>>One tip: make sure of the orientation of the connector pins before soldering especially on heavy gauge wire. This can be a bit tricky as the pin will want to rotate on the wire as soon as you touch it with the soldering iron (Murphy at work). It's important so you don't have to twist the conductor to get the pin into the connector.<<
The above quote regarding the orientation of the pins is very important and this is how I handle it...Any heavy duty soldering iron will do, probably, the bigger, the better...I have used an old 40 watt Hexicon and a Weller heat gun, both work well... Clamp the stripped cable in a small bench vise with the stripped end protruding horizontally out the side of the vise jaws...Grip it on the insulation leaving about an inch of insulated cable sticking out...Slip the connector pin onto the wire, tin the iron, and press the hot iron against the outer end of the wire-socket on the pin, pushing the pin straight inward.against end of the wire...This holds the pin in place and keeps it from rotating...Apply the solder to the BACK of the pin where the wire enters the solder cup...When the pin is hot enough, the solder will melt and wick into the joint with little or no buildup on the outside of the solder cup...Don't over heat it or the insulation will melt and shrivel back...I chill it by dripping alcohol on it with an acid brush...If any solder builds up on the outside of the pin and interferes, don't try to reheat it...Solder is very soft and can be shaved down with an Exacto or razor blade... Jerry, wa2dkg Jerry, wa2dkg _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
