One other question is how hard is it to solder stranded wire? I have tried in the past, and it seems like there must be a technique or procedure that makes it alot easier to do. Does anyone have experience with this that could give me some pointers?
Like most soldering, it's an issue of cleanliness, solder, flux and a mechanical connection.
Don't use previously stripped wire -- cut off any exposed copper and strip a new, clean and shiny area of copper.
I personally prefer 62/36/2 solder -- I know that it's ecologically better to use "lead free" solder, but I'm just one guy soldering a few connections a week -- I think the environment can handle my use of lead. And the silver content really helps too. (I buy mine at Rat Shack.)
But even the flux in the core of rosin-core solder is not enough to "tin" (that's the term for turning multi-strand wire into a single strand using solder) a strand. You should get some flux to apply to the area to get the solder to stick appropriately. You can get flux at the Shack too.
Lastly, solder works best as a supplement to a mechanical connection, not as a substitute. First, I twist the multistrands of each wire into a tight bundle. Then, I place the two strands of wire as an X and twist the loose end of the left wire around the shank of the right wire and visa versa, so that when you are done, the wire is one piece that can lay in a straight line.
Then I apply some flux to the joint. Then I crank up my soldering iron to its highest setting, get the wire hot enough that the flux begins to boil off and then apply the solder, first to the tip of the iron to get it to flow and then to the joint itself.
Then I remember that I meant to put on a piece of heat-shrink tubing, cut out the new joint and start all over, putting the heat-shrink on the wire first.
It takes a little longer this way, but when you're mind begins to go, there's nothing you can really do about it except to accept it ;-) ...
HTH.
\dmc
