Problem with soldering gun
 

My sister bought me a Radio Shack Dual Heat soldering gun (150W/230W). This
was to supplement
my 120 watt 45 year old Weller. This after my WW II vintage 120 iron died
on me.

My main use was to solder coax connectors. The Gun seems to work Ok on
soldering joints in say a SB220 amplifier. But the first thing I noticed is
that the tip is much to large to fit into the area where the PL-259 outside
allows you to solder that to the shield thru the wholes in the 259. No
problem but if you leave the gun on too long the area of the tip gets red
hot about 1/2" back from the actual tip.

My old Weller does a better but inadequate job of soldering the 259 shield.

Why does the gun allow the tip to get red hot away from the actual tip. The
tip is almost new. I notice its made from a silver metal not copper as with
most Weller tips. Radio Shack tells me its made by Weller
and they are not aware of the problem.

bad tip or maybe a bad winding in the gun? any ideas?

Dave K4JRB

Problem with soldering gun
 

Hello,

It may sound funny, but that's why I never used a soldering gun and perhaps
never will... My 25W JBC with 0.8 and 1.2 mm tips is quite fine for
electronic components and connector soldering.

You should be the one who takes an 18 wheeler to pick up a beer pack.
Shouldn't you? Perhaps a Mig welder could do the connector job... Hi!
I hope you'll never mount connectors for other Hams without any serious DC
and HF shortcut tests.

100W+ soldering irons are pretty good for plumber jobs or for desoldering
fast and clean, but definitely not for your aim.

73 de F8BOE Olivier ...-.-



David Thompson wrote:

My sister bought me a Radio Shack Dual Heat soldering gun (150W/230W).
This was to supplement
my 120 watt 45 year old Weller. This after my WW II vintage 120 iron died
on me.

My main use was to solder coax connectors. The Gun seems to work Ok on
soldering joints in say a SB220 amplifier. But the first thing I noticed
is that the tip is much to large to fit into the area where the PL-259
outside
allows you to solder that to the shield thru the wholes in the 259. No
problem but if you leave the gun on too long the area of the tip gets red
hot about 1/2" back from the actual tip.

My old Weller does a better but inadequate job of soldering the 259
shield.

Why does the gun allow the tip to get red hot away from the actual tip.
The
tip is almost new. I notice its made from a silver metal not copper as
with
most Weller tips. Radio Shack tells me its made by Weller
and they are not aware of the problem.

bad tip or maybe a bad winding in the gun? any ideas?

Dave K4JRB

Problem with soldering gun
 

F8BOE wrote:
My main use was to solder coax connectors. The Gun seems to work Ok on

100W+ soldering irons are pretty good for plumber jobs or for desoldering
fast and clean, but definitely not for your aim.

??!!

Well, maybe if Dave's doing BNCs or N connectors then a 100W+ unit is
too big. But "...of soldering the 259 shield.", PL-259s are a
completely different case. I had a 70/140W "dual-power" gun, and it
really wasn't adequate for doing PL-259s.

Managed to find a 200W+ Weller at a Lowe's store in Clarksville, and it
does the trick. You've really GOT to have that heat, a PL-259 shell is
an awfully good heat sink...

Why does the gun allow the tip to get red hot away from the actual tip.

Mine doesn't, though it does get hot enough to melt solder a fair
distance from the actual tip. I guess I expected that.

First thing I'd suspect, especially if you're having trouble soldering
PL-259s with a 230W gun, is that the tips aren't making adequate contact
with the secondary of the transformer, the metal tubes coming out of the
handle. At the risk of stating the obvious, those little nuts at the
end of the tubes are good and tight, right?

tip is almost new. I notice its made from a silver metal not copper
as with most Weller tips.

The tips for mine are silver in color. I guess I figured they were
tinned copper but could be wrong.

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Problem with soldering gun
 

A trick demonstrated to me by a friend in New Mexico. (I use "N"'s and it
doesn't bother me, but he was putting a 259 on a piece of coax and managed
to amaze me.) You use a soldering gun, but with NO tip at all! He pushed the
gun sans tip into the ring where the holes for the solder to the braid are,
and pulled the trigger. In very little time, the I*I*R losses had the 259
hot enough to melt solder and he flowed it into the braid. Gets the heat
into the right place, Give it a try.

