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I got this power barrel plug. http://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/PP3-002A/CP3-1000-ND/992136

It doesn't have any hole for me to put a wire through. The wire just goes into the hole for approximately 0.5cm. How am I suppose to solder this? I also tried crimping it, but it flatten the tube and causes the centre pin to touch the bottom pin.

Also I found it really hard to solder even on the bottom pin as the solder doesn't really stick to it.

I wonder if anyone could give me some suggestion on how I can attach wires onto this barrel plug.

enter image description here

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Did you use flux? \$\endgroup\$
    – jippie
    Commented Aug 1, 2013 at 17:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ No I didn't use flux. I guess I should try using it. Also I am using silver solder which seems to be a lot less "sticky" compared to leaded ones. \$\endgroup\$
    – tuzzer
    Commented Aug 1, 2013 at 19:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ It's pretty easy to solder with a reasonably high wattage soldering iron, good flux, and a new plug. If it takes more than a couple of seconds, you need to either use flux with zinc chloride, or clean the plug with sand paper, or stop using the low wattage iron and get a higher wattage iron (preferably temperature controlled). I also put an insulation sleeve over the middle connection. \$\endgroup\$
    – Indraneel
    Commented Nov 2, 2018 at 10:08

6 Answers 6

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Tin both wire ends first. Fill the middle cup with solder, and stuff the (stripped) positive wire in while the solder is hot. Push the negative wire through the hole from inside to outside up to the insulation, and solder the wire to the outside of the contact towards the plug. Crimp the arms around both (insulated) wires. Screw the cap on (and oh yeah, don't forget to put it on the wire before soldering anything).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ If possible I plug the connector in to it's socket to help keep the parts aligned if the plastic starts to soften. But only if I have a socket not attached to any thing valuable..... \$\endgroup\$
    – Spoon
    Commented Aug 1, 2013 at 17:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Spoon if you are melting the plastic you are def doing it wrong. \$\endgroup\$
    – Passerby
    Commented Aug 1, 2013 at 22:28
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Passerby true but when your new to the field a tip like this can save you from failure. 8-) \$\endgroup\$
    – Spoon
    Commented Aug 9, 2013 at 18:52
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I admit that this type of plug is almost impossible to solder well. The center pin is not much of a problem, just strip a very short patch of one wire (center wire of course, if you have a coax-style cable) and solder it.

For the outer tab you can heat it for some time until solder flows over the desired place, then press the pre-tinned wire onto the soldered part and let it merge.

The alternative is to fold the unsoldered wire back to the clamping flaps, and solder it to the flaps. Then you can crimp the flaps if you want, but they are too flimsy to add much mechanical strength.

You can also try to crimp the flaps over the wire and not solder it, but I think that will not be reliable in the long term. Crimping and then soldering is likely to melt the isolation of the wrong wire too.

But the best alternative is to forget about using this type of plug. Get a prefitted plug+wire (there are some sources), or salvage a leftover wallwart.

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Also I found it really hard to solder even on the bottom pin as the solder doesn't really stick to it.

It sounds like you need a better soldering iron or technique. If you can get it hot enough, and the surfaces are clean (use flux, or at least flux-core solder), the solder will stick.

There are plenty of resources, here and elsewhere on the internet, on soldering:

All of this can be summarized as:

  • cheap tools give cheap results
  • you are soldering something big, so use a big tip
  • the tip and your part and your wire must be clean
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Firstly, you need a holder like a "helping hands" with two alligator clips to hold the barrel plug and the wire in position so that you can concentrate on manipulating the solder wire and the iron.

Even if there is no hole for the center conductor wire to go through, it can just be brought into contact with the terminal and soldered on.

Prior to bringing in the wires, coat the plug's contact surfaces with solder.

The issue of the solder not sticking should be overcome by fluxing the plug's contact surfaces liberally, and using a higher wattage unregulated soldering iron (40W to 60W rather than your 20W used for PCB work), or cranking up your regulated iron.

Larger parts like plugs have a lot more thermal mass that sucks away heat, which in turn lowers the temperature at the tip and extends the time required to make a joint.

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I always cut the crimp flaps, solder the wire on the flat part and cover it with heatshrink. I used to assemble guitar pedal boards so i have done a few of those.

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Here is a video tutorial for how to solder a male barrel connector that I made. I am absolutely not an expert and am probably breaking a lot of the rules of soldering, but it took a lot of trial and error for me to finally figure out how to do this in a way that I was happy with both functionally and aesthetically.

Having the right equipment makes a HUGE difference. For me this means:

  • A fine-tipped soldering iron
  • Helping hands
  • Clean equipment
  • A very thin gauge of solder that melts/bonds quickly (this allows me to skip the tinning step)

Hope this helps!

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