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No soldering required. The plugs have 'teeth' which line up with wires in the ribbon. These bite through the insulation to make a connection. All you need to is insert the ribbon cable and press the thing together.
"Pressing" it can mean using a special tool, or (as I have done in the past) judiciously using a hammer.
or even better a small vice so that the crimping remains even pressure along the connector
Far better! Judicious use of a hammer involves things like a piece of wood between the connector and the hammer and a very close eye kept to ensure that you're getting the connector to "close" evenly.
If you have a vice, I would certainly recommend one, however, I have been in the position of having to repair IDC cables in the field with nothing except the broken cable, a screwdriver, and a hammer.
I wouldn't recommend it as normal practice.
Pliers... shudder...
The key thing, Vick5821, is to ensure that:
1) you have the cable the right way around -- not that this may involve not only correctly orienting pin 1, but also deciding which side the cable exits the connector.
2) ensuring the 2 halves of the connector are around the right way. Typically the connections are offset and the little blades fit into recesses in the cover holding the cable. Get that cover around the wrong way and you'll seriously mangle things. Just check it's the right way around (if it matters for that connector).
3) make sure the crimping is even. Don't force one side down before the other. This may place an excessive load on the connector or on clips which may hold the cover in place.
The correct tool is always best, but unless you're doing a very large number it is unlikely you will want to splash out for one.
edit: I have made mistakes in 1, 2, and 3. They can make you say bad things
No soldering required. The plugs have 'teeth' which line up with wires in the ribbon. These bite through the insulation to make a connection. All you need to is insert the ribbon cable and press the thing together.
USD 20.69 is not a small amount for me as a studentThe crimp tools are cheap and they make it nearly painless to do, I just have a cheap 'Ebay' pressing tool and even it works fine... You just need to make sure the ribbon is in 'straight' and 'centered' in the connectors and crimp closed... It's really hard to screw it up, the only real advice I have is get a good sharp pair of shears or even a decent pair of scissors to cut the cable, you want a clean fast cut so that you don't have wire strands hanging out that might cause shorting...
The only issue I had with my cheap press tool is the IDC anvil kept moving and falling off since it's interchangeable for other connector types... A little silicone glue to hold it in place and the tool is flawless now...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IDC-IDS-Rib...lectrical_Equipment_Tools&hash=item4ab835a0c7
I have made 1000s of cables by hand over the years, as it's stupid expensive to have a custom sized run made...
BTW to avoid the connector issues Steve brought up, I have a short double ended SAMPLE cable that stays with the tool, I reference this cable every time I make a new one to verify that I placed the connectors on correctly and don't make a bone head reverse of polarity, because trust me you will
USD 20.69 is not a small amount for me as a student