W4ZCB

Problem with soldering gun
 

Guys, electronics technology and densities have changed quite a bit
over the past 40 or so years.

My first two soldering tools back in the 1950s were a 100-Watt American
Beauty soldering iron, and a Weller Soldering Gun. By around 1965, both
were too large and bulky to do precision work on the by then modern
electronic, so I purchased a 37-Watt pencil iron (an Ungar Woodburner
we called it at that time) which served my needs up to roughly 1989,
when I added a miniature, variable temperature soldering iron to my
collection which remains in use today.

That original Weller Soldering Gun fell into disuse at least 25 years
ago, except for emergency use in panic situation to light cigarettes,
although I do take note of the fact that it was very useful for making
quick-fix field repairs on the older, low-density, vacuum tube
electronics, tinning the ends of power cords, etc.

I continue to use the 100-Watt American Beauty through this day, but
only for relatively heavy job like soldering the braid on RG-8U cables
to the connectors. Works fine on that application, particularly since
its temperature tends to remain rather constant so it doesn't either
oxidize most solders or destroy the item that the cable is being
attached to.

Arguably, most of the soldering I do today is performed by my
temperature controlled iron, generally at temperature settings of 625
or 720 degrees depending on the particular solder that I am using. Once
or twice a year do I resort resort to the American Beauty. (It was a
gift from my dad back in 1955 and remains in occasional use through
this day.)

Even years back, I simply can't remember any soldering iron tip that
was pure copper (except for some of those antique iron that you heated
on your gas stove). Soldering iron tips are usually plated with an iron
coating, and for very good reason. The iron coating slow the pitting
and eventual disolution of the tip in molten solder, which in turn
extends the life of the tip.

Kindest regards, Harry C.

p.s., I now recall that the earliest Weller Soldering Gun tips were
bare copper, which required you to replace them at the rate of about 1
tip per week in regular daily use. Those sold today are iron coated.
Still, today I know of no one using Weller Soldering Guns for
electronics, however, for the arts and crafts they can be very useful.

Problem with soldering gun
 

Doug Smith W9WI ) writes:


First thing I'd suspect, especially if you're having trouble soldering
PL-259s with a 230W gun, is that the tips aren't making adequate contact
with the secondary of the transformer, the metal tubes coming out of the
handle. At the risk of stating the obvious, those little nuts at the
end of the tubes are good and tight, right?

And maybe more important, the nuts can be tight but the copper is still
not making good contact. Loosening the nuts and retightening is important
in this case.

I've not bought a tip for mine in thirty years (which means I only bought
them for a couple of years). Someone gave me a yard or so of multi-strand
wire left over from a TV transmitter installation, the punchline being
that each strand was the diameter of the wire used for the soldering
gun tips. I measured the real tip, and used it as a template to cut
the wire to the needed size. It's all worked fine, and the fact
that it's not plated doesn't really matter because the tips don't cost
me a thing. That yard of wire is still supplying the tips.


Michael VE2BVW

Problem with soldering gun
 

Two good posts below, HOWEVER...


Guns, in general, should not be used for PL259s -- though W4ZCB's method is
a good one. I have used this technique in the past, but don't
recallspecificlly on what, just that is was a massive solderiang job. I
also have a device, resistance solderer, that designed to do this and is
used for doing dental soldering...and now, PL259s. This type of tool puts
the full power available into the stuff being soldered. If it is enough to
quickly heat the object, then it works.

In its normal mode. a gun puts the power into the whole gun "wire" and this
must then transfer heat to the work through conduction - usually via a very
small contact point which is an inefficent thermal conveyor. The remaining
gun "wire" is accepting the vase bulk of the power and, therefore it is
wasted (un-used to heat the work).

Soldering things like PL259 generally requires thermal capacity, not just
temperature. "Guns" are not well suited for this work. This is
accomplished with a LARGE tip. You need to get in, heat quickly and get out
quickly. The large tip allows you to heat, in a shirt time, the _work_,
which also has a large thermal mass, without cooling the tip appreciably.
To do a good job, you should be able to heat the shell in less than
something like 2 seconds, apply solder, let it flow and get out in a total
of something line 5-6 seconds.

