Topband: Soldering in the wild

[dick-bingham]

Hello All

Most of my 'soldering in the wild' has used a small gas-fired torch (a BIC 
lighter works well) but I have often used nothing more than a 
strike-anywhere match. Try it - you will be pleasantly surprised !

I wrap the knife-scraped-clean-wires together and then wind a length of 
solder into the spiral-gap between each turn and apply the heat. Solders 
every time when there is no wind. I have also used a candle to provide the 
'heat'.

Years ago at the Slate Peak fire-lookout in WA-State I repaired the 
light-meter on an old Super-8 camera that suddenly quit working. I had to 
dis-assemble the camera with my pocket-knife to expose the light-meter cell 
and found the broken wire. My 'field' soldering iron was a short piece of 
solid copper bus-wire from the lightening grounding system I found laying on 
the ground. I heated and tinned it using the propane fired stove in the LO 
and pressed it on the cell/wire interface. I always kept a short piece of 
solder rolled-up in my wallet for such situations. The fire-LO lady was very 
impressed.

73 Dick/w7wkr CN98pi