NASA-STD-8739.
4
February 1998
APPENDIX A - WIRE VISUAL AIDS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
WIRING: CONNECTORS, CABLING, AND HARNESSING -
WIRE DRESS TO CONNECTORS
PREFERRED
All wires dressed with even bends to terminate in
solder cups.
FIGURE A-1
NONCONFORMING
End wire on the right is taut with no stress relief.
FIGURE A-2
A-1
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
WIRING: CONNECTORS, CABLING, AND HARNESSING -
STRESS RELIEF SHRINKABLE SLEEVING ON SOLDER CUPS
PREFERRED
1. Sleeving on wire covers solder cup and
provides support over wire insulation (see
controlling specification)
2. Sleeving is fully shrunk over the insulation,
wire, and solder cup.
3. Sleeving is sufficiently rigid to provide stress
FIGURE A-3 relief and prevent wire bending at the solder
joint.
NONCONFORMING
The sleeving is not fully shrunk and permits wire
bending and flexing at the joint.
FIGURE A-4
NONCONFORMING
The sleeving is not fully shrunk.
FIGURE A-5
NONCONFORMING
Sleeving does not grip at least half of the cup barrel
below the opening.
FIGURE A-6
A-2
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
WIRING: CONNECTORS, CABLING, AND HARNESSING, WIRE PREPARATION,
THERMAL STRIPPING
PREFERRED
1. Insulation has been removed from the
conductor with no visible damage to the wire
strands.
2. Normal lay of wire, if disturbed, shall be
retwisted to the original wire lay.
FIGURE A-7
ACCEPTABLE
Minor burnishing and indentation; base metal not
exposed.
FIGURE A-8
NONCONFORMING
1. Wire strands are gouged and scraped exposing
base metal.
2. Original lay of stranding has been straightened
and distorted.
FIGURE A-9
NONCONFORMING
Wire strands show evidence of a nicked condition
caused by stripper blades.
FIGURE A-10
A-3
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
WIRE PREPARATION: MECHANICAL STRIPPING
ACCEPTABLE
Wire lay undisturbed; no visible damage to wire
strands.
FIGURE A-11
UNACCEPTABLE
Wire strands combed straight. If retwisted to
original lay, may be acceptable.
FIGURE A-12
UNACCEPTABLE
Excessive retwist.
FIGURE A-13
UNACCEPTABLE
Wire strands retwisted in excess of normal lay and
overlapped.
FIGURE A-14
A-4
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
WIRING: CONNECTORS, CABLING, AND HARNESSING,
WIRE PREPARATION, THERMAL STRIPPING
PREFERRED
Insulation stripped by thermal stripping shall have
minimum edge flash with no damage to the wire
strands.
FIGURE A-15
ACCEPTABLE
Mechanical or thermal stripped insulation
irregularity is acceptable if it does not exceed 1/4 of
the outside diameter of the wire with insulation.
FIGURE A-16
ACCEPTABLE MINIMUM
Edge flash, due to improper stripping, should not
exceed 1/4 of the outside diameter of the wire with
insulation.
FIGURE A-17
NONCONFORMING
Burned or charred insulation, as shown, is the result
of improper application of heat.
FIGURE A-18
A-5
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
WIRING: CONNECTORS, CABLING, AND HARNESSING, WIRE PREPARATION,
TINNING STRANDED CONDUCTORS
PREFERRED
1. Complete wetting of the tinned area has
resulted in a bright, thin, and even tinning of the
strands
2. Tinning has reached insulation, but wicking is
minimal.
FIGURE A-19
ACCEPTABLE
Traces of solder wicking under insulation, but the
contour of the stranding is easily discernible.
FIGURE A-20
ACCEPTABLE
Length of tinning is determined by type of
termination; however, it should be sufficient to
prevent separation of strands when wire is wrapped
around a terminal.
FIGURE A-21
A-6
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
WIRING: CONNECTORS, CABLING, AND HARNESSING - INSTALLATION OF STRAPS
ACCEPTABLE
1. Conductors secured with a plastic strap.
2. When tightened correctly, strap will not move
laterally along the bundle under normal handling
but can be rotated in place.
FIGURE A-22
UNACCEPTABLE
Strap is too tight and is deforming the insulation on
the wire.
FIGURE A-23
UNACCEPTABLE
Strap is too loose and will slip easily along the
bundle with normal handling.
FIGURE A-24
A-7
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
CRIMPS: INSULATION CLEARANCE
MINIMUM CONDUCTOR EXPOSURE
Insulation terminates 0.010 in. minimum from
contact crimp barrel.
FIGURE A-25
MAXIMUM CONDUCTOR EXPOSURE
Amount of exposed bare wire between the
insulation and the contact crimp barrel does
not exceed 0.03 inch maximum for No. 20
AWG wire and smaller, and 0.05 inch
maximum for No. 18 AWG wire and larger.
