![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/913233267023573002\/IMG_1677.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSo I started looking for tiny alligator clips that were insulated near the clip, but I couldn’t find any that were small enough to keep from excluding their neighbors at the hobby standard pitch of .254mm. Which meant it was time to Make A Thing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My main material interest in designing such a thing was that I make the clips of regular hobby materials, rather than specialized ones. To that end, the materials are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Music wire: 0.5mm. I think slightly heavier might work better, but this was the first thing I tried and it worked really well.<\/li>
- Heat shrink tubing: 2.5mm. This dimension might be important, but the stuff is stretchy so it might work if it’s a little smaller.<\/li>
- Conductive thread<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The tools are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Wire cutters: heavy duty. You’ll have to cut steel. I tried my electronics ones and every cut ruined that section of the blade.<\/li>
- Fine, needle-nosed pliers, sized for jewelry. I love my Xuron “Tweezernose” pliers. There are others like that that might work.<\/li>
- A heat gun to shrink the heat shrink and make the work permanent. Normally, I’d say you could use a lighter but the thread is so susceptible to melting, I dunno. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/912987197630742538\/IMG_0487.jpg\")
The basics: a music wire jaw about 15mm long, conductive thread tied to the juncture, and heat shrink tubing that holds it together. You can optionally squeeze the jaw just with pliers and heat the heat shrink when you\u2019re confident that the connection is to be permanent!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Solderless-Alligator-parts-1-1038x779.jpg\")
A piece of bent music wire for the jaws, conductive thread to convey signal, and heat shrink to hold it all together to a board or a lead. In my opinion, this clip wound up too short. I recommend 15mm for the heat shrink to have the leverage to really hold it shut.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Solderless-Alligator-tied-2-1-1038x779.jpg\")
Put the heat shrink onto the thread, then tie the thread in a figure eight to the juncture in the jaws.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Solderless-Alligator-Assembled-3-1-1038x779.jpg\")
Slide the heat shrink up to the jaws.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Solderless-Alligator-closed-4-1-1038x779.jpg\")
When you want to close the jaws, slide the heat shrink tubing up. If you change your mind in some way, slide it back. If you want it to stay there permanently, heat the heat shrink.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/9C176A10-5E61-432D-9707-28B16D420CCC-768x1024.jpeg\")
This one is about 20mm long, heat shrunk in place.
I don\u2019t think the jaws need to be this long, either.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nA variation can plug in from the top. Making this one permanent would be more difficult, though it resists being unplugged like an aux plug. It still pops out after jiggling like you\u2019d expect in vigorous use would unplug it, though the connection is positive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/913240189105758218\/IMG_1682.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/913240392156188703\/IMG_1683.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/913240641704693800\/IMG_1685.jpg\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/913240553783697458\/IMG_1684.jpg\")
The back side. I couldn\u2019t get the ends to bend over in a way that would make the connection permanent, and any more vigorous bending kept them from getting into the through hole in the first place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/913240857283526686\/IMG_1687.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.discordapp.com\/attachments\/813872815824175154\/913245015743025172\/IMG_1688.jpg\")
Here\u2019s one of the threads covered with heat shrink to insulate it from the other conductors around it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The clip itself measures about 5\u03a9, which is small, but not nothing. The much greater resistance comes from the thread, which, at 1\u03a9\/cm, means that a 10k\u03a9 potentiometer could have its extremes offset by 1% over the course of a meter. Definitely not a big deal if you\u2019re writing your own logic flow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d like to do some more experimentation, like making a version that\u2019s breadboard compatible \u2014 though breadboards have their own conceptual hurdles. I\u2019m most inclined to try a fabric breakout, a conductive circuit board that can be sewn into a piece of clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wonder if embroidery services can do conductive thread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/image.png\")
Modular systems are a function of industrial society. But do people of The Fifth World still know how to agree to standards? With their acute interest in efficiency, I think they might have carried that lesson forward!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’re doing Key Informant Interviews for the primary audience for Libertech right now, which is cosplayers. We want them, as an artistic community that enthusiastically shares technical information, that skews less white, male, and straight than many more well-served hacker communities, to have our support from the beginning. And that means finding out what’s hard. … Continue reading “Solderless Electronics”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":10275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-set-of-all-sets-that-do-not-include-themselves"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10262"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10278,"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262\/revisions\/10278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glyphpress.com\/talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}