Spade Connectors for Cornwalls

[JonMustang]

I'm looking for some good spade connectors for the binding posts on my 1978 Cornwalls. These binding posts are the kind that have one nut&bolt set of posts, and one set of machine-screw posts. It'd be great to find a few connectors that will fit nice and tight in the channel of the binding post (also, hooked up to a vintage Scott amp on the other end).

Amongst the gold-plated types, are they pretty much all the same? Solderless vs solder vs set-screw, straight vs right-angle, Radioshack vs high-end, etc, etc. I'd like to hear your experiences with the lot of 'em. Might help me narrow down what would otherwise turn into an obsessive-compulsive nightmare of trial and error for me

[tube fanatic]

You will not hear a difference between gold plated vs any other type of lug. It's always best to solder the leads to the lugs, however, as relying on any kind of mechanical connection is likely to cause problems in the long term. I'd also coat the lugs with a little De-Oxit before installation to get a really good, low resistance connection.

[JonMustang]

Thanks, good advice! Guess I'll go heat up the soldering iron

Am I correct in saying that, in the case of gold plated lugs, at least there won't any corrosion to ever worry about? Not that I've ever had a problem with that -- realistically, the De-Oxit would probably do as good at gold plating, I suppose.

[tube fanatic]

It's not likely that you will find unplated steel lugs which will deteriorate if exposed to the normal moisture levels in the home. As you said, the De-Oxit should take care of any concerns in that department regardless. I've used it on coax connectors which are exposed to all kinds of weather, and it seems to prevent any problems from developing even after many years. Having gold plating is fine too, but whether it's worth the cost difference is debatable.

[thebes]

I haven't tried soldering speaker connections, but I'm a fan of simply screwing the bare wire directly onto the terminal Then about once a year I cut off an inch or two at each end, reconnect, and wallah, good for another year. There's usually a slight improvement because you've "refreshed" the contact surface. Indeed, I believe this is what many people are actually hearing when they switch in new miracle cables they've dropped serious dough on.

If you are like me, and you shift the speaker a bit from time-to-time to in search of the perfect sonic arrangement, the Thebes-O-Rama Cable Fastening Methodology eliminates the possibility of a snapped or cold solder joint.

Plus with my methodology, you often find now properly seasoned food stuffs that inadvertently got back there, sometimes a penny or two, and some wonderful dust balls suitable for framing.

[LarryC]

I prefer gold plated because they seem to cinch up pretty well and don't oxidize. I couldn't tighten the silver-plated ones I tried enough to keep them from slipping -- not a problem with the way gold cinches down on other materials. I also prefer soldering them directly to the wire.

[Cornman]

Home Depot, brass lug spade connectors. About $4.00 for a pair. Let me see if I can find the Part #, really a great heavy duty solution for us "Corn heads". []

[LarryC]

These are copper rather than gold, maybe $6/pr, and I know Vampire Wire is good stuff: http://www.vampirewire.com/pc-91-28-bar.aspx.

Pic: http://www.vampirewire.com/images/Product/medium/BAR.jpg

However, spacing in those older barrier strips is very tight, and not every spade is a good fit. If any doubts, call Stuart Marcus to go over dimensions: 813 948-2707.

Larry

[Cornman]

Ok, here are the spades I am using on old corrnies.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100206838/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=blackburn&storeId=10051

Great connection with the screw & good copper. They say for 14 guage,but I found it only necessary to trim a few strands off my 10g to ft in the lug. The width of the spaderequired a few mills narrowing with a bench grinder or a file to clear the plastic guide rails on the speaker.

Industral Audio thats sweet []

[LarryC]

The width of the spaderequired a few mills narrowing with a bench grinder or a file to clear the plastic guide rails on the speaker.

That's exactly the problem I had in mind. Checking with Vampire and getting exactly the right size might be less trouble for some.

[Cornman]

Good point there Larry, about "less trouble for some." Myself being in the maintenance trade, grinding a little metal only took a few seconds. For those that are challenged or intimidated with the grinding process, they may also feel similar about the crimping required on the Vampire connectors. If I were to use the Vampires I would prefer to solder the connection rather then crimp. One other thing I like about the HD lugs is you simply tighten the screw down on the wire, then in the event you want to make any changes to your speaker wire simply unscrew the set & they are ready for use again.

Gees what a hobby (industry) we have so many choices.

[JonMustang]

This is great -- I picked up a set today. Great price, nice build quality. Made in USA too! The ones I found at Home Depot are made by "Burndy" and $2 for a pack of two.

It looks like they're just gonna need a little bit of filing to fit. They're almost perfect. It looks like, with some minor tweaking, I'll also be able to use them on the amp-side of the cables too. I've got an old H.H. Scott LK-72 and it's kind of pain to fit things to those binding posts, so I'm looking forward to the project. I'll take some pictures and share the project results with y'all later in the week.