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[TowerTalk] Coax cables

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Coax cables
From: stevek@jmr.com (Steve Katz)
Date: Thu Feb 6 13:47:54 2003
Tell your grad student friend to go look at the tables again.  Silver is
more conductive, both electrically and thermally, in every textbook of
metallurgy and materials on the planet.  -WB2WIK/6

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of
enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ken Cechura [SMTP:kcechura@umr.edu]
> Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2003 10:42 AM
> To:   Steve Katz
> Subject:      RE: [TowerTalk] Coax cables
> 
> Not to be a smart @$$....  But I think Gold is more conductive both
> electrically and thermally....  At least that's what I was told by a
> metallurgy grad student.... 
> 
> Though Silver plated PL259s do work much better than the cheaper ones.
> 
> 73
> Ken, KC9UMR 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Steve Katz
> Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2003 9:55 AM
> To: 'brewerj@squared.com'; towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: RE: [TowerTalk] Coax cables
> 
> 
> Hey John (K5MO),
> 
> I sure don't recommend filing PL-259 bodies to expose base metal brass.
> This should never, ever be necessary if you use good quality PL-259's
> such as Amphenol 83-1SP (silver-plated connector body, silver takes
> solder faster and more efficiently than brass ever could) or the "silver
> plated Teflon" connectors made by J&I (usually just stamped "Made in
> U.S.A." with no other
> identification) and sold by H.R.O., Cable XPerts and many other outlets.
> Silver is the most conductive metal on the planet (both electrically and
> thermally) and the plating allows solder to flow very quickly without
> scrubbing.
> 
> It sounds to me like you're using the Amphenol "Astro Plate" (or
> equivalent) connectors with the very bright, shiny finish.  Those
> weather very well but are very difficult to solder to using conventional
> soldering equipment.  I'd toss those and get silver-plated connectors,
> which solder very quickly and easily without any rework.
> 
> WB2WIK/6
> 
> "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of
> enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:       brewerj@squared.com [SMTP:brewerj@squared.com]
> > Sent:       Thursday, February 06, 2003 6:02 AM
> > To: towertalk@contesting.com
> > Subject:    [TowerTalk] Coax cables
> > 
> > Heat is the key. I bought a mondo iron (the tip is about as big around
> 
> > as a little finger) for $1 at a garage sale. It works perfectly and 
> > takes forever to warm up. It also takes forever to cool down, which is
> 
> > what your're looking for!
> > 
> > Some other tips:
> > 
> > 1) lightly tin the braid.
> > 
> > 2) File with a halfround file, the area around
> >       the opening for the solder, to expose
> >       the base metal (hopefully, brass!)
> > 
> > 3) Pre tin this area as well.
> > 
> > 
> > If I can find one more cheapie iron, I'm going to file the tip into a 
> > concave form to match the contour of the PL259 shell. Heat transfer 
> > should be enhanced even more, in what will then be a dedicated cable 
> > ass'y iron.
> > 
> > 73
> > John K5MO
> > 
> > 
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