[TowerTalk] Reliable QUALITY Soldering Gun? & Solder? reply de K0FF

[K0FF]

For tower related soldering :

The 140 W gun is not big enough in the first place. A Weller D5500, 240/325
W is an excellent choice for cold/windy conditions and will make a good
PL-259 even in the snow. When you talk about reliability, I still have one
made in the old brown Bakelite , must be 50 years old. (ever take one
apart/? its a transformer primary with a 1 turn shorted secondary. The tip
is the short - not much to go wrong except wearing out the switch every
decade or so.). Of course the nuts have to be tight, but on the bigger size
gun, the tip is correspondingly larger, and nuts loosening is not a problem.
For locations where the is no electricity, use an inverter and battery.

As far as solder itself, we all have our favorites, but for me, it's Ersin
5-core. Great flux in there, and lots of it. Makes the prettiest  and most
consistent joints of any I've ever used.The diameter depends on the task at
hand, and it comes in some pretty fine wire gauge sizes. I use 18GA. for
general purpose including connectors. the 22 and 28 Ga is better for PC
boards when the traces and pads are small. 60/40 blend. 700 F degree iron
temp. Solder Tm 361Degrees F. www.kester.com.alloytempchart.htm
"Lots of heat quickly" works for me. Lingering on a joint with an underheat
gun/iron is where the damaged arises.

The above is my personal opinion based on my particular experiences.

Geo>K0FF


-----Original Message-----

Hi Guys,
I would very much like to know of any reliable and high quality
soldering guns out there in the 100 - 140 watt range.  It will be used
outdoors in wind and cold temps. (New England winter) not just indoors.

I have used the Weller 100/140 watt model that Home Depot and Radio
Shack sells but I have found it to be unreliable
>of those stupid little nuts




>and ability to use in harsh winter conditions.


--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions:              towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-towertalk@contesting.com