Garage door keypad - where can I get these?

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Garage door keypad - where can I get these?

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duckDecoy

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#2678742 22-Mar-2021 18:43

Today I purchased 10m of 4 core alarm wire to try and hook all this up, but I have a crappy old wire stripper and its killing it.

Just getting the outer white sheath also off pulls some of the inner wires out sometimes. If I finally get the white sheath off and try and then strip the tiny thin wires inside I either break the whole wire or I snap off some of the internal copper wires. The copper wires in the inner wires are extremely thin and seem very fragile.

Can someone tell me if something like this wire stripper will help me do the job, or is that a bit cheap and nasty and not delicate enough.

Or should I bin the 4 core alarm wire and go for something else that is less delicate and is easier to strip, and if so what would you recommend? EDIT: if I would still need the wire stripper above let me know too.

I need 4 wires overall to carry max 24v.

itxtme

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#2678864 22-Mar-2021 23:02

Lightly cut the white sheath with a Stanley knife equivalent, just so the surface is broken the whole way around the outter wire. Dont cut through just only break the surface. Then pull hard on the cut white sheath it will rip right off. This is a similar cat 6 etc. cable. The tool to remove the outter sheath is a blade that doesnt fully close that you then rotate around the outter wire. So manually doing that is fine and I have done it many times with irrigation wiring.

I personally feel for the actual wires the linked stripper you have shown is rubbish. I would buy once and buy something like this to keep forever

Note: the linked strippers will not aid in getting the outter sheath off

richms

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#2678883 22-Mar-2021 23:53

I have never had good luck with those t-rex strippers. I just use a sharp knife and go around the jacket and then fold it where I cut so it goes all the way thru.

Richard rich.ms

duckDecoy

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#2678904 23-Mar-2021 07:10

itxtme:

I personally feel for the actual wires the linked stripper you have shown is rubbish. I would buy once and buy something like this to keep forever

Jaycar's website says the wires are 25 AWG, the linked strippers say they go 10-24 AWG. I assume it will be OK and should still work? That might be a dumb question but I've never used them before so don't quite understand how it all works.

cyril7

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#2678907 23-Mar-2021 07:13

Hi, never used wire strippers in my 45yrs of working as an electronics engineer, complete waste of time, just do as the others have said, lightly cut the surface of the sheath with a pen knife then bend the cable to brake it and remove the sheath, then to cut the insulation off the individual conductors, just use a pair of pliers.

Cyril

duckDecoy

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#2685806 2-Apr-2021 18:14

I'm getting close on this.

I have the keypad and did a test connection to the opener terminals as instructed above, and it worked.

I now need to attach it to the outside of my garage and then run a length of alarm wire from the unit to where the keypad wires are. This has raised a question of how to join these wires.

Both the wires from the keypad and the alarm wires (once the outer casing is stripped) are really really thin. I bought some terminal blocks (they look like lego with a screw in them) but during testing I found them hard to get secure, and I worry they may not stay secure over time. I might have got the wrong size though. The wire from the keypad is not very long so the connection point will be some place on the wall rather than sitting up in the ceiling, so there might be some 'hanging' tension.

What should I use? Preferably from Jaycar. Im a novice at electrical stuff so don't know what's best.

I don't have a soldering iron. I did buy one of those fancy stripping tools and apparently that can crimp.

Thanks in advance

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shim99

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#2686070 3-Apr-2021 16:20

Something like this could work.
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/2-7mm-solder-splice-heatshrink-pack-of-5/p/WH5672?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItomL0I7h7wIVEn8rCh2BEguAEAQYBSABEgJQafD_BwE

Would just need to select the size you need to fit the wire diameter.

duckDecoy

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#2686079 3-Apr-2021 17:36

shim99: Something like this could work.
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/2-7mm-solder-splice-heatshrink-pack-of-5/p/WH5672?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItomL0I7h7wIVEn8rCh2BEguAEAQYBSABEgJQafD_BwE

Would just need to select the size you need to fit the wire diameter.

Thanks Shim99

I went and got them and the salesman told me I could just use a hairdryer.

Didn't work :(

I tried a lighter but that was slightly dicey. Guess i'll be getting a heatgun at some stage. It is the perfect suggestion though, thanks.

sparkz25

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#2686100 3-Apr-2021 20:20

Have you tried soldering with a lighter? I have done this many times before and it works a charm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3r5_-xLkM

This is the method I used alot.

https://youtu.be/IMdoHdx9HJE

Get some scrap wire and have a trial run, its really simple.

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