I think the gun tip-wires turn red-hot, back from the tip, because you are
using the PL259 to keep the real "tip" cool and continuing to run the high
current through the tip WAY too long. The power needed to maintain the
tip's temperature is not enough alone. It is not really the wattage of the
heater, but the thermal capacity of the large tip that gives the amount of
and rate of heat transfer needed.

73, Steve, K.9,D;C'I


A trick demonstrated to me by a friend in New Mexico. (I use "N"'s and it
doesn't bother me, but he was putting a 259 on a piece of coax and managed
to amaze me.) You use a soldering gun, but with NO tip at all! He pushed the
gun sans tip into the ring where the holes for the solder to the braid are,
and pulled the trigger. In very little time, the I*I*R losses had the 259
hot enough to melt solder and he flowed it into the braid. Gets the heat
into the right place, Give it a try.

W4ZCB


wrote in message
ups.com...
Guys, electronics technology and densities have changed quite a bit
over the past 40 or so years.

My first two soldering tools back in the 1950s were a 100-Watt American
Beauty soldering iron, and a Weller Soldering Gun. By around 1965, both
were too large and bulky to do precision work on the by then modern
electronic, so I purchased a 37-Watt pencil iron (an Ungar Woodburner
we called it at that time) which served my needs up to roughly 1989,
when I added a miniature, variable temperature soldering iron to my
collection which remains in use today.

That original Weller Soldering Gun fell into disuse at least 25 years
ago, except for emergency use in panic situation to light cigarettes,
although I do take note of the fact that it was very useful for making
quick-fix field repairs on the older, low-density, vacuum tube
electronics, tinning the ends of power cords, etc.

I continue to use the 100-Watt American Beauty through this day, but
only for relatively heavy job like soldering the braid on RG-8U cables
to the connectors. Works fine on that application, particularly since
its temperature tends to remain rather constant so it doesn't either
oxidize most solders or destroy the item that the cable is being
attached to.

Arguably, most of the soldering I do today is performed by my
temperature controlled iron, generally at temperature settings of 625
or 720 degrees depending on the particular solder that I am using. Once
or twice a year do I resort resort to the American Beauty. (It was a
gift from my dad back in 1955 and remains in occasional use through
this day.)

Even years back, I simply can't remember any soldering iron tip that
was pure copper (except for some of those antique iron that you heated
on your gas stove). Soldering iron tips are usually plated with an iron
coating, and for very good reason. The iron coating slow the pitting
and eventual disolution of the tip in molten solder, which in turn
extends the life of the tip.

Kindest regards, Harry C.

p.s., I now recall that the earliest Weller Soldering Gun tips were
bare copper, which required you to replace them at the rate of about 1
tip per week in regular daily use. Those sold today are iron coated.
Still, today I know of no one using Weller Soldering Guns for
electronics, however, for the arts and crafts they can be very useful.

Problem with soldering gun
 

On 2005-10-27, David Thompson wrote:
My main use was to solder coax connectors. The Gun seems to work Ok on

For big soldering jobs like this I have a "Craftsman Professional Dual
Heat Soldering Gun". This is not the standard "big soldering gun". It's
got a 1/4" straight tip and it's very light. This will readily connect
several 10ga copper wires (which are fantastic heatsinks).

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00927320000

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

Problem with soldering gun
 

For 'high power' soldering , I use a butane (cigarette lighter) gas
soldering iron with kathalytic burner.
Temperature can be adjusted by changing gas flowrate .
I use an iron made in Ireland ,make Portasol .High power tip/burner can do
up to 100 watts which is more than adequate to solder (PL259) plugs. Also
very suitable to make small enclosures from scrap printed circuit board
Very handy also for outdoor use .....since the tool is self-contained.
Nowadays there are a number of makes to choose from.
I would never use an electric soldering gun.

Frank GMØCSZ / KN6WH
==============================================
"F8BOE" wrote in message
...
Hello,

It may sound funny, but that's why I never used a soldering gun and
perhaps
never will... My 25W JBC with 0.8 and 1.2 mm tips is quite fine for
electronic components and connector soldering.

You should be the one who takes an 18 wheeler to pick up a beer pack.
Shouldn't you? Perhaps a Mig welder could do the connector job... Hi!
I hope you'll never mount connectors for other Hams without any serious DC
and HF shortcut tests.

