[Elecraft] K3 Solder Help
I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset audio plug is defective. I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire. Any suggestions? Vy 73, Bob DJ0MBC/WU5T __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 Solder Help
Bob DeHaney wrote: I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset audio plug is defective. I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire. Any suggestions? I don't know exactly what you have, but there is a common form of very flexible wire used for headsets that has fine copper strands mixed with some fibrous material. It might help to put a little liquid flux like the stuff that's used for SMT work on the wire. I've tinned this stuff by passing it through a gob of solder on my iron, sort of the way you tin toroid leads. Sometimes you can separate the copper from the fibers with your fingers before tinning it. If it's not copper, you may be out of luck and you will have to use a plug that has screws or some form of mechanical connection. -- 73, Vic, K2VCO Fresno CA http://www.qsl.net/k2vco __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 Solder Help
It's likely some variant of Litz Wire which was commonly used in cloth covered headphone wires 2 or 3 hundred years ago [I'm not older than dirt, but I CAN remember when dirt was young :-) ]. Several very thin, flexible strips of metallic conductors wrapped around a thin string or two. Virtually impossible to solder and the metallic strips may not be Cu but some alloy. Connections were made mechanically by crimping to pins and lugs. You might be able to crimp on a very small pin [like a Molex pin] which will take solder and then solder that to the connector. 73, Fred K6DGW Auburn CA USA Bob DeHaney wrote: I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset audio plug is defective. I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire. Any suggestions? __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 Solder Help
Bob: I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset audio plug is defective. I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire. Any suggestions? Chances are that it might be copper 'tinsel' (thin flat copper strips, twisted with cotton thread) to give the cord a lot of flexibility. If it IS tinsel, any time you attempt to solder to it (as-is) you'll burn the threads first and they'll foul the copper for taking up solder. The ONLY way I've found to satisfactorily solder to tinsel is to wrap the tip of the tinsel with a VERY FIND BARE COPPER WIRE (like a single strand of stranded #24 wire... e.g a #30 or so bare copper wire). Wrap the turns around the tip of the tinsel and wrap the turns up against each other. Once wrapped, solder to the wrapped wire. This will quickly accept solder and transfer the heat to the copper in the tinsel quickly enough that it'll accept solder before the threads get to burn. Good luck, Merry Christmas, Tom Hammond N0SS __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Re: [Elecraft] K3 Solder Help
Bob: I should have included the same note that Fred, K6DGW, suggested. If you just flat cannot manage to solder the wires, go to your friendly hardware store and find their 'brass hobby tubing' assortment. Select the smallest I.D tubing into which you can slip the individual headphone wire(s). Cut off a short (1/4 - 3/8) chunk of tubing, solder a 'connecting wire to it, insert one of the (3) headphone wires into the tubing and CRIMP it tightly. Good luck, Tom Hammond N0SS __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
