I agree with Jonathan 100% but would add the following 2 points: 1. Quality sometimes matters. Solder quality isn't a big deal for a PL259 connector, but may matter for other jobs. So, I use name brand solder, because there's better assurance of quality. At a minimum, I keep good quality 60/40 on the bench, because it's the most versatile and easily available at a good price. I like Kester, Multicore and MG Chemicals brands; and
2. Crimp, Don't Solder. I use a 100W Weller iron for PL259 shields but, even with a monster iron, soldering PL259 shields correctly (so they last) is harder than it seems. If you think this is ca-ca, show-up to help setup one of our tri-club Field Days - one person sits for hours JUST re-soldering or replacing coax cable ends - it's unbelievable. As a Civil Air Patrol COML, I spend crazy amounts of time fixing coax at every SAREX or deployment. The POINT is that *many *people don't get it right, *much *of the time - not reliable, which is especially not cool in EmComm! Crimped shields, on the other hand, don't fail as often. Even if they fail, they're much easier to replace. PL259 crimp connectors are available for shield crimp only, or for crimping both the shield *and* the center conductor pin. I think it is best to solder the center conductor, but *crimp the shield*. Crimp tools are not cheap, but save SO MUCH time and hassle! One good place to get decent quality crimp tools and connectors at a good price is from Richard East, N5IAW. He often has tables at nearby Hamfests, and has an eBay Store <https://www.ebay.com/str/n5iawrfcommunications>. Some stuff he sells at Hamfests is not on his web store (like, real Amphenol brand connectors) - just email him to ask. He's a good guy, who gives great personal customer service. 73, Gus KG5OFB On Fri, Jul 31, 2020 at 3:18 AM Jonathan Guthrie via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote: > The best solder? It doesn't matter. I use some cheap stuff I bought at > Radio Shack in the 1980's. You can use lead-free, if you want, but I don't > personally have any that's not ultra fine so getting enough solder in the > joint is a problem. > > What matters is the iron. > > You need to use iron that's a honking big piece of metal. You see, when > you touch the iron to the connector, it acts like a big heat sink, and the > temperature of the iron drops below the temperature of the solder. You > have to wait for it to heat up again, and the heat conducts into the center > insulation, melting it and ruining the coax. If you don't hold it on long > enough to melt the insulation, you don't get the connector hot enough to be > wetted by the solder. It'll kind of work because there's some mechanical > connection, but it's not really good. > > Using a big iron makes it easy. I got one of those that is used to solder > stained glass, and it works all kinds of better for me than anything else > I've ever tried. Including my temperature-controlled soldering station > with the biggest tip I can get for it. > > On 7/30/20 6:12 PM, Martin Blaise via BVARC wrote: > > Just curious what is the best solder you have used on pl259 connectors? I > ran out and can’t remember exactly what kind it was. > > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing > [email protected]http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org > > > -- > Jonathan Guthrie > ARS KA8KPN > > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org >
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