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[TowerTalk] RE: Crappy PL259's

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] RE: Crappy PL259's
From: nwtncc@iswt.com (James Hall)
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 23:20:52 -0500
Hello:

I have been following this thread with great interest.  In the last 2 days I
have soldered 16 connectors - both indoors and outdoors (dodging yellow
jackets !) - and using two different solders and three different irons.  I
tried rasping the holes as previously suggested but I couldn't see much
difference there.  The 60-40 rosin core solder seemed to have a lower
melting point than the silver-containing (Radio Shack) solder.  This was a
must outdoors where ANY breeze would slow down the process.  The irons were
the Radio Shack high wattage gun, the Solder-It Solder Pro 120 butane iron,
and a 25-watt pencil iron (RS).  At the base of the tower, with available
AC, the big gun delivered the heat quick and kept it hot for the time I
needed.  The Solder-It butane unit was good, but any breeze would cool the
junction momentarily - really frustrating at times.  Indoors, interestingly,
and particularly when I ran out of the 60-40 rosin core solder and started
using the other, the pencil iron (which is left constantly on) was
absolutely the best.  The Solder_it iron is apparently geared towards the
lower melting point solder paste that they sell (which I have yet to figure
out how to use with a PL259).  It simply coud not handle the silver
containing solder.

As an aside, in my opinion, the biggest pain about putting on PL259's on
RG-8-like cables is getting the center conductor twisted tight enough to fit
inside the PL259 center oriface.  I, many times, end up twisting and
scraping (with a wire-cutter/pliers) until it is tiny enough to fit.  Nuts !
Why can't they conform to each other better ?!

My thumb aches from all the twisting of the '259's.  Think I'll go soak it
!!  :)

Jamie
WB4YDL 


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