[Scott711]

Okay this will sound weird but hear me out. I did not know how to solder these up so I enlisted the help of my father-in-law who is retired from Boeing and soldered things for a living for some 30+ years. He took one look at the wire and said that the 12 gauge wire was a little to small to solder into the solder pocket of those 5mm connectors. What he did to get a tight fit was unwind some spare copper wire I had laying around. Then he took one strand (very small like a piece of hair) and wrapped it very tightly around the exposed end of the 12 gauge wires. Then he tinned the whole thing together. When he was done we had a tight fit into the solder pocket of the connector. He use a large soldering gun to heat the connector, he said that a soldering pencil just would not apply enough heat fast enough. The connections came out looking great and are very strong. Since he's retired and always looking for projects I asked him solder up all my connections with the 5mm connectors. I really like the 5's because they are a little easier to get apart than the dean's and I just like to be different. :dft012:

I have to say if he was not around I don't know what I would do because my hand shakes like a leaf in a strong wind and I just don't have much experience soldering. Good luck.