100W+ soldering irons are pretty good for plumber jobs or for desoldering
fast and clean, but definitely not for your aim.

73 de F8BOE Olivier ...-.-



David Thompson wrote:

My sister bought me a Radio Shack Dual Heat soldering gun (150W/230W).
This was to supplement
my 120 watt 45 year old Weller. This after my WW II vintage 120 iron
died
on me.

My main use was to solder coax connectors. The Gun seems to work Ok on
soldering joints in say a SB220 amplifier. But the first thing I noticed
is that the tip is much to large to fit into the area where the PL-259
outside
allows you to solder that to the shield thru the wholes in the 259. No
problem but if you leave the gun on too long the area of the tip gets red
hot about 1/2" back from the actual tip.

My old Weller does a better but inadequate job of soldering the 259
shield.

Why does the gun allow the tip to get red hot away from the actual tip.
The
tip is almost new. I notice its made from a silver metal not copper as
with
most Weller tips. Radio Shack tells me its made by Weller
and they are not aware of the problem.

bad tip or maybe a bad winding in the gun? any ideas?

Dave K4JRB

Problem with soldering gun
 

Highland Ham wrote:
"F8BOE" wrote in message
...
Hello,

It may sound funny, but that's why I never used a soldering gun and
perhaps
never will... My 25W JBC with 0.8 and 1.2 mm tips is quite fine for
electronic components and connector soldering.

You should be the one who takes an 18 wheeler to pick up a beer pack.
Shouldn't you? Perhaps a Mig welder could do the connector job... Hi!
I hope you'll never mount connectors for other Hams without any serious DC
and HF shortcut tests.

100W+ soldering irons are pretty good for plumber jobs or for desoldering
fast and clean, but definitely not for your aim.

73 de F8BOE Olivier ...-.-

For 'high power' soldering , I use a butane (cigarette lighter) gas
soldering iron with kathalytic burner.
Temperature can be adjusted by changing gas flowrate .
I use an iron made in Ireland ,make Portasol .High power tip/burner can do
up to 100 watts which is more than adequate to solder (PL259) plugs. Also
very suitable to make small enclosures from scrap printed circuit board
Very handy also for outdoor use .....since the tool is self-contained.
Nowadays there are a number of makes to choose from.
I would never use an electric soldering gun.


Neither would I. A normal small iron can be used for soldering large
objects, if they are pre-heated with a hot-air ("paint stripper") gun.

To solder a PL259, for example, pre-heat the plug body with the gun
until it's good and hot, but still some way below the melting point of
solder. Then put the gun down, and switch to your regular 25/45W iron
for the actual soldering. The solder will now melt quickly and easily.

Try it - it's so much easier than using a monster iron or an electric
soldering gun.


--
73 from Ian G/GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Problem with soldering gun
 

Very good Ian.. I shold have remembered this. A good way to solder ceramic
substrated PA modules, as well. I have a hot plate.

However, with the PL259, you may have an issue with the coax dielectric
melting. That's why I recommended teh high heat capacity,
get-in-and-get-out process. Or the PL259 dielectric. I see mostly cheapies
selling @ hamfests - Teflon's OK, though, no?.

73, Steve, ,K.9;D'C


73, Steve, K9DCI
"Ian White G/GM3SEK" wrote in message
...
Highland Ham wrote:
"F8BOE" wrote in message
...
Hello,

It may sound funny, but that's why I never used a soldering gun and
perhaps
never will... My 25W JBC with 0.8 and 1.2 mm tips is quite fine for
electronic components and connector soldering.

You should be the one who takes an 18 wheeler to pick up a beer pack.
Shouldn't you? Perhaps a Mig welder could do the connector job... Hi!
I hope you'll never mount connectors for other Hams without any serious
DC
and HF shortcut tests.

100W+ soldering irons are pretty good for plumber jobs or for
desoldering
fast and clean, but definitely not for your aim.

73 de F8BOE Olivier ...-.-

For 'high power' soldering , I use a butane (cigarette lighter) gas
soldering iron with kathalytic burner.
Temperature can be adjusted by changing gas flowrate .
I use an iron made in Ireland ,make Portasol .High power tip/burner can
do
up to 100 watts which is more than adequate to solder (PL259) plugs.
Also
very suitable to make small enclosures from scrap printed circuit board
Very handy also for outdoor use .....since the tool is self-contained.
Nowadays there are a number of makes to choose from.
I would never use an electric soldering gun.


