Nickel plated 259's

[barefoothank]

Did I buy the wrong one's? I bought nickel plated.

[MDYoungblood]

Nothing wrong with that, silver/lead solder will stick to them too. I usually get Amphenol connectors but the local RS was having their GOOB sale and bought all they had for 3 cents each. Not sure who made them but it looks like they have a Teflon insulation.

3's

Greg

Did I buy the wrong one's? I bought nickel plated.

Hey...

What? Nickel plated?

All that money you make and no gold plated.



Bombero

[Deleted User 14541]

The main thing is a good insulator that won't try to melt when you solder the shield. The amphenol connectors are use some kind of ceramic insulator and teflon will take some heat too. You still have to be careful not to overheat the coax and not bend or move it until it's cool.

[barefoothank]

Did I buy the wrong one's? I bought nickel plated.

Hey...

What? Nickel plated?

All that money you make and no gold plated.



Bombero

Well I guess I could buy the factory if I wanted, don't like to be bragadocious tho.

-- Wednesday, 15 July 2015, 16:25 PM --

Ok, cool. I got the anphenols so now I will either buy a hotter iron or hire the cb guy down the road.
Somewhere I had read about silver but not sure where.

Thank you for your time

hank

[Deleted User 14541]

I use a mini torch. It works very well but takes some practice to do it without overheating the coax.

If it's just small coax like mini 8 twist the shield up into 2 strands 180 degrees apart and pull them through the holes in the body of the pl259 as you thread the center conductor through. Then screw on the reducer, clip the excess wiring and solder. Someone posted that trick on this forum and I have to say it makes soldering the shield a lot easier.. The trick is threading 3 needles at once.

[1206FL]

The ampehnol connectors might have a silver tip, that could be where you are "seeing or hearing" silver being said or thrown around. I believe the good ampehnol connectors are silver coated center pin and makes for easy soldering. Very simple like 543 said a small torch and a bit of practice is all that is needed. Don't forget to tin the ground braid a bit before screwing the connector together, helps the solder on the outer part of connector easier to make a good solder joint. That and a small bit of tin on the center conductor. Do what 543 said above, just don't use too much heat or leave it on the connector for too long. This is why I like the ampehnol connectors as they have the ceramic center insulator and not plastic or Teflon. Great tips 543 as well as what the others have posted. Don't let the cb shop do it. Get your learn on man!! It's not hard, start with a scrap piece of coax and use the el cheapo connectors and learn how to to them. Then you shouldn't have any issues with the good connectors. Just my 2 pennies worth. All great info posted above as well!!

[MDYoungblood]

I've never used a mini torch, just a good old 40w soldering iron, put the tip in a drill and sharpen the point on a stone, tin it up and go at it. Yes, practice does make perfect, I've been making jumpers and lengths for over 50 years, check them all, every once in a while I get one that is shorted, a piece of braid make contact with the center conductor while screwing the connector on the jacket. I also use a old hairdryer to warm up the jacket to make screwing the connector on easier, only needed for RG8/U or equivalent.

3's

Greg

[barefoothank]

Ok so I did it like this guy kinda

but my little 25 watt pencil wasn't cutting the mustard so a little turbo boost was added.
The end result is somewhat ugly but no shorts whoot whoot!

[1206FL]

Get a good Weller solder gun and you will be good to go. 31 dollars at the Home Depot. And they come with a variety of tips to solder just about anything. The faster you can make the solder joint the better. Keeps the heat down off the coax itself. JMHO. Those mini torches can work but are a bit hot and it doesn't take much to accidentally go through the coax. Like I said, if you plan on doing a lot of soldering, a good solder gun is a tool to have!!

[WK2]

I use a Weller EC2002M Station with a Weller EC1202A 40 Watt soldering tool w/ETA tip. Great little setup with built in ESD protection. My back up for outside work or in the field is a Weller WPA2 Pyropen with the WPT1 Tip.

Just make sure you don't over heat the center conductor and melt the foam insulator of the cable.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Weller Station

[Deleted User 14541]

The soldering guns are nice for wires bit that's about it. The tip doesn't have enough mass to stay hot when soldering a pl259. By the time you get the solder to flow you end up getting the coax too hot. A large (or larger) pencil type iron like the guy used in the video is ideal.

[WK2]

I have been using a Weller Station of some sort for over 22 years and have never had a problem getting solder to flow and wet properly. It all about the proper heat, time on location and also using heat sinks/clamps where applicable. I also have a wide array of tips to go in both my irons for all types of applications, I just did not list them. A solder pot also helps makes things go a lot faster especially when making cables from scratch. I am MIL-STD 2000A, IPC J-STD-001 and NASA Certified.

[Deleted User 14541]

I wasn't knocking your soldering station but the pistol type soldering guns with the red trigger and light bulb on the end

[WK2]

543FtWorth,

I want to apologize for coming across as rude as it was not my intent. I agree with you about the pistol style soldering irons. When I am out and about and see someone whip out a pistol grip model I grab my Weller Pyropen and use it instead. I will then politely educate the person that there are better irons for what they are trying to do.

[Deleted User 14541]

No worries. You didn't come across as being rude. You have to have thick skin to frequent the forum I call home.

[Buzzweiser]

I have a Pace solder station that works really nice, has the dual preheater with built in clamps. I like to preheat my 239 before I solder it. Makes for a perfect joint almost every time, plus after the connection I can push my shrink tubing up over the connector and seal it.

[barefoothank]

I have them completed but sure enough not pretty enough to show anyone. As far as my 25 watt irons go I have built 3 radio kits with them but they do not shine on the 259's or de-soldering op.'s so some day I will upgrade. The one I heated in the torch was an old rat shack so I didn't care if it died or not. As far as the pistol guns I never came close to be able to use one but I still remember my Dad built a sterio for one of his friends with one when I was a we pup. I am grateful for all the feedback and help here so Thank you very much!
hank