FIGURE A-26
A-8
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
CRIMPS: ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE
ACCEPTABLE
Care should be taken when seating contacts in the
crimping tool. The tool indentors should crimp the
contact midway between the shoulder of the
insulation support and the inspection hole. The wire
is visible in the inspection hole.
FIGURE A-27
UNACCEPTABLE
If the wire is not stripped back far enough or
incorrectly seated in the contact, the wire will not
be visible in the inspection hole, as shown.
FIGURE A-28
A-9
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
CRIMPS: UNACCEPTABLE
FIGURE A-29A FIGURE A-29B
Failure to properly seat contact in crimping die, or use of incorrect crimping tool will result in
improperly crimped contacts. Crimping over the inspection hole or on the radius of the shoulder
as shown in Figures A-29A and A-29B is unacceptable.
UNACCEPTABLE PIN
FIGURE A-30
A-10
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
APPENDIX B - CRITICAL PROBLEMS IN
COAXIAL CABLE ASSEMBLY
Because of poor connector design, faulty assembly instructions, or wrong choice of materials,
certain types of coaxial cable assembly failures occur frequently. Problem areas are as follows:
Plastic Jacket Layer in the Compression System. Certain manufacturers' RF-connector
designs or assembly instructions allow the jacket to be in the clamping system. For example, the
metal clamp nut presses against the teflon cable jacket, which presses against the metal braid,
which presses against the metal cable barrel of the connector. The problem encountered with this
arrangement is that after torquing, the teflon jacket cold-flows, and the connection becomes
loose. Intermittent circuits and system failure can result. Either this type of connector should not
be used, or the plastic jacket should be trimmed back so that only metal-to-metal compression
exists (see Figure B-1). If the connector design is such that satisfactory metal-to-metal
compression cannot be achieved after torquing, the connector should not be used.
Inadequate Center Conductor to Center Contact Solder Joint. Certain manufacturers
recommend that the center conductor be tinned, and that this tinned conductor be placed in the
center contact. Then, the solder joint between the center conductor and center contact is made by
reflowing the tinning in the center contact. Invariably, this makes an insufficient solder joint (see
Figure B-2). A sufficient solder joint is made by placing a small length of rosin core solder in the
contact wire well, e.g., 3.17mm (0.125 inch) length, 0.38 mm (0.015 inch) diameter. The center
conductor is inserted into the wire well and the contact is heated to melt the solder and position
the contact on the center conductor.
Breakage of Stress-Relief Sleeving. In assemblies where shrinkable sleeving is used to provide
stress relief from a connector ferrule to the cable, there is often a major transition in diameter as
shown in Figure B-3. If MIL-I-23053/8 sleeving is used for stress relief, it often cracks at the
large diameter of the transition. The use of MIL-I-23053/8 sleeving for these applications should
be avoided.
B-1
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
Figure B-1. Illustration of Proper Trimback of Jacket to Isolate it
from the Clamping System
B-2
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
Figure B-2. Broken Solder Joint Caused by Insufficient Solder Fill
Figure B-3. Problem Point for Kynar Stress Relief Sleeving
B-3
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
B-4
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
NASA TECHNICAL STANDARD IMPROVEMENT PROPOSAL
(See Instructions - Reverse Side)
1. DOCUMENT NUMBER 2. DOCUMENT TITLE
3. NAME OF SUBMITTING ORGANIZATION
4. ADDRESS (Street, City, State, ZIP Code)
5. PROBLEM AREAS
a. Paragraph Number and Wording
b. Recommended Wording:
c. Rational for Recommendation:
6. REMARKS
7. NAME OF SUBMITTER 8. TELEPHONE NO. 9. DATE
C-1
NASA-STD-8739.4
February 1998
INSTRUCTIONS
In a continuing effort to improve our NASA Technical Standards, we invite all holders to use this
form for submitting comments and suggestions for improvements. All users of NASA documents
are invited to provide suggestions. The form may be detached and mailed. In block 5, be as
specific as possible about particular problem areas, such as wording changes, which would
alleviate the problems. Enter in block 6 any remarks not related to a specific paragraph of the
document. An acknowledgment will be mailed to the submitter within 30 days. Supporting data
should accompany any recommendations for changes.
NOTE: This form may not be used to request copies of documents, nor to request waivers,
deviations, or clarification of Standard requirements on current contracts. Comments
submitted on this form do not constitute or imply authorization to waive any portion
of the referenced document(s) or to amend contractual requirements.
Proposals may be submitted to:
NASA Technical Standards Coordinator
NASA Headquarters
Code QS
Washington, DC 20546
C-2
