[ZSamuels28]

Okay new question... Should I tin all of my wires that I use to connect to my headphone drivers and adapter? I guess I can't really tin them if I put them through a hole, or could/should I?

 

[Armaegis]

Tinning is fine, though be careful if you're putting the wires through holes that tinning doesn't make the wire too thick to fit (it happens if you use too much solder)

 

[creatip]

   
I think you need to break out the calculator and see how negative exponents factor into what you're saying. Algebra FTW. 
 
1.68x10^-8 is the same as 0.0000000168, while 1.09x10^-7 is   0.000000109.  See the difference?
 
The resistance of tin is in fact 6.488 times larger than copper, using the numbers you provided. Solder does not have the same conductivity as pure copper. Choosing to not make a good mechanical connection is a big no-no. Not only will you end up with a weaker joint, but a worse connection. To what extent? Well that depends. 

 
Not trying to throw in more gas into the fire, but I'd imagine the resistance and conductivity value of those applies to homogenous one piece of material, e.g. 1 rod of copper and 1 rod of tin being measured. 
 
Say I got 2 pieces of copper plate. If I stack them together, I'd imagine the resistance measured between them is greater than what's stated in the measurement, because of the 'gaps' mentioned before. Soldering acts as the filler on the gaps, and resulting in a better conductivity. 
 
I think the concept is more or less similar to applying thermal paste between a PC's processor chip and the heatsink. Good heatsinks use copper surface that's very good in transferring heats, better than the thermal paste, but still, applying thermal paste between the surface of contact to act as a filler will enhance the heat transfer. 

 

[creatip]

  Okay new question... Should I tin all of my wires that I use to connect to my headphone drivers and adapter? I guess I can't really tin them if I put them through a hole, or could/should I?

 
You're kinda over-worrying trivial stuffs. Tinning wires before threading it through the hole vs threading it first, then soldering would give basically the same result. When heated, soldering tin will become semi-liquid that will fill tiny holes and gaps. The difference might be, if the wires are tinned first, then it's a bit easier to solder it after it's threaded through the hole. 
 
I'd suggest some googling on articles and/or videos on 'how to solder properly' 

 

[Armaegis]

I find pre-tinning is great for:
- really delicate jobs where I can just tap quickly with an iron (with a bit of solder on the tip) and not worry about too much heat going through
- times where I need a hand to hold the wire/component steady at whatever angle I need, so again it's just a tap (sometimes with some extra flux applied) to create the connection

 

[bigalila]

   
I think you need to break out the calculator and see how negative exponents factor into what you're saying. Algebra FTW. 
 
1.68x10^-8 is the same as 0.0000000168, while 1.09x10^-7 is   0.000000109.  See the difference?
 
The resistance of tin is in fact 6.488 times larger than copper, using the numbers you provided. Solder does not have the same conductivity as pure copper. Choosing to not make a good mechanical connection is a big no-no. Not only will you end up with a weaker joint, but a worse connection. To what extent? Well that depends. 

Sorry, I did fudge the math a little.  I guess I should actually stop fishing next time. 

 Anyways... what mechanical connection are you going on about?  There is no mechanical connection available in most of the connections we use in our cables and connectors.  You could count twisting wires together, I guess, that is a mechanical connection.  We could also try bolting, welding, brazing...
 
My method is so; Clean both workpieces well, lightly tin each piece and allow to cool, add small amount of flux, hold both workpieces tightly together and add heat and maybe a little more solder until I get a good flow, make sure the two work pieces are held securely until completely cool.  Hasn't failed me in the 25+ years since I started soldering.

 

[DingoSmuggler]

Resistance is measured in ohms, its inverse is conductance, measured in mhos (mho is simply ohm spelled backwards, equivalent to 1/ohm).
 
The inverse of conductivity is resistivity, not resistance.
Resistivity would be expressed in ohm*metres, and conductivity being the inverse, in mhos/metre.
 
For a bit of an example - we knew a 3m length of copper wire had a resistivity of 1.6x10^(-10) ohm*metres, a cross sectional area of 2x10^(-6) m^2.
The resistance of the length of wire will be the resistivity divided by the c/s. area multiplied by the length - giving us 24 milliohms.
 
The resistance of properly made solder joints is tiny, and for headphone cables should be less than the contact resistance of the plug to jack, or the wire resistance.

 

[Armaegis]

 
Sorry, I did fudge the math a little.  I guess I should actually stop fishing next time. 

 Anyways... what mechanical connection are you going on about?  There is no mechanical connection available in most of the connections we use in our cables and connectors. 

 
I think he means simply physical contact.
 
Try and establish as much physical contact with the wire to the connector as possible, then fill with solder to fill in the gaps and hold it in place, yadda yadda.
 
If soldering to posts or holes (not for headphone cables usually), then there are in fact "proper" procedures for wrapping/looping the wires before solder is applied.

 

[Kamakahah]

   
Not trying to throw in more gas into the fire, but I'd imagine the resistance and conductivity value of those applies to homogenous one piece of material, e.g. 1 rod of copper and 1 rod of tin being measured. 
 
Say I got 2 pieces of copper plate. If I stack them together, I'd imagine the resistance measured between them is greater than what's stated in the measurement, because of the 'gaps' mentioned before. Soldering acts as the filler on the gaps, and resulting in a better conductivity. 
 
I think the concept is more or less similar to applying thermal paste between a PC's processor chip and the heatsink. Good heatsinks use copper surface that's very good in transferring heats, better than the thermal paste, but still, applying thermal paste between the surface of contact to act as a filler will enhance the heat transfer. 

