[TowerTalk] Cordless solder irons

[Patrick Greenlee]

I have used a run of coax for a 120vac extension cord to power a soldering 
gun to use to solder on the PL-259 to the coax being used for the extension 
cord.
My soldering gun was the transformer type so no problem.  Be careful, some 
soldering irons are not isolated and you could end up doing some unintended 
impromptu welding instead of soldering.  Oh, and do not touch the solder 
with bare fingers as it can be hot/120vac when contacting the work piece.

Patrick     NJ5G



-----Original Message----- 
From: TexasRF--- via TowerTalk
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 10:38 AM
To: jim.thom at telus.net ; bigdon39 at gmail.com
Cc: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Cordless solder irons

A really frugal ham might make use of the rotator cable or coax for an ac
extension cord. No exactly code but works in a pinch. Yes, I have personally
done that but would never tell anyone!

73,
Gerald K5GW




In a message dated 11/19/2014 8:26:57 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
jim.thom at telus.net writes:

IF the  tower is behind your home..running an extension cord up to the top
is no big  deal.  A 40 watt weller might lose heat fast
in a breeze, but a  100-150w .375 inch chisel tip might fair better.. a lot
better. The .375 inch  solid tip is fairly long overall, like
3 inchs long, with half of it  embedded into the iron.  The massive tip
will store a lot of  heat.   Plan B would be to put some tarp up
there..and get under  it..and outa the wind.  Easier said than done.  Plan
C is to wait  till the wind dies down.  The even bigger irons use
a .5 inch diam  tip.   I have used my 100w outside in the cold, at base of
tower....  but with no wind.  A 2 stroke gas gen set at the top of the
tower  would work too....but with my luck, Id either end up deaf, or set my
self on  fire.   You wont get much V drop on a heavy duty extension  cord.

Jim  VE7RF


From: Big Don
Sent:  Wednesday, November 19, 2014 7:25 AM
To: Jim Thomson
Cc:  towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Cordless solder  irons

Soldering up a tower is a *LOT* different than in your  shop.  Any breeze
at all just kills the heat.  This is based on many  battle-scarred years
keeping quads happy using a propane torch...( hard to  keep lit ...and up 
50-100
feet in the air is no place to set yourself on  fire  -- Don't Ask...)  If
you want to do much with a soldering  iron, you will need some Serious
Juice.

Harbor Freight Tools currently  has on sale a 700-watt 2-cycle portable
generator, weighs 38 pounds (no worse  than, e.g., a prop pitch). 
Advertised
to run 5 hrs at 50% duty, for  $99.00 right now.. Compact, has a nice handle
on top, just tie a rope and pull  it up when you're ready to go....

73,  Don   N7EF


On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 6:43 AM, Jim Thomson  <jim.thom at telus.net> wrote:

Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014  19:10:23 -0800
From: "Don " <w7wll at arrl.net>
To:  "Towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: Re:  [TowerTalk] Some advice about crimp ;type coax connectors

Which  brings a question to mind. Why is there not available for sale a
decent battery powered soldering iron.[ -SNIP- ]
Anyone have  information on such a tool for use whilst up in the air??

Don  W7WLL

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