At 04:48 PM 11/06/2006, you wrote:
>ur problem is that the connector is so massive, it's sinking all the
>heat out of ur iron. <snip> I'd go to someplace like Lowe's and
>get a small hand torch. Instant heat, right into the braid holes.
For solder-type PL-259s I've been using a Solder-IT torch/iron combo
for a couple of years. However, just in the last couple of months, as
my station slowly migrates from temporary to permanent installation,
I've taken to using a proper hexagonal crimper and crimp-on
connectors (with solder-reinforced centre-connector). I was skeptical
at first, but the more I make these connections the more I enjoy
doing them. I bought jaws for 9913/RG-213, RG8X and RG-58 coax (and a
whole lot of crimp connectors of each type) from Joel at the RF
Connection, and I prep the coax with a Cablematic tool (available
from DX Engineering for about $40). I finish off the job with heat
shrink (and the usual weatherproofing techniques for exterior
applications). The crimper is about $80 with both the dies and the
connectors are about $1.50 a pop. I bought 25 or 30 so the price per
unit was a little lower than buying ones and twos.
Yes, I spent a lot up-front on this solution but in retrospect, it's
something I should have done 20 years ago. I still have a couple of
rolls of 63/37 solder and even with the small torch I've always found
the braid/holes arrangement to be tentative and sometimes it took a
couple of tries, etc. Never again. I can go from a loose end to a
finished connection in under one minute now. The braid connections
are now rock-solid, and IMHO, far superior to filling up four little
holes with solder while at the same time, not melting the insulator, etc.
If you're going to go with soldered connectors, however, I'd agree
with the previous poster and use either an 80-150W iron with a big
chisel tip to do the braid-to-chassis connections or else a Solder-IT
torch (the auto-ignition type is quite handy).
Cheers,
Peter,
W2IRT
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