-kind systems
with interest. The questions being asked (and answered) are pretty well
the ones I have been trying to find a good reference book for. Are there
*really* no good books that attack these problems for the amateur
constructor of computer boards etc?
--
Bob Eager
rde@ukc.UUCP
rde@ukc
...!mcvax!ukc!rde
Phone: +44 227 66822 ext 7589sambo@ukma.UUCP (Inventor of micro-S) (06/24/85)
In article <5254@ukc.UUCP> rde@ukc.UUCP (Bob Eager) writes: >The questions being asked (and answered) are pretty well >the ones I have been trying to find a good reference book for. Are there >*really* no good books that attack these problems for the amateur >constructor of computer boards etc? Please post any answers to this question on the net.
hull@hao.UUCP (Howard Hull) (07/07/85)
> In article <5254@ukc.UUCP> rde@ukc.UUCP (Bob Eager) writes: > >The questions being asked (and answered) are pretty well > >the ones I have been trying to find a good reference book for. Are there > >*really* no good books that attack these problems for the amateur > >constructor of computer boards etc? > Please post any answers to this question on the net. Notwithstanding the absolutely compleat ye laste word article (leaves me almost breathless) by "Yardbird" Larry J. Huntley: >>>From: yrdbrd@bmcg.UUCP (Larry J. Huntley) >>>Newsgroups: net.arch,net.micro,net.analog >>>Subject: One-of-a-Kind Systems (LONG! Ph. Nos., Addresses) >>>Message-ID: <1719@bmcg.UUCP> Said article contains everything you *ever* wanted to know about wire-wrap (be sure and get a copy of this from your netnews spool) whether or not you were afraid to ask. If only all net articles were this well done. We could move 200 KBytes a day through here instead of 2.2 Megabytes. However, I do recommend this one seminal reference, preferably in it's latest edition: The document is supplied by the Department of Defense. The title - get this now, as it would take Unix cref to re-acquire it, even if you have a good memory: Military Standard MIL-STD-1130x Connections, Electrical, Solderless Wrapped Where "x" is the latest revision letter. Whew. If you are an employee of a military contractor, you can get the standard free from the Commander, Naval Electronic Systems Command, Defense Standardization Program Branch, Washington, D.C. As of this late date, I get the impression that you can wait *forever* for the Navy to ship you a copy of the standard if you do not have a contract number that requires them to supply copy. Instead, I recommend contacting a private concern: National Standards & Specifications 5161 River Road Bethesda, MD 20816 Tel: 800-638-8094 except in MD, where it is 301-951-1310 Ask for Beverly Hicks, ext. 437 Like most businesses of this sort, they like to do transactions in semi-bulk. I would estimate the cost of this standard at $5 to $7 or so in small quantity. It would probably be better to ask for catalog info on ANSI, IEEE, NEMA, and MIL standards, then order a whole buncha stuff at once when you had a number of things you always wanted but couldn't seem to locate at B. Dalton's. That way you could escape a minimum order charge. Howard Hull [If yet unproven concepts are outlawed in the range of discussion... ...Then only the deranged will discuss yet unproven concepts] {ucbvax!hplabs | allegra!nbires | harpo!seismo } !hao!hull