Neither would I. A normal small iron can be used for soldering large
objects, if they are pre-heated with a hot-air ("paint stripper") gun.

To solder a PL259, for example, pre-heat the plug body with the gun
until it's good and hot, but still some way below the melting point of
solder. Then put the gun down, and switch to your regular 25/45W iron
for the actual soldering. The solder will now melt quickly and easily.

Try it - it's so much easier than using a monster iron or an electric
soldering gun.


--
73 from Ian G/GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Problem with soldering gun
 

Steve Nosko wrote:
Very good Ian.. I shold have remembered this. A good way to solder ceramic
substrated PA modules, as well. I have a hot plate.

However, with the PL259, you may have an issue with the coax dielectric
melting.
Or the PL259 dielectric. I see mostly cheapies
selling @ hamfests - Teflon's OK, though, no?.


I think you may have the wrong impression of this. It isn't the same as
using hot air or a hotplate to do the actual soldering.

In this case you're only using the hot-air gun to give the connector
body a moderate temperature boost of maybe 100-150C. It's still the iron
that melts the solder - the difference being that you can now use your
regular 25/45W iron.

The worst that happens with solid polyethylene dielectric is that it
softens; but then it hardens again. If the coax dielectric melts and
runs, you've heated the whole thing way too much, and for way too long.

The dielectric inside the plug is even less of a problem. If it doesn't
melt when you solder the center pin, it will also handle moderate
heating of the connector body.

So in practice there aren't any problems.


"Ian White G/GM3SEK" wrote in message
...
Highland Ham wrote:
"F8BOE" wrote in message
...
Hello,

It may sound funny, but that's why I never used a soldering gun and
perhaps
never will... My 25W JBC with 0.8 and 1.2 mm tips is quite fine for
electronic components and connector soldering.

You should be the one who takes an 18 wheeler to pick up a beer pack.
Shouldn't you? Perhaps a Mig welder could do the connector job... Hi!
I hope you'll never mount connectors for other Hams without any serious
DC
and HF shortcut tests.

100W+ soldering irons are pretty good for plumber jobs or for
desoldering
fast and clean, but definitely not for your aim.

73 de F8BOE Olivier ...-.-

For 'high power' soldering , I use a butane (cigarette lighter) gas
soldering iron with kathalytic burner.
Temperature can be adjusted by changing gas flowrate .
I use an iron made in Ireland ,make Portasol .High power tip/burner can
do
up to 100 watts which is more than adequate to solder (PL259) plugs.
Also
very suitable to make small enclosures from scrap printed circuit board
Very handy also for outdoor use .....since the tool is self-contained.
Nowadays there are a number of makes to choose from.
I would never use an electric soldering gun.


Neither would I. A normal small iron can be used for soldering large
objects, if they are pre-heated with a hot-air ("paint stripper") gun.

To solder a PL259, for example, pre-heat the plug body with the gun
until it's good and hot, but still some way below the melting point of
solder. Then put the gun down, and switch to your regular 25/45W iron
for the actual soldering. The solder will now melt quickly and easily.

Try it - it's so much easier than using a monster iron or an electric
soldering gun.


--
73 from Ian G/GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek



--
73 from Ian G/GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Problem with soldering gun
 

I bought a Weller gun recently to unsolder some can capacitors from a
steel chassis. I was totally dissapointed when I got home and unpacked
the gun. This gun is not the same as my daddy had about 40 years ago.
It was a cheap piece of ****. I tried with all my might to get that
thing to work. The tip was flimsy, the set screws to connect the tip
were flimsy and the two tubes that come out were so flimsy that they
would short themselves out whenever a little bit of pressure was put on
the tip. I tried boosting the voltage into the gun until the core was
humming real good. With about 140v into the thing the plastic handle
was too hot to touch and I could see smoke coming out of the handle. I
took it back and told the guy at the True-value store it didn't work
and smelt funny when I used it. I told him I thought the secondary was
shorted. Heheh.

