Every time a discussion of crimpers comes up, someone wonders if crimping is 'better' and whether they should buy a crimping tool.
Here's the scoop: 1) Crimping does not make a better connection than soldering. A properly crimped connection is just as good as properly soldered connection. 2) Proper crimping requires a quality crimper and knowledge about how to use it correctly. Poorly crimped connections will force the current through a relatively small, higher-resistance part of the wire, producing heat and serious voltage drops. So why would anyone use a crimper? 1) In a production manufacturing environment where many connections must be made quickly, day in and day out, crimping is much, much faster than soldering. The time savings quickly justifies the cost of the relatively expensive crimping tools. 2) Crimping does not require the assembler know how to solder, a significant savings to many manufacturers in labor and training costs. 3) In some situations (but not ones in which Elecraft rigs are normally used) soldered power connections are not allowed. These are generally situations where extreme short circuits could produce enough heat to melt the solder in an environment where the molten solder could do serious damage. 4) A crimper is faster and easier when working away from the bench, especially when portable soldering equipment isn't handy or one is working in tight quarters inside a vehicle or equipment (under the instrument board of an automobile, for example). This seems to be the main justification for buying crimpers I've heard from Hams. The Bottom Line: Elecraft emphasizes soldering APP connectors in their documents because: 1) Most Hams are experienced and equipped to solder, but lack the experience and tools for making good crimped connections. 2) The time saved by crimping becomes meaningless when making a small number of connections, especially in a workshop environment. 3) A good crimping tool is a significant expense. Ron AC7AC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
