Best wire to solder potentiometers

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Hi,

As my amp project progresses slowly I come across niggling problems that I need solutions to.

The ready cabinet that I purchased at Lamington road has prepunched holes for the control pots

Since the preamp board I'm making had pots soldered on the board that don't match the holes on the cabinet, I've had to connect the pots via wires to mount on the panel

But the movement of the boards for testing keeps breaking the wires at the PCB level

Is there any recommendation for sturdy wires that won't break so easily

Or techniques to reinforce the wires to prevent breakage

Regards
 
Hi,
Is there any recommendation for sturdy wires that won't break so easily

Or techniques to reinforce the wires to prevent breakage

Regards

Sturdy wires break easily... use cable as flexible as possible.
Or better still, try to drill new holes on the front panel to match the PCB...
You are a DIY guy right?

BTW what amp are you building?
 
Sturdy wires break easily... use cable as flexible as possible.
Or better still, try to drill new holes on the front panel to match the PCB...
You are a DIY guy right?

BTW what amp are you building?
I've tried till now
1. Cutting up RCA wire and using the shield to ground, this was too old and stiff. Difficult to connect to panel
2. 3 single core shielded wire, did not connect the shield, so waste of wire
3. 3 core shielded wire, too thick and stiff. Broke easily
4. Ribbon cable, this has been the easiest to work with, easy to colour code connections, easy to solder. Drawbacks are that the core is thin, breaks easily

So would like to know what to use and where to buy from.

Modifying the cabinet and making a new front panel is my least favourite option as the cost has spiralled out of proportion and just want to finish with what I have.


This is my first ever electronic/amplifier build, this looked simple enough, so built this.

Regards
 
Next time you're in Lamington Road, visit Kiran Sales. Address:

Shop Number 52-c, Chottani Building, Procter Rd, Grant Road East, Shapur Baug, Grant Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400007

They sell balanced cables called Euro - I don't recall the exact model names but they have one in regular thickness (typically 6 mm outer diameter like most pro balanced cables) and another one which is much thicker. Buy the thinner one. You'll find a twisted, multi-stranded copper pair of about 23-24 AWG inside. Since a pot needs 3 wires, use the shield as the third wire. You'll need two runs for a stereo pot. They also usually stock a very good sounding Klotz balanced cable too (model number some 5000, I don't remember exactly). Both the Euro (made in Italy) and Klotz (German, AFAIK) are multi stranded copper wires. If you want to try tinned copper, ask for Belden AES cable (the one with purple sleeve). It is also a very good sounding cable.

Don't use solid core wires for pot or other internal wirings. First of all, it's always harder to get a secure solder connection. Dry solder is very common despite pre-tinning the solid core leads and using liberal amounts of solder paste. Second, they do snap and break much more easily than flexible multi stranded wires. But if you're ready to ignore these two issues, I can tell from personal experience that solid core, Teflon insulated CAT 5 or 6 wires sound very good (nice mids, but slightly rolled off highs).

PS: if going to Andheri West is an option, go to Promedia (Kuber Complex, opposite Laxmi Industrial Estate on New Link Road) and pick up Helusound DMX cable. This is my personal favourite cable for internal wiring.
 
Next time you're in Lamington Road, visit Kiran Sales. Address:

Shop Number 52-c, Chottani Building, Procter Rd, Grant Road East, Shapur Baug, Grant Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400007

They sell balanced cables called Euro - I don't recall the exact model names but they have one in regular thickness (typically 6 mm outer diameter like most pro balanced cables) and another one which is much thicker. Buy the thinner one. You'll find a twisted, multi-stranded copper pair of about 23-24 AWG inside. Since a pot needs 3 wires, use the shield as the third wire. You'll need two runs for a stereo pot. They also usually stock a very good sounding Klotz balanced cable too (model number some 5000, I don't remember exactly). Both the Euro (made in Italy) and Klotz (German, AFAIK) are multi stranded copper wires. If you want to try tinned copper, ask for Belden AES cable (the one with purple sleeve). It is also a very good sounding cable.

Don't use solid core wires for pot or other internal wirings. First of all, it's always harder to get a secure solder connection. Dry solder is very common despite pre-tinning the solid core leads and using liberal amounts of solder paste. Second, they do snap and break much more easily than flexible multi stranded wires. But if you're ready to ignore these two issues, I can tell from personal experience that solid core, Teflon insulated CAT 5 or 6 wires sound very good (nice mids, but slightly rolled off highs).

PS: if going to Andheri West is an option, go to Promedia (Kuber Complex, opposite Laxmi Industrial Estate on New Link Road) and pick up Helusound DMX cable. This is my personal favourite cable for internal wiring.
Thank you so much for your detailed reply

What is the cost that I'm looking at?
 
A typical pro balanced cable costs ₹80-100/m.

The Klotz 5000x is costlier (relatively speaking).
 
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