Problem with soldering gun
 

Nope. I got it, but I see your point. The issue I was thinking of was the
fact that the hot air "pre-heat" will still take longer than a high
heat-capacity tip, thus allowing more opportunity (time) for the dielectric
to soften and deform if it isn't held well, without stress applied. I think
RG-8 size is probably less of a problem. RG-58 tends to easily allow the
center conductor to travel if given the opportunity.

My hot plate also only "warms" the ceramic so, when touched with the iron
for the heat-to-solder phase, it doesn't do that almost imperceptible
TINK! from the almost invisible crack across the ceramic due to an all to
large temp gradient.

How long do you take in the warming phase before doing the actual
heat-to-solder phase?

I have a professional resistance (dental brace) soldering machine ( by
K9PGN - SK) and it is considered tops on methods...by some, of course.

73, Steve, K9DCI



"Ian White G/GM3SEK" wrote in message
...
Steve Nosko wrote:
Very good Ian.. I shold have remembered this. A good way to solder
ceramic
substrated PA modules, as well. I have a hot plate.

However, with the PL259, you may have an issue with the coax dielectric
melting.
Or the PL259 dielectric. I see mostly cheapies
selling @ hamfests - Teflon's OK, though, no?.


I think you may have the wrong impression of this. It isn't the same as
using hot air or a hotplate to do the actual soldering.

In this case you're only using the hot-air gun to give the connector
body a moderate temperature boost of maybe 100-150C. It's still the iron
that melts the solder - the difference being that you can now use your
regular 25/45W iron.

The worst that happens with solid polyethylene dielectric is that it
softens; but then it hardens again. If the coax dielectric melts and
runs, you've heated the whole thing way too much, and for way too long.

The dielectric inside the plug is even less of a problem. If it doesn't
melt when you solder the center pin, it will also handle moderate
heating of the connector body.

So in practice there aren't any problems.


"Ian White G/GM3SEK" wrote in message
...
Highland Ham wrote:
"F8BOE" wrote in message
...
Hello,

It may sound funny, but that's why I never used a soldering gun and
perhaps
never will... My 25W JBC with 0.8 and 1.2 mm tips is quite fine for
electronic components and connector soldering.

You should be the one who takes an 18 wheeler to pick up a beer
pack.
Shouldn't you? Perhaps a Mig welder could do the connector job...
Hi!
I hope you'll never mount connectors for other Hams without any
serious
DC
and HF shortcut tests.

100W+ soldering irons are pretty good for plumber jobs or for
desoldering
fast and clean, but definitely not for your aim.

73 de F8BOE Olivier ...-.-

For 'high power' soldering , I use a butane (cigarette lighter) gas
soldering iron with kathalytic burner.
Temperature can be adjusted by changing gas flowrate .
I use an iron made in Ireland ,make Portasol .High power tip/burner
can
do
up to 100 watts which is more than adequate to solder (PL259) plugs.
Also
very suitable to make small enclosures from scrap printed circuit
board
Very handy also for outdoor use .....since the tool is
self-contained.
Nowadays there are a number of makes to choose from.
I would never use an electric soldering gun.


Neither would I. A normal small iron can be used for soldering large
objects, if they are pre-heated with a hot-air ("paint stripper") gun.

To solder a PL259, for example, pre-heat the plug body with the gun
until it's good and hot, but still some way below the melting point of
solder. Then put the gun down, and switch to your regular 25/45W iron
for the actual soldering. The solder will now melt quickly and easily.

Try it - it's so much easier than using a monster iron or an electric
soldering gun.


--
73 from Ian G/GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek



--
73 from Ian G/GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Problem with soldering gun
 

Suggest you buy a butane (cigarette lighter gas) soldering iron with
adjustable gas flow to change temperature.
These irons come with different kathalytic burner bits and have a capacity
of well over 100 Watts equivalent.
Electric soldering guns are prone to failure and don't sink much heat into
the object to be soldered.

Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH
==============================================
I bought a Weller gun recently to unsolder some can capacitors from a
steel chassis. I was totally dissapointed when I got home and unpacked
the gun. This gun is not the same as my daddy had about 40 years ago.
It was a cheap piece of ****. I tried with all my might to get that
thing to work. The tip was flimsy, the set screws to connect the tip
were flimsy and the two tubes that come out were so flimsy that they
would short themselves out whenever a little bit of pressure was put on
the tip. I tried boosting the voltage into the gun until the core was
humming real good. With about 140v into the thing the plastic handle
was too hot to touch and I could see smoke coming out of the handle. I
took it back and told the guy at the True-value store it didn't work
and smelt funny when I used it. I told him I thought the secondary was
shorted. Heheh.

Problem with soldering gun
 

Hm, everybody has his own solution. I happily use an old Weller gun or
small butane torch for putting a PL-259 onto an RG-8 size cable, as I
have for decades. I keep the cable straight so the center conductor ends
up where it belongs when the insulation cools. I never use PL-259s for
RG-58 or RG-59 size cable anymore -- I always use BNC instead. I've got
a box full of adapters to use whenever I need to connect to anything
else. Both BNC connectors and BNC-to-anything adapters are readily
available on eBay. Actually, I don't use RG-8 size cable very often, and
recently I've been putting N connectors on it when I do.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Problem with soldering gun
 

I use my old Wen model 450 gun with a 45A7 heavy duty soldering tip. This
combination is powerful enough to solder the old fashioned galvanized roof
spouting if necessary.
John, N9JG
http://tinyurl.com/9cpcf

"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
Hm, everybody has his own solution. I happily use an old Weller gun or
small butane torch for putting a PL-259 onto an RG-8 size cable, as I have
for decades. I keep the cable straight so the center conductor ends up
where it belongs when the insulation cools. I never use PL-259s for RG-58
or RG-59 size cable anymore -- I always use BNC instead. I've got a box
full of adapters to use whenever I need to connect to anything else. Both
BNC connectors and BNC-to-anything adapters are readily available on eBay.
Actually, I don't use RG-8 size cable very often, and recently I've been
putting N connectors on it when I do.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Problem with soldering gun
 

"Roy Lewallen" bravely wrote to "All" (04 Nov 05 17:30:23)
--- on the heady topic of " Problem with soldering gun"

RL From: Roy Lewallen
RL Xref: core-easynews rec.radio.amateur.homebrew:88731

RL Hm, everybody has his own solution. I happily use an old Weller gun or
RL small butane torch for putting a PL-259 onto an RG-8 size cable, as I
RL have for decades. I keep the cable straight so the center conductor
RL ends up where it belongs when the insulation cools. I never use
RL PL-259s for RG-58 or RG-59 size cable anymore -- I always use BNC
RL instead. I've got a box full of adapters to use whenever I need to
RL connect to anything else. Both BNC connectors and BNC-to-anything
RL adapters are readily available on eBay. Actually, I don't use RG-8
RL size cable very often, and recently I've been putting N connectors on
RL it when I do.
RL Roy Lewallen, W7EL

If you want some *real* heat, rip the carbon rods out of a couple of C
or D batteries. Cut just one wire of a bedside table lamp in the middle.
Strip the ends and wrap one wire around one carbon rod and the same
with the other on the remaining rod. Hold the rod ends clamped by
wooden clothes pins so that the wires are pressed into the rod. Keep
the rods apart and plug in the lamp. Turn on the lamp, then bring the
rods close together. You should develop a nice arc that will blind you
momentarily and leave you seeing blue spots for a few hours. However,
the arc will have been hotter than the surface of the Sun. But you can
melt paper clips and glass marbles with it. A welders mask may help
with the spotty vision.

Disclaimer: Do not try this in the shower. Objects may appear blurrier
than they really are temporarily but perhaps permanently. Results may
vary with the wattage of the bedside table lamp.

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... This product has been cruelly tested on cute little furry animals.

Problem with soldering gun
 

No Way would I ever use a 25 watt soldering iron to do pl 259s like
that F8 guy does..... wonder how many poor pl 259 connections he has
and does not even know it?

Steve W4SEF



On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 05:09:11 GMT, "David Thompson"
wrote:

My sister bought me a Radio Shack Dual Heat soldering gun (150W/230W). This
was to supplement
my 120 watt 45 year old Weller. This after my WW II vintage 120 iron died
on me.

