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I've had two failures in two weeks now with my speakon jacks. Do you guys just use the screws with them or take the screws out and solder the wires in? (12 gauge wire)

Tin the wires and use the supplied screws is what I do...

Grant Bunter wrote:Tin the wires and use the supplied screws is what I do...

Tinning is what can cause the screws to loosen. Bare copper deforms under pressure, allowing the screws the best possible grip. Tinned copper is too hard to deform under the pressure of the screw, so it doesn't grip as well.

ripNdeb wrote:I've had two failures in two weeks now with my speakon jacks. Do you guys just use the screws with them or take the screws out and solder the wires in? (12 gauge wire)

I screw 'em in with no solder. The only time I've ever had one come apart was when someone was "helping" me tear down after a benefit.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:

Grant Bunter wrote:Tin the wires and use the supplied screws is what I do...

Tinning is what can cause the screws to loosen. Bare copper deforms under pressure, allowing the screws the best possible grip. Tinned copper is too hard to deform under the pressure of the screw, so it doesn't grip as well.

This.
In some cases I'll tin the very tip, just to keep the strands together, but that has to be done with great care, lest the capillary forces fill the entire length.

I'll often double the thickness by folding, or even triple it for maximum contact and grip. My teacher in the military service taught me that.

Grant Bunter wrote:Tin the wires and use the supplied screws is what I do...

That was my first failure. They just slipped out because of the tinning there was probably only one place to hold it exactly where it needed to be held. I since have stripped off about a quarter inch or a little less, just enough to get the wire into the bottom. But, yesterdays Easter Service produced a crackling in the right side. When it was over I jiggled the wires at all points and the one that was plugged into the amp was the culprit; tried different channels, switched channels, jiggled the cable at the jack which seemed to make the problem worse or better at times. It was an odd problem since crackling is not usually a cable issue; it's either on or it's off. I'm getting out the magnifying glass today. arrgghh, [bad language]

Bruce Weldy wrote: The only time I've ever had one come apart was when someone was "helping" me tear down after a benefit.

By pulling on the cable without unlocking the connector I'm sure.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:

Bruce Weldy wrote: The only time I've ever had one come apart was when someone was "helping" me tear down after a benefit.

By pulling on the cable without unlocking the connector I'm sure.

Yeah, he seemed to be amazed that after 3 or 4 good yanks, it wouldn't come out.

Quite often, people come up the stage and offer to help....but honestly, it takes longer to tell 'em what to do than to just do it.

And I sure as hell don't want someone else rolling up my cables.

On the newer speakons with the silver metal latch I've had the wires pull out until I figured out a little trick. I unscrew the screw almost all the way out then using an awl I bend the plate as far in as I can then put the wire in and tighten. If I don't bend the plate in I don't get a tight connection.

CoronaOperator wrote:On the newer speakons with the silver metal latch I've had the wires pull out until I figured out a little trick. I unscrew the screw almost all the way out then using an awl I bend the plate as far in as I can then put the wire in and tighten. If I don't bend the plate in I don't get a tight connection.

Just loosening the set screw all the way allows enough room to get 12ga wire all the way to the bottom.

Of course, cranking the strain relief really, really tight keeps it all safe too.

Whenever possible I solder.
I realize a good crimped or screwed connection can be quite solid, but I've seen a number of them fail or loosen over time, and never seen one of my solder joints fail through any fault of it's own.
I see it as an extra 5 minutes for never having to worry about it again (besides I make most of my own cables)

Bruce Weldy wrote:Quite often, people come up the stage and offer to help....but honestly, it takes longer to tell 'em what to do than to just do it.

I often accept assistance to move stuff to the van, I can keep the doors open then as someone is often always near it but never the cabling.

I think everyone is funny about how their cables are 'managed'.

Chris_Allen wrote: I think everyone is funny about how their cables are 'managed'.

Not so much funny as serious .

A properly wound cable will unwind perfectly with no loops and will lay down nice and flat (if you start with good cable). All of my cables get over-under wrapping - speaker, mic, power, even my snake.

Everything lays flat and stores much easier.

The band I work with has their own system and they are cable pigs....sloppy, sloppier, sloppiest. I finally quit trying with them - I have all the cables for the PA under my control - they can wrap their mic cables around their arm if they want....as long as I don't have to deal with 'em next time.

Build 'em yourself with quality cable and connectors - then wrap 'em right and they will last forever. I can't remember the last time I had a cable failure on my rig. But, I'm fixing stuff all the time those other guys.

+1

Cable management is very important to a well-managed system.
I think the worst example I've seen was when I was working video at a venue, and the client brought in a 'friend who had a sound system'
They had some decent speakers, powered QSC boxes, and a high end DJ console, but they had very little practical knowledge about any sort of audio systems.
For their style of cable management, cables were coiled around the arm, then just pulled out (not uncoiled) Too many kinks? They had a solution for that too...

Two guys, each one grabs an end and hauls.

That was painful to watch.

Bruce Weldy wrote:And I sure as hell don't want someone else rolling up my cables.

its even worse with data cables over 50' that have to get run, or coax rg6.