[TowerTalk] Soldering on the Tower

[john at kk9a.com]

I have those tips also, unfortunately they are no longer manufactured.  I
lost mine and eventually found a couple NOS ones.  You do have to be
cautious, it is easy to get burnt or damage a wire from the flame coming
out of the holes. There is definitely plenty of heat and tip mass for
soldering a PL-259 or adding wire to a dipole.

John KK9A


To:	towertalk at contesting.com
Subject:	Re: [TowerTalk] Soldering on the Tower
From:	Patrick Greenlee <patrick_g at windstream.net>
Date:	Thu, 30 Jul 2015 07:59:33 -0500


I have soldering tips that fit into a holder that attaches to the burner
of a "standard" hand held propane torch. The chisel tip can reach easily
as required to solder the shield or center conductor of a PL-259. The
heating ability of this soldering method meets the challenge of soldering
in the winter, in relatively windy conditions.

You do have to mind how you maneuver the torch as the heat from the flame
can melt the coax jacket (or your finger) if you are sloppy or not mindful
of the possibility. If you pay attention it is easy to avoid any
collateral damage. This soldering tool is at least an order of magnitude
more capable than any of the little butane units which have their use but
struggle in less than ideal conditions or larger jobs.

You need heat, plenty of it, and preferably a large tip with good heat
storage to solder braid to a PL-259 quickly so as to minimize the total
heat transfer to the work piece. Taking too long to get the area to be
soldered up to temp is what gets the dielectric melted, jacket too in
extreme cases.

Patrick    NJ5G