My main use was to solder coax connectors. The Gun seems to work Ok on
soldering joints in say a SB220 amplifier. But the first thing I noticed is
that the tip is much to large to fit into the area where the PL-259 outside
allows you to solder that to the shield thru the wholes in the 259. No
problem but if you leave the gun on too long the area of the tip gets red
hot about 1/2" back from the actual tip.

My old Weller does a better but inadequate job of soldering the 259 shield.

Why does the gun allow the tip to get red hot away from the actual tip. The
tip is almost new. I notice its made from a silver metal not copper as with
most Weller tips. Radio Shack tells me its made by Weller
and they are not aware of the problem.

bad tip or maybe a bad winding in the gun? any ideas?

Dave K4JRB

Problem with soldering gun
 

No Way would I ever use a 25 watt soldering iron to do pl 259s like
that F8 guy does..... wonder how many poor pl 259 connections he has
and does not even know it?
======================
Perhaps is it useful to mention that PL259 type of connectors for 3/8inch
(10mm) OD coax are available with a cable entry as per a standard
N-connector eg a metal braid sleeve with rubber cable compression ring.
The only soldering required is for the centre pin.
The ones I use are of a high quality ,having a gold-plated centre pin . They
are made in Taiwan ; the UK price some time ago was GBP 3.00 (US$ 5.50) .
Perhaps a bit expensive but well worth buying.

Frank GMØCSZ / KN6WH

Problem with soldering gun
 

Steve Nosko wrote:
Nope. I got it, but I see your point. The issue I was thinking of was the
fact that the hot air "pre-heat" will still take longer than a high
heat-capacity tip, thus allowing more opportunity (time) for the dielectric
to soften and deform if it isn't held well, without stress applied. I think
RG-8 size is probably less of a problem. RG-58 tends to easily allow the
center conductor to travel if given the opportunity.

It doesn't seem to be a problem with either size of cable, largely
because the dielectric doesn't get hot enough to melt and become runny,
and also because the center conductor isn't trying to move off-center
anyway.

My hot plate also only "warms" the ceramic so, when touched with the iron
for the heat-to-solder phase, it doesn't do that almost imperceptible
TINK! from the almost invisible crack across the ceramic due to an all to
large temp gradient.

Ah, now I see what you're using it for.

How long do you take in the warming phase before doing the actual
heat-to-solder phase?

About 10-20 seconds with a 2kW hot-air gun.... but that obviously
depends on a lot of other variables, particularly the power of the
electric iron to follow.

My worry with many of the "big iron" methods is that it's very hard to
be sure you have a good solder joint, all the way down the sides of the
hole. More often, I suspect it makes a good joint to the braid but a
cold joint to the sides of the hole. This may look OK, but the plug of
solder may eventually work loose in the hole.


--
73 from Ian G/GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Problem with soldering gun
 

Ian White G/GM3SEK wrote:



My worry with many of the "big iron" methods is that it's very hard to
be sure you have a good solder joint, all the way down the sides of the
hole. More often, I suspect it makes a good joint to the braid but a
cold joint to the sides of the hole. This may look OK, but the plug of
solder may eventually work loose in the hole.


A handy trick is to enlarge the holes with a drill or reamer or to make
them slightly oblong with a small triangular file. I've seen some
connectors with an oblong opening as standard. It does make for easier
soldering.

-Bill

Problem with soldering gun
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
I bought a Weller gun recently to unsolder some can capacitors from a
steel chassis. I was totally dissapointed ...

Well of course. Even with my 40 year ole Weller it would be a bad idea.
Guns are for small work only-- always was, always will be.

Steve N.

Problem with soldering gun
 

This is important. There are TWO things to consider. Wattage and heat
capacity. Small tips have low heat capacity. A 100W old fashioned "big
birtha", the kind with the 1/2 inch diameter, 2-1/2 inch long tip will out
perform ANY "gun" when trying to do large work. You need that stored up
heat to heat a large thing.

Steve N.


"Highland Ham" wrote in message
...
Suggest you buy a butane (cigarette lighter gas) soldering iron with
adjustable gas flow to change temperature.
These irons come with different kathalytic burner bits and have a capacity
of well over 100 Watts equivalent.
Electric soldering guns are prone to failure and don't sink much heat into
the object to be soldered.

Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH
==============================================
I bought a Weller gun recently to unsolder some can capacitors from a
steel chassis. I was totally dissapointed