All of my radials are crimped lugs bolted to a common ring at the base of my antenna (either a stainless plate, or a piece of copper strapping)
Copper strapping can be bought with pre-punched holes, or punched by hand with a Roper Whitney (or similar) hand punch. All booked connections coated with conductive anti-oxidant. I buy lugs from T&B, usually in bulk on eBay. Be sure to get the right size for your wire, and invest a little in a proper crimping tool. Greg, N2GZ On Oct 12, 2016 11:52, "Richard (Rick) Karlquist" <[email protected]> wrote: > I'd like to get the latest thinking from the group > on soldering radials. What I currently thinking > is as follows: > > SOLDER SELECTION: > > 1. Tin lead doesn't hold up in the weather. > > 2. "Stay Brite" 3% silver solder (97% tin, > no lead) is known to work well, but is expensive, > and has a considerably higher melting point > than 63/37. > > 3. Lead free plumber's solder obviously works > in water pipes, but does it hold up outdoors > in the rain? What is the melting point? > > FLUX SELECTION: > > 1. Pure rosin. Hardest to work with, but minimum > corrosion issues. > > 2. Activated rosin. Easier to work with. What > corrosion issues are there? > > 3. Acid core plumber's flux. Very easy to work > with, very corrosive. Does this hold up in the > rain, etc? > > (I remember the dire warnings that Heathkit manuals > had about not using acid core solder, but I > guess that doesn't apply to radials.) > > CRIMPING? > > Has anyone tried crimping as an alternative to solder? > > Rick > N6RK > _________________ > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
