A WIRING HINT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 21 April 1934, Page 3

A WIRING HINT

Most radio experimenters use llexibl leads for making hook-ups, and mos of them anathematise the way in wliicl the bared ends come unstranded am break away after having been attache! two or three times to terminals “Spark Gap,” in his monthly radii talk in the April issue of “The Aus tralian Journal,” suggests a. means o overcoming the difficulty. The outei silk or cotton covering is removed al together; it serves no useful purpose for ordinary bunch work, and it ill ways frays out unless it is specially treated. It can he slipped off' quite easily by grasping the rubber covering of the lead between the forcfingei and the thumb of the right hand, and working off the sheath with the left, Do not remove an inch or so of the rubber covering from the extreme end of the lead, as is usually done. Instead, cut through the rubber carefully with an old pair of nail scissors about a third of an inch further down. Scrape or snip away' the rubber between the two cuts, and remove the inner silk or cotton covering, leaving the rubber at the end of the lead. This serves to keep the wires from unstranding, and connections to screw down terminals can be made in the easiest possible way. Flexible connections prepared, in this way can be made to last almost indefinitely if the hared portion of the wire is bent round into hook shape, and a little solder is run into the strands. One very great advantage of this method, whether solder is used or not, is that one is not bothered by broken strands that got into the threads of the terminal and prevent the nut from being screwed down. Sometimes, says “Spark Plug,” speaking of interference, crackling and frying in a receiver is attributed to static, but in reality is caused by a burn-out in the audio-frequency transformer or the winding of the radio stage. To ensure that static is not the cause, disconnect the aerial and earth from the receiver; if the noises cease they may lie put down to outside interference. If, however, the noises do not cease, the aforementioned instruments should be tested. The accumulator, giving a. spasmodic discharge due to short-circuiting between the plates, may also be the cause of much trouble. A bad collection or intermittent earthing of the aerial system will also give rise to the crackling noises, but variations ip tho strength of incoming signals will also be apparent.