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Maybe. But you risk the wires touching each other and shorting something possibly damaging the circuit...unless you mean insulated wire. There is a reason they use that type of harness. Is there something wrong with the harness in the picture?
What you have is a ribbon wire harness. Longer lengths are sold. Just be sure of the type of connector you need and the number of wires you need. Of course what you want to do is probably possible it just doesnt feel safe(A bunch of wires just dangling). The ribbon harnesses dont look too expensive
Not as easily as you might think.
That is not ribbon cable, it is a flex circuit. And there are no connectors; both ends are soldered directly to the pc boards. Note that those are at least 2-layer, if not multi-layer pc boards, so unsoldering the wires is delicate work. Too much heat and the hole plating will come out with the wire, breaking whatever connections are to the other layer(s). Also, the flex circuit might be shielded on one side.
ak
That is not ribbon cable, it is a flex circuit. And there are no connectors; both ends are soldered directly to the pc boards. Note that those are at least 2-layer, if not multi-layer pc boards, so unsoldering the wires is delicate work. Too much heat and the hole plating will come out with the wire, breaking whatever connections are to the other layer(s). Also, the flex circuit might be shielded on one side.
ak
My mistake. It looks exactly like a ribbon harness from a computer. Which can be disconnected/swapped.
hevans1944
Hop - AC8NS
I really cannot recommend this... all sorts of things can go wrong... but you could just take a pair of scissors and cut the flexible circuit in the middle between the two soldered ends. Then carefully scrape bare the conductors on each cut end, solder onto these now bare conductors whatever additional length of insulated copper wire you need, whether that be "ribbon" cable or individual insulated wires. Plop on some clear RTV cement to cover the solder joints and provide some strain relief for the new wires.
Agreed
Sir Tulsa299 . . . . .
On what has been shown in the photo I am certainly not seeing any ‘lebenteen (11) meggling-hurtz signals being transferred between connectors. Plus the Union Jack alphanumeric displays do not reek of needing multi ampere current carrying capacity.
AND its using hardwired end connections, I don’t see need for constant cable flexures every 15 minutes.
In my past experiences of making prototypes and complex one of a kind pre engineering mockups, I have certainly made my share of my own custom ribbon cables.
In this case, I would be overshooting the length of the NEW longer desired length of cable by about two inches on both ends.
You then compute the spacing needed between conductors and then, in this case its 8 conductors, so you then get a soft wood board . . .pine . . . and drive in 8 #18 gauge finishing brads at that required spacing at one extreme end of the board.
Mark off the length needed for the cable to reach the other end of the board along with those two surplus allowances.
Nail in a like number of brads at that end also, at those duplicate inter conductor spacing’s.
Choose your interconnecting wire as being 24-26 gauge insulated magnet wire or insulated CAT-5 wire strands or insulated wire pairs salvaged from a 20-30-50-96 or 200 pair surplus conductor TELCO bundle remnant.
You then tie down one end of the wire and then make some just taut wraps from one end of the brad sets to the other until you have your auto spaced out, side by side 8 wire strands, and then tie off the wire end.
You then get some SCOTCH heavy duty clear wrapping tape and place it between the wire and the board with sticky side up and do a heavy cross wrapping at both ends with 1 inch cut widths of the same tape to hold the wide tape length in place. Confirm that you are centered on the wiring width.
Select one wiring end and use a wooden pencil- popsicle or chop stick and your fingernails to work the 8 end strands down so that they rest upon, or almost upon, the sticky tape.
Repeat the procedure at the other end.
Then you cut another long length of tape that will be the same length as the first lengthwise bottom tape.
This second tape length will me positioned above the bottom tape so that the two properly align and then you press them together to lock the wire strands in place.
Put enough pressure all up and down the length to get a solid bonding of the two tapes. Then the smaller binder tape endings can be removed and the wire ends clipped so you can fingers on both sides to get a FULL conformal bonding.
Also, to evaluate, to see if you might even want to add second or third paired layers of tape, to beef it up even more fully.
Then you can lightly peel back tape coverings on each end to be able to strip off the enamel of magnet wire or insulation of insulated wire and then PRE TIN all of the wire ends.
Then you take the original cable and cut across it at about an inch from its end and then cut BETWEEN each cable, that way you can fuly concentrate on just enough soldering iron heat, to get solder melt release for you to then pull out an old conductor strip . . . one at a time.
The hardest job after that, will be the cleaning out of all of the old solder left filling within the holes, to get all of the leads of this now longer cable in place and resoldered..
This has ALWAYS worked for me . . . .
73’s de Edd
On what has been shown in the photo I am certainly not seeing any ‘lebenteen (11) meggling-hurtz signals being transferred between connectors. Plus the Union Jack alphanumeric displays do not reek of needing multi ampere current carrying capacity.
AND its using hardwired end connections, I don’t see need for constant cable flexures every 15 minutes.
In my past experiences of making prototypes and complex one of a kind pre engineering mockups, I have certainly made my share of my own custom ribbon cables.
In this case, I would be overshooting the length of the NEW longer desired length of cable by about two inches on both ends.
You then compute the spacing needed between conductors and then, in this case its 8 conductors, so you then get a soft wood board . . .pine . . . and drive in 8 #18 gauge finishing brads at that required spacing at one extreme end of the board.
Mark off the length needed for the cable to reach the other end of the board along with those two surplus allowances.
Nail in a like number of brads at that end also, at those duplicate inter conductor spacing’s.
Choose your interconnecting wire as being 24-26 gauge insulated magnet wire or insulated CAT-5 wire strands or insulated wire pairs salvaged from a 20-30-50-96 or 200 pair surplus conductor TELCO bundle remnant.
You then tie down one end of the wire and then make some just taut wraps from one end of the brad sets to the other until you have your auto spaced out, side by side 8 wire strands, and then tie off the wire end.
You then get some SCOTCH heavy duty clear wrapping tape and place it between the wire and the board with sticky side up and do a heavy cross wrapping at both ends with 1 inch cut widths of the same tape to hold the wide tape length in place. Confirm that you are centered on the wiring width.
Select one wiring end and use a wooden pencil- popsicle or chop stick and your fingernails to work the 8 end strands down so that they rest upon, or almost upon, the sticky tape.
Repeat the procedure at the other end.
Then you cut another long length of tape that will be the same length as the first lengthwise bottom tape.
This second tape length will me positioned above the bottom tape so that the two properly align and then you press them together to lock the wire strands in place.
Put enough pressure all up and down the length to get a solid bonding of the two tapes. Then the smaller binder tape endings can be removed and the wire ends clipped so you can fingers on both sides to get a FULL conformal bonding.
Also, to evaluate, to see if you might even want to add second or third paired layers of tape, to beef it up even more fully.
Then you can lightly peel back tape coverings on each end to be able to strip off the enamel of magnet wire or insulation of insulated wire and then PRE TIN all of the wire ends.
Then you take the original cable and cut across it at about an inch from its end and then cut BETWEEN each cable, that way you can fuly concentrate on just enough soldering iron heat, to get solder melt release for you to then pull out an old conductor strip . . . one at a time.
The hardest job after that, will be the cleaning out of all of the old solder left filling within the holes, to get all of the leads of this now longer cable in place and resoldered..
This has ALWAYS worked for me . . . .
73’s de Edd
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