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I would like to know if there is a way to solder this 12 gauge wire to my protoboard.

The wire is connected to a 12 V power supply so I need to find a way to connect it to my protoboard. The hole is small on the board and the wire is pretty thick. Is there maybe a connector to solder this?

enter image description here

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    \$\begingroup\$ Solder a piece of wire of the correct gauge for your protoboard onto the wire in the photo and sleeve it with heatshrink or tape. It's the wrong wire for the board. \$\endgroup\$
    – Transistor
    Jun 29, 2021 at 21:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ Awesome, thanks! \$\endgroup\$
    – hello_world07
    Jun 29, 2021 at 22:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ Or lay it flat from the edge of the board and solder it onto the surface. The wire doesn't need to pass through the hole for it to be attached. I agree with transistor though, there probably isn't a good reason to do this. \$\endgroup\$
    – Drew
    Jun 29, 2021 at 22:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ what is connected at the other end of the 12 gauge wire? \$\endgroup\$
    – jsotola
    Jun 29, 2021 at 22:05
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    \$\begingroup\$ Are you sure your pcb can support the current? \$\endgroup\$
    – Passerby
    Jun 30, 2021 at 1:10

3 Answers 3

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This is a case of the tail wagging the dog.
I would support the heavy wire with some loops of smaller gauge wire that are soldered to your protoboard (see photo). This will prevent the heavy wire from fracturing the solder joint or tearing the pads from the board.

enter image description here

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An appropriately sized screw terminal block can be used. 0.2" spacing between terminals make it ideal for prototype boards with 0.1" standard spacing. Make sure it accepts 12 AWG solid wire.

enter image description here

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    \$\begingroup\$ 0.2" is much more common. no way can you fit that thick wire into a 0.1" terminal, if they even exist \$\endgroup\$
    – tobalt
    Jun 30, 2021 at 7:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ @toblat updated \$\endgroup\$
    – Passerby
    Jun 30, 2021 at 15:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ Or use a terminal with removable wire part so that the wire can be easily removed from the board. Handy when soldering if nothing else. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lundin
    Jul 1, 2021 at 9:01
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You could solder a solder/terminal pin or two into holes the PCB then solder your wire to that - enter image description here

This terminal pin was copied from this site.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ You'll likely get a hot mess (literally!!) when the pin unsolders from the board as you try to solder the wire to it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Scott Seidman
    Jun 30, 2021 at 17:15
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ScottSeidman I always use these pins when soldering wires to PCBs. I have never had a problem. The pin is barbed and is a press fit into the hole. \$\endgroup\$
    – HandyHowie
    Jun 30, 2021 at 17:37

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