I use the procedure in the handbook with the exception of I use my 150 watt
Weller soldering gun to tin the braid before trimming. Then I use a tubing
cutter to cut the braid. I think it is W8JI that uses a similar procedure
however he scores the tinned braid with a sharp knife and then twists or
bends the braid to complete the break. I also tin the center conductor
before assembly.
After I assemble the PL-259 to the cable I trim the center conductor and
then use the 150 watt gun to solder the center conductor to the pin, this
keeps the PL-259 from unscrewing from the cable.
Then I use my trusty 250 watt Weller soldering gun to heat the connector and
tinned braid enough so solder will flow into all 4 holes in the connector.
(I just obtained a 1200 watt dual heat paint stripping heat gun from Home
Depot that I will be using to heat the connector/tinned braid in the
future).
After I complete the soldering I always use a volt-ohm-millimeter to ensure
there is no short between the connector shell and the center pin, however if
the jacket, braid and dielectric is trimmed per the handbook and then
screwed all the way into the connector, there will be no short.
I have found that 12 gauge solid copper wire works very well as a tip in my
150 watt Weller. There are no sharp edges on the copper wire that could
snag the braid during the tinning process. Usually the tinned braid has
solder lumps so I just drag the lumps out to the end of the braid (with the
soldering gun) and they go away when the braid is trimmed.
The advantage of the above procedure is that you can see the tinned braid in
the connector holes before soldering and then you can see the solder wick
into the holes and run between the connector shell and the tinned braid.
Been doing this for 40 years and have yet to get a defective connection.
de Paul, W8AEF
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Daniel Hileman
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 5:19 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Soldering and checking PL-259
Hi everyone,
First off, I want to thank everyone for all the great suggestions and
comments I've received with previous questions. Ok, here's another for you.
I'm getting ready for various antenna projects and tower work this
Spring/Summer, I need to know what to look for a how to check my soldering
job on PL-259's...I have a multi-meter and want to be able to check to make
sure I have things the way they are supposed to be. I know I probably should
know this already, but I've pretty much always had someone else do it for
me, and I want and NEED to do it myself now. I've found several tutorials on
soldering PL-259's and think I pretty much know how to do that now and have
done a few jobs that seem to work. I now need to know how to check and make
sure I don't have a short or whatever, and alot of the local hams seem to
really have different ideas on how to do that. So, I thought I'd check with
all you guru's out there.
So,HELP, Please!
Thanks in advance,
Daniel N9WX
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