Splicing Coaxial Cables

[rockitdoc]

What is the accepted method for splicing shielded wires? The center wire(s) is(are) not a problem, but the shield? Just unwrap it, wind it up, and splice it to another unwrapped, unwound shield? The wire in question is my shielded P Lead from my right PMag.

 

[Carl Froehlich]

Use BNC connectors.

A female and a male, or two males and a double female (known as a barrel).

Carl

 

[Mikeyb]

The title says coaxial cable but the text concerns shielded wire. A coax cable is a transmission line and is fussy about discontinuities. A shielded wire is just a wire in a shield. In the application of grounding a Pmag I think you can just make pigtails of the shield and solder them together.

 

[wirejock]

Shielded wire

The way I was taught...
Strip a section of insulation
Use a dull probe to open a window and pull the center wire(s) out. Twist the shield.
Use solder sleeves to make connections.

 

[rockitdoc]

The way I was taught...
Strip a section of insulation
Use a dull probe to open a window and pull the center wire(s) out. Twist the shield.
Use solder sleeves to make connections.

As usual, great minds thinking alike. That's exactly what I did. And, the title is incorrect, of course.




Now, I wonder where all these wires go?



The good news is everything from FWF, wings, and emp are all bundled and tidy everywhere else. Now, for the panel wiring!

 

[Rallylancer122]

Have you thought about just replacing it? It looks like you have everything opened up, so shouldn't be hard to pull a new wire.

I've spliced mag wires in the past, so I'm not going to say never do it. But keep in mind that if that splice fails the mag is hot....

 

[Walt]

Since when does Pmag require a shielded 'P' lead?

 

[RV6_flyer]

There are many different methods to do the same thing.

I like using proven methods that are recommended by major manufacturers.

Here is ONE of the ways that Garmin recommends.

Being retired from the aerospace industry where I dealt with mostly SPACE part of the industry, we use similar methods and typically would use RayChem Zap splices on stuff that was going into orbit but we did Ground Support Equipment very similar to the way Garmin shows in the above video.

 

[rockitdoc]

Since when does Pmag require a shielded 'P' lead?

Just following the PMag instructions.

 

[rockitdoc]

There are many different methods to do the same thing.

I like using proven methods that are recommended by major manufacturers.

Here is ONE of the ways that Garmin recommends.

Being retired from the aerospace industry where I dealt with mostly SPACE part of the industry, we use similar methods and typically would use RayChem Zap splices on stuff that was going into orbit but we did Ground Support Equipment very similar to the way Garmin shows in the above video.

That's basically the way I did it, except with a solder shield instead. Won't come loose.

 

[drill_and_buck]

From the Pmag manual...

"Note 2: E-MAG kill (p-lead) wire does not make radio noise and does not require shielding. If replacing a magneto, your existing shielded p-lead wire can be re-used. If doing so, the outer shield needs to be trimmed clean and kept well clear of all other terminations."

 

[rockitdoc]

Got Lost I Guess

I could not find any reference in the PMag instructions indicating the P Lead should be shielded. So.....it is a mystery to me why I would do such a thing. In fact, it seems risky to do this. If for any reason the shield came in contact with the P lead, fewer, as in, NO, sparks would be produced. Must been a temporary lapse of reason on my part. Hmm.

 

[wirejock]

Shielded P-lead

I could not find any reference in the PMag instructions indicating the P Lead should be shielded. So.....it is a mystery to me why I would do such a thing. In fact, it seems risky to do this. If for any reason the shield came in contact with the P lead, fewer, as in, NO, sparks would be produced. Must been a temporary lapse of reason on my part. Hmm.

Interesting. I don't know where I saw it but remember seeing a drawing with shielded wire for the P-lead.
Guess I better track that one down

 

[Mikeyb]

The Pmag doesn’t need a shielded wire but a regular mag does. One reason for using it on a Pmag is to follow the DanH teaching on using the shield as the ground path to the engine itself.

https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=203465