Improvised solder lug ideas-- Help

[BadIdeas]

I just made a big boo-boo on my last order. I realized that I could save a bunch of money buying the pot values and tapers in Small Bear's potentiometer kit from Tayda ($99.95 + shipping VS <$70 total) instead, but I didn't pay attention to the terminal type and apparently they only have PC-mount pins and not solder terminals.
Since I don't really want to pay for shipping to return them and be out that money, I was hoping to gather some ideas on using these as panel mount pots still.
One obvious idea is soldering wire to the little holes between the pins and the main part, but I'm not sure if that is what was intended and the wiper looks particularly close to shorting to the shell.
I'm sure similar issues have plagued some of you, so what would you suggest?

[Taylor]

I don't find wiring to the pins that hard. I have heard some say that soldering to the rivet holes is bad. What you can do is curl the pins around to make a loop.

[Scruffie]

Or stick it in a small piece of vero/perf.

[anchovie]

I use this type of pots all the time. Fit them to the enclosure first so they're being held fairly steady and all you have to worry about holding is the wire, tin the pins and your piece of wire, then hold them together and reflow the solder. I don't find it fiddly at all.

[fatfoohy]

you could always drill the legs, or punch holes into them

[anchovie]

you could always drill the legs, or punch holes into them

Holes in pins that are 1mm wide? 

[Taylor]

you could always drill the legs, or punch holes into them

Holes in pins that are 1mm wide?  

Just use your .25mm drill bit, of course. Here's a pic of mine:

[BadIdeas]

Anchovie just beat me to what I was going to say. I might as well mention that these are 16mm Alphas.

I have heard some say that soldering to the rivet holes is bad.

Guess I'm glad I bothered to ask about it. Does anyone know why?

I just got the warning that Taylor posted a reply, but I can't see the pic.

[Scruffie]

Anchovie just beat me to what I was going to say. I might as well mention that these are 16mm Alphas.

I have heard some say that soldering to the rivet holes is bad.

Guess I'm glad I bothered to ask about it. Does anyone know why?

I just got the warning that Taylor posted a reply, but I can't see the pic.

You can see the pic, that's the joke.

Soldering the Rivet holes is bad as they are close to the internal mechanism, shit can drop in or heat can @#$% it up, I have however soldered them without problem several times, but I did mess it up once when some solder dripped in the case housing.

[PRR]

> have PC-mount pins and not solder terminals.

This part?



> ideas on using these as panel mount pots still. One obvious idea is soldering wire to the little holes between the pins and the main part

A one-turn wire-wrap, soldered, is good enough for government work.

Bend the tinned wire end in a U, crimp on pin, solder. Good enuff for any DIY.

As James says, tin the pin, tin the wire, lay wire on pin and heat both until they flow together. NASA and Western Electric would frown on this (they want a mechanical connection not relying on solder), but in my experience a WELL flowed butt-lap joint will survive more abuse than the rest of the apparatus.

[MmmPedals]

I do similar to PRR. I loop the end of the wire to be soldered the pot into a loop and just stick it on the lug of the pot crimp it down and solder.

[trjones1]

I solder wires to the rivets all the time.  Just get in and out quickly so you don't overheat the pot.  I also always solder the wires in from the top (shaft side) of the pot, so no chance of getting anything down onto the wafer.  I have a hard time believing that soldering the rivet, which is about 1mm closer to the internal mechanism than the pin, is going to make a significant difference.  You also get a much more secure connection than just soldering to the pin because the rivet is basically a through plated hole.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Jones; that stops you from fitting the pots flush to the enclosure though.

[trjones1]

Sorry, my post wasn't too clear.  I stick the wire in from the bottom, but do all the soldering from the top to prevent any schmutz from getting on the back of the pot case or inside the mechanism, then cut any excess from the top with flush cutters.

[phector2004]

You can't solder into the rivet holes with the 16mms that have a plastic cover... I've done it before, but I've heard bad stuff about it as well. Bending and soldering works just fine, though it isn't as easy!

[BadIdeas]

OK, simple cowboy engineering. Better than duct tape. Thanks guys.

[zombiwoof]

I've thought of using a tiny spade lug to connect a wire to a pc-pin pot.  You know, those connectors that are used often on speaker connections.  There are small sizes of those, that would fit on the pin tight.  You would then solder both ends of the connection.  Anyone try this?.

Al

[phector2004]

Make sure you get the right sizes... I bought both male and female of the same size thinking they were sized to fit into each other. I now have a useless collection of spades in my bin

[StephenGiles]

The trick is to put some solder on to the pot lug and wire first. Then hold wire against the lug and apply hot iron, the solder will flow at which point remove the iron, keeping the wire still until the solder has gone cold.

For solder lugs on boards I use paper clips cut to size.

[IvIark]

I do this all the time. 



The vero also seems to act as a heat sink so very little heat is transferred to the pot.  I actually prefer this now to the solder lugs and there's enough clearance to the back of the pot to allow you to still mount things without touching the vero.