I use an 80 watt Weller iron. It holds far more
heat (not temperature) than my 250 watt soldering
gun. Because of the heat capacity of the iron,
the holes solder very quickly and easily. It is not
necessary to pre-tin the braid.

A 100 watt iron might be a little better, but they
are harder to find. Some hardware stores carry
the 80w Weller.

Tom - N1MM
Check out the N1MM Free Contest Logger at:
http://www.n1mm.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/N1MMLogger/
"W7TI" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 19:33:18 -0500, Bob Miller
wrote:

Get a 175 watt Weller, then you'll be able to solder it through the
four holes in just a few seconds, like it's designed for.

Bob
k5qwg

__________________________________________________ _______

I have a 250 watt Weller (about 45 years old now) and soldering through
the four holes is a pain, as well as being uncertain. Soldering the
braid where it enters the connector can be done with a 40 watt iron,
helping avoid damage to the coax.

Give it a try, you might like it.

--
73, Bill W7TI

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 15:42:26 -0700, W7TI wrote:

Maybe this has been done before, but it's the first time I've heard of
this method.

I've used it here with no problems. Outside I use N connectors for
nearly all connections.

While struggling as usual to attach some PL-259s to some Belden 9913F,
it occurred to me that the four little holes for soldering the braid

For the purist connecting there helps keep the impedance correct, BUT
as you took the braid inside I would expect about the same.

Contrary to what some have said, I've not been able to see any bump
using a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) with that approach.

were not really needed. Instead, I soldered the braid directly to the
connector at the point where it entered. Picture at:

www.dslextreme.com/users/teeaye/coax.jpg

I soldered it all around the connector, although I suppose only one
point would be ok.

All around is better


The braid is exposed so it would need weatherproofing for outside use.
But all in all, it seems to me to be far superior to trying to solder
through the little holes. It's much stronger and you can easily see if
you have a good connection.

When it comes to weather proofing, PL259s are not weather proof. You
just make it a little easier for the water to get in.

I use "flooded" heat shrink tube over the connector and out onto the
coax by about an inch and a half. I purchase it in 4' lengths at the
local electrical supply house. The flooding material is pretty much
the same stuff used in hot glue guns.

You have to remember to start shrinking the tube in the middle and
work out to the ends


Also, only a small-wattage iron is needed. I used a 40-watt Weller,
which is not hot enough doing it the normal way. There is less metal
acting as a heat sink.


Another advantage is you can trim the braid much farther back from where

Here you don't want to trim it back much father than the normal
installation.

I cut and trim to length, then tin the braid. If need be (and it
usually is) I file down the solder so the braid easily fits all the
way in to the proper position and I don't have to worry about
"whiskers".

you strip the center conductor. This helps reduce the chances of a
stray strand causing a short.

The only drawback I can see would be if the coax were hanging down and
swinging in the breeze - the solder could develop metal fatigue over
time. On the other hand, the coax should be strain-relieved anyway,
else it's just holding on by the four holes and the center conductor.

Yes, Yes, and no.
Yes, the solder will eventually fatigue.
Yes the connection should be supported, or strain relieved.
No, those little solder spots are an electrical connection, not to
support the cable.

Most of what little strength a pl259 has, comes from the jacket being
screwed down into the connector.

Roger Halstead (K8RI EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
www.rogerhalstead.com
N833R World's oldest Debonair? (S# CD-2)
Not much better, if at all.

Comments?

Another thing that you can be sure of. Rarely does it matter.
"Nisse" wrote in message
...
(the only thing You can be sure of, it is not 50
ohm
characteristic impedance)...

Mark:

[snip]
Myself, I think using a high wattage gun is one of the most important
parts. It's hard to get them hot enough with a small 30-50?? watt gun.
To properly solder, you have to get the shell itself hot enough to
melt the solder. Otherwise, you have a cold joint. But, on the other
hand, you also don't want to sit there for 8 min trying to get it hot
enough, when in the meantime the coax melts into a blob. So you have
to get in and out fast. A hot gun is the only way. I've been using a
150 w for quite a few years and it seems big enough unless you are
outside in the wind.
[snip]

Agreed!

If you are just getting a new iron for coax connector work, go for a big
fat 200 Watt job. It not only gets the temperature correct for perfect
joints,
but because it is big it can supply a lot of heat quickly without
temperature
drop and that's the secret to great PL259 connector soldering jobs.

The 200 Watts ensures that you can do connectors quickly and
with quality even out doors on field day with the wind blowing.

Dont' fuss, don't worry...

Just do it right!

A Big Fat 200 Watt iron makes soldering coax to PL259's dead simple!

--
Peter K1PO
Indialantic By-the-Sea, FL.

Personally, I've had the best luck with a 100-200 watt iron for soldering the
shell. The iron, assuming it has a heavy tip, has enough heat capacity to do
the job quickly. With a soldering gun, even a 150 or 200 watt gun, the tip
just doesn't have enough thermal capacity to do the job as quickly. But,
whatever works is fine.

73s,

Evan

www.dslextreme.com/users/teeaye/coax.jpg

Terrible picture. it looks like a cold joint.

W7TI wrote:

On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:48:46 +0200, Nisse wrote:

This is rather amusing...
A debate how to attach PL-259.... Would'nt it be better if we finally
got rid of those aniquities (the only thing You can be sure of, it is not 50
ohm
characteristic impedance)...

__________________________________________________ _______

Getting rid of a connector which is standard all over the world?

Now *that's* amusing. :-)

BNC or N are also standards all over the world. So is C, however it is a bit
tricky to find.
PL-259 is hardly useable above 50MHz, and totally worthless above approx. 300MHz
(why PL-259 is the standard for 144MHz rigs is definitively beyond my
undersanding- for
commercial 80MHz LMR, BNC or C is standard, depending on power output).




--
73, Bill W7TI

W7TI wrote:
On 24 Jul 2003 21:19:45 -0700, (John Shrove)
wrote:

www.dslextreme.com/users/teeaye/coax.jpg

Terrible picture. it looks like a cold joint.

__________________________________________________ _______

Terrible interpretation. Joint is perfect.

It might be, but the picture is still pretty poor... makes it hard to tell
just how good the solder job really is.

Dan