WBT Spades -- Crimping needed??


I just purchased some Canare 4S11 cable and am looking to terminate them properly. I'd like to connect the speaker end of the cable with spades (biwire), and so far I've read that WBT make the best spades.

However, it was not clear to me whether I can insert wires directly into the WBT spades or whether I need to insert a sleeve onto the wires before adding on the spades.

I have no crimping tools and am not looking forward to have to purchase any, so any help is appreciated.
uwloian

Showing 1 response by oxia

Uwloian,

You've gotten lots of good advice regarding the need for crimp sleeves when installing the WBT spades. However, it's not necessary to use the "special" WBT crimp tool. I've installed these spades myself using a standard wire stripper/cutter that also has a crimp die, which is much cheaper than the WBT pliers, and just as effective. You can find crimp tools at Home Depot, Radioshack, or anywhere that sells electrical hardware. Also, Parts Express has a great instructions for proper crimping technique here:

http://www.partsexpress.com/resources/093-500.html

I'd recommend that you use the WBT-0436 sleeve (10 AWG), for the Canare 4S11. This is almost the perfect size if you're going to insert 2 runs (2 x 14AWG = 11AWG) into each spade, with a little bit of extra room to spare.