Your method of loading turrets and why

[iknowjohnny]

I've built a a number of turretboards so far, and usually i bend the component leads and stuff them in the top hole then wrap any wires that go to tube sockets around the turret. I mainly do that so it's easy to make changes. but on this next board i'm thinking of wrapping the component leads around the turrets and putting the wires thru the holes from under the board coming out the top and bed a bit over to hold them in place then solder into the holes like i previously did with components. Mainly to make it more reliable and so i don't keep experimenting with it and just leave it as is. (i can't seem to stop trying this and that, you know how that is )

What is your preferred method and why? I'm asking to see if any of your ideas might be something i missed and should consider before the parts arrive. thanks !

[Milkmansound]

I wrap the components and top load the wires - its faster to pop the wires on top of the turrets but that requires a very good solder joint. Make sure you get a good connection

I have tried wrapping components and wire leads around the turrets - that took much more time, and the connection did not seem any better to me than top loading

[Merlinb]

I concur- wrap leads and top-load components, if there's room.

But I NEVER wrap by more than three quarters of a turn. Any more and it becomes a nightmare to modify later, and isn't any more robust.

[M Fowler]

I like to wrap the components around the turret and solder wire into top of turret because I like the component being connected well before solder is added. The draw back is modding or component changes and some turret boards are too wide for today's short lead resistors.

Another reason I like to make my own boards when I know the resistors I'm going to use are short.

[Ken Moon]

I generally wrap components around the terminals, and either wrap or use the tops for large solid wire jumpers or 18 ga. or higher stranded wire, like in this pic:

[img761]http://i514.photobucket.com/albums/t346 ... 2board.jpg[/img]

For smaller wires (20 ga. or smaller), I wrap them around the turret, right at the base of the turret (wrap no more than 75% of the way around the turret, like Merlin says, in case you need to remove later).

The reasons I don't like to put small wires in the top of turrets is because they can move or even pop out while soldering, causing a cold solder joint, and they don't fill enough of the turret, so solder can just continuously drip through the turret and out the bottom, without ever getting a good joint on the wire.

This is not as much of a problem if you have 2 or 3 wires in the top of the same turret. For the small number of components that I do put into the top of turrets, I like to put a short piece of wire in the top of the turret to hold the component tight, then clip the wire flush with the turret top after soldering.

This mil-spec, even though it's a big file, has excellent drawings and photos of proper soldering techniques using turrets (around page 30):

http://www.everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL- ... 743E_3367/

[Gaz]

I wrap everything around the turret until there's no room left. I have some turrets that have 5 leads or more, so I can't be picky about top-loading/wrapping.

Like most builders with a more than a few builds under their belt, I have done and equal amount of de-soldering as soldering. I would say that unless you're using solid-core, teflon wire, and eyelets/top-loading, there's a +/- 50% chance you'll have to replace the wire completely :/

[Kagliostro]

All you want to know is here

NASA Document

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/doc ... 93-Ch5.pdf

K

[iknowjohnny]

Now that one of you mentioned it, I forgot about lead length. I'm not sure but i think the resistors i ordered are short leads. So i may be forced to top load them. They are the 1W carbon films from tubedepot. I totally forgot about that but i think thats where i got the last batch and they were pretty short. That might just make my decision for me.

[Structo]

Yep, best to wait to build the board until you have components in hand.

Or get the wire stretcher out.