 
Thermal and electrical conductivity share some of the same principles, but are different. Both are largely determined by free electrons. However, electrical conductivity is inversely proportional to the thermal speed of electrons while thermal conductivity is directly proportional. Anyway, you can look that up. 
 

 
Sorry, I did fudge the math a little.  I guess I should actually stop fishing next time. 

 Anyways... what mechanical connection are you going on about?  There is no mechanical connection available in most of the connections we use in our cables and connectors.  You could count twisting wires together, I guess, that is a mechanical connection.  We could also try bolting, welding, brazing...
 
My method is so; Clean both workpieces well, lightly tin each piece and allow to cool, add small amount of flux, hold both workpieces tightly together and add heat and maybe a little more solder until I get a good flow, make sure the two work pieces are held securely until completely cool.  Hasn't failed me in the 25+ years since I started soldering.

 
I'm with you. It's sort of a broad question since each scenario is a bit different depending on what you are working on. My original post that was pointed out leading the the conversation contained a general guideline that I and many others follow. How you choose to interpret a "good mechanical connection" is largely going to depend on what you're working on. I use the same method as you describe here often. I think people might be over thinking the piece of advice a little too much. 

  Resistance is measured in ohms, its inverse is conductance, measured in mhos (mho is simply ohm spelled backwards, equivalent to 1/ohm).
 
The inverse of conductivity is resistivity, not resistance.
Resistivity would be expressed in ohm*metres, and conductivity being the inverse, in mhos/metre.
 
For a bit of an example - we knew a 3m length of copper wire had a resistivity of 1.6x10^(-10) ohm*metres, a cross sectional area of 2x10^(-6) m^2.
The resistance of the length of wire will be the resistivity divided by the c/s. area multiplied by the length - giving us 24 milliohms.
 
The resistance of properly made solder joints is tiny, and for headphone cables should be less than the contact resistance of the plug to jack, or the wire resistance.

 
Good post. I agree. 

 

[bigalila]

   
I think he means simply physical contact.
 
Try and establish as much physical contact with the wire to the connector as possible, then fill with solder to fill in the gaps and hold it in place, yadda yadda.
 
If soldering to posts or holes (not for headphone cables usually), then there are in fact "proper" procedures for wrapping/looping the wires before solder is applied.

Good point, he might believe that's the same as a mechanical connection.  I also agree with you you on the holes and posts, but we don't really see too many of those on the tiny connections we use.
 

  Resistance is measured in ohms, its inverse is conductance, measured in mhos (mho is simply ohm spelled backwards, equivalent to 1/ohm).
 
The inverse of conductivity is resistivity, not resistance.
Resistivity would be expressed in ohm*metres, and conductivity being the inverse, in mhos/metre.
 
For a bit of an example - we knew a 3m length of copper wire had a resistivity of 1.6x10^(-10) ohm*metres, a cross sectional area of 2x10^(-6) m^2.
The resistance of the length of wire will be the resistivity divided by the c/s. area multiplied by the length - giving us 24 milliohms.
 
The resistance of properly made solder joints is tiny, and for headphone cables should be less than the contact resistance of the plug to jack, or the wire resistance.

Thank you for wording that so well.  A lot of people on here are worried about types of solder and what sounds the best, but the truth is exactly as you stated.  A properly soldered joint has very little resistance and doesn't affect the sound to a hearable level over the couple connections in our cables.  Now if we were talking about all the connections on an amp's board, that could be a different story.  Many, many more connections for the little improvement made with higher quality solder to add up and actually make an audible difference, maybe.

 

[noumen]

Hi!
 
Can I use this one as a two wire cabel? Inside wire as a minus outside as a plus?
 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Pink-100m-32AWG-Acrolink-Silver-Plated-With-Shielding-Layer-Signal-Teflon-Wire-Cable-7-0-08mm2/2045430807.html

 

[JacobLee89]

  Hi!
 
Can I use this one as a two wire cabel? Inside wire as a minus outside as a plus?
 
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Pink-100m-32AWG-Acrolink-Silver-Plated-With-Shielding-Layer-Signal-Teflon-Wire-Cable-7-0-08mm2/2045430807.html

Rather than saying "minus" and "plus". it's easier to say it in terms of "signal" and "ground", because either have their own purposes completely different to closing a basic circuit.
 
It's feasible to use the inside wire as a signal, and the outside shielding as a ground, but I do not know what metal is being used as the shielding layer. If it's aluminium then you should reconsider, as aluminium has a conductivity of 61%. 
 
Are you working on making separate RCA cables? If you're working on 3.5mm or 1/4" stereo cables, then I'd suggest using a separate wire for each.

 

[noumen]

  Rather than saying "minus" and "plus". it's easier to say it in terms of "signal" and "ground", because either have their own purposes completely different to closing a basic circuit.
 
It's feasible to use the inside wire as a signal, and the outside shielding as a ground, but I do not know what metal is being used as the shielding layer. If it's aluminium then you should reconsider, as aluminium has a conductivity of 61%. 
 
Are you working on making separate RCA cables? If you're working on 3.5mm or 1/4" stereo cables, then I'd suggest using a separate wire for each.

Thanks!
 
I'am working on IEM with 3,5mm jack cabel. Shielding layer is probably the same metal used inside the wire. This is thread where I describe my problem: http://www.head-fi.org/t/757270/where-to-get-thin-cable meaby You can help.

 

[PETEREK]

I REALLY wish it was possible to buy Linum cable. I'd be all over that, but they don't seem to want to tap into the DIY market yet.

 

[ZSamuels28]

  I REALLY wish it was possible to buy Linum cable. I'd be all over that, but they don't seem to want to tap into the DIY market yet.

Can't you buy one made and cut the adapters off?