[TowerTalk] Soldering Weathered Connections

[Ronald Gorski]

At 10:30 AM 10/25/99 EDT, Fred Hopengarten wrote:
>
>From:
>Fred Hopengarten  K1VR               781/259-0088
>Six Willarch Road
>Lincoln, MA 01773-5105
>permanent e-mail address:  fhopengarten@mba1972.hbs.edu
>if sending attachments:  k1vr@gis.net
>
>On Sun, 24 Oct 1999 22:49:58 -0600 n4kg@juno.com writes:
>>
>>Anyone have a good technique for soldering new wires
>>to old weathered connections?  
>
>K1VR: Remember when you built your first Heathkit? The manual told you in
>REALLY BIG LETTERS that you should not use soldering paste (flux). I
>believe that the reason was that, if left alone, it has an acid or other
>corrosive which would do bad things. I wish I knew more about why.
>
>When I repair broken radials, or splice a Beverage, the tinned wire is
>always oxidized.  In the past, I would scrape with a pen knife and buff
>with a small "toothbrush" style wire brush. Or try to use emery cloth. It
>was not a great solution. So I've gone chemical.
>
>I went to Home Depot looking for soldering paste. The stuff they had
>said:  NOT FOR ELECTRCIAL WORK. So I started mentioning my search for
>electrical work soldering paste to every "hands on" person I know. As
>most of my friends are effete intellectual snobs, this took a while.
>
>Finally, I friend said:  You need NOKORODE brand soldering paste, and I
>think I have a small tub I can give you. Which he did!  "Nokorode"  (the
>trademark was registered in 1926) soldering paste is made by The M.W.
>Dunton Co., of Providence, RI.  The label on my two ounce tin (which
>should be good for 2000 radial splices, I estimate) reads:
>
>"Put up with special reference to the needs of dynamo builders,
>contractors, telephone makers, and the electrical trade in general. Works
>freely on galvanized iron, lead, tinned steel, and other metals. Also
>used extensively by plumbers and tin workers."
>
>Here's how I use it. I dab on a very little bit.  Very little. Heat the
>wire and it sizzles, melts, spreads down within the stranded wire. Add
>solder. Magic.  Wipe off any residue, and your hands, with a fallen leaf
>from the sugar maple tree overhead. (That's the leaf that looks like a
>hockey team logo or a national flag, eh?)
>
>I wish I knew where to buy Nokorode, but I don't . I'd try a plumber's
>supply. But they'll take away my tin of Nokorode only when they unclamp
>it from my cold tight hand, stiff from rigor mortis. -- Fred K1VR
>.NOKORODE soldering flux is available from McMaster-Carr. Ron N9AU
>.
>.
>.
>.
>.
>. 
>
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 ___________________________________________ 
|                                           |
| Ronald Gorski                             |
| Astronautics Corporation of America       |
| P.O. Box 523                              |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0523 USA       |
| Phone: (414) 671-5500                     |
| Email: R.Gorski@Astronautics.com          |
|___________________________________________|


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