EM cable terminations for CTDs
posted on August 31, 2010

Original Message From: Sonya Ruth Newell (U. Conn) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010

Hi,

For the past several years, I and most of the other marine technicians with whom I've worked have been using a method similar (though not identical) to the one described by Thomas C. Wilson, Jr. and J. David Lucyk in their 1994/2004 paper "A Simple Splicing Technique for Underwater Cables" (a copy of which is attached) for terminating .322 UNOLS EM cable. The main areas in which I and most of the marine techs I know best differ from the Wilson-Lucyk method is in the use of Scotchfil electrical putty tape in place of scotchkote and linerless splicing tape, and in soldering the connections.

I have had a great deal of success with this method, and would generally recommend it for most situations I've encountered. However, I know that there are other opinions about the best way to terminate EM cable, some very strong. What methods do you use/prefer, and why?

Incidentally, for the mechanical termination I have always used PMI Cable-Grips, and have never experienced a problem with them. Any other recommendations regarding that aspect of cable terminations?

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts!

Cheers,
Sonya

Sonya Ruth Newell