Thanks to all who provided several different and interesting solutions
to my problem of soldering weathered connections!
I will take the liberty of posting several private responses which I
found particularly insightful and hope that no one is offended by
this action. There is a wealth of experience in the following summary.
de Tom N4KG
........................
Hi Tom..I have had the same problem resoldering old connections too..the
only thing one has to do is make them shiny again before attempting
soldering..cut the copperweld, separate the strands and use fine steel
wool
or skotchbrite pad to make each wire shiny..twist back together, tin,
then
attach to whatever and resolder..works everytime..with the radial ring,
same
solution..make the ring shiny with steel wool, etc..tin around the thing,
and do the final wrap and solder..if u have a 200 watt iron, that is all
the
better..luckily I have one and for something like that it works much
better
than propane torch..
73
Bill, K4CIA
.................
Tom, I think the only thing to do is clean all the ladder line wires
individually with wire wool.
I was using a Copper ring of 3/8" tube for radial connections but I've
found
a much better method. I use a 12"X12" piece of thin brass sheet about
0.5mm
thick and drill 1/16" holes around the edge say 30 per side and also make
a
3" dia hole in the middle. Connecting the wires through the holes is
simple
and they solder much easier than Copper tube or thick wire. You can then
easily add more holes than your using with the system in place and the
brass cleans well with wire wool or emery cloth. 73 Clive GM3POI
...............................................
I have had reasonable success with a product called "Limeaway", for
cleaning wires/braid that are accessible. The multi acid compound removes
some of the crud and then you can brighten it up with a small stainless
or
brass brush, or a piece of the 3M abrasive pad. The acid compound can be
neutralized with soapy water and then a clean water rinse. Paper towel
plus
the heat of soldering usually dries things out pretty well.
I use the same stuff to clean corroded rifle brass.
I also use copper tube for radial terminators. A small cut with a hack
saw
blade makes a slot that #18 wire fits nicely in. A 3 corner file would do
the same, maybe better. I use a small amount of "active" rosin flux when
soldering with the torch/chisel tip.
A 200 watt iron (not gun) with a big tip does a pretty fair job too, if
you
can get power to the job. Dang torches can start the woods on fire.
INK N4OO
.................
How about a bucket and some Dip-it or equivalent paste copper pot
cleaner?
Since its action is chemical, it will get in among the strands, and you
could accelerate it by getting the copper warm with a torch or soldering
iron before you apply the paste. Then you'd have to wash it off and let
things dry, of course.
73, Pete N4ZR
.......................
I have had some luck using "Naval Jelly" rust remover to clean the old
copper. I used it to enable the repair of an old flat top antenna.
73, K9EA
.................
Get a can of flux. Apply the flux over the area you want to resolder.
THen leave it on there for several hours or a day or two...then you
should be able to solder with a torch.
After your are all done coat the connections with QUALCO. You can get
this stuff at your local auto supply store. It is a non-acid
anti-oxidant. It will protect the connections from oxidation and
corrosion...the next time you want to solder you'll be able to without
any additional prep.
HAVE FUN,
dave WA3GIN
.......................
Tom, I've had pretty good luck under such conditions with "Solder-it." It
is a combination of flux and powdered solder that cleans and tins at the
same time. You might check out their website (solder-it.com), or resend
your query to Fred Doob, the guy who shows the product at hamfests, etc.,
all over the world. <fdoob@solder-it.com>
73,
Press Jones, N8UG, The Wireman, Inc., Landrum, SC, 29356
..............................
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