dave d wrote:
Many of you probably figured this out already, but it was a revelation to
me. I recently had to do a quick field repair out of my car. I had a
voltage inverter and a small iron, but it didn't do very well. That iron
has always been wimpy, and between possibly low voltage and cold ambient
temperature it didn't work out. I then thought about how much my new
Scripto wind resistant long-necked lighter (the kind you use to light a
grill) looked like a small blow torch. It really puts out a good strong,
tight flame. It wasn't as precise as I would have liked, but it was plenty
hot and got the job done with only a few charred edges on the connector that
I was repairing. I tinned the free wire away from everything else, left a
small mouton blob hanging, quickly got it close to the multi-pin connector
where it had to go, and hit the connector very quickly with the flame. It
makes me wonder if a decent-quality little torch wouldn't be good for more
soldering jobs, especially on thick parts.


If you're out on the road, then whatever works is good.

Back home, a better use for a flame is as background heat for the
regular small soldering iron. The background heat provides most of the
temperature increase, but not enough to melt any solder. Then the small
iron *can* melt the solder, exactly where you want it.

This technique lets you do fine-detail soldering, even on large lumps of
metal.

Other background heat sources include an electric hot-air gun, a gas
torch (at a distance, never close-up) or sometimes the cooker hob.

This is definitely my preferred method for soldering PL-259s, even
outdoors in the cold: a quick blast from the hot-air gun onto the plug
body, and then the regular workbench iron works fine.

(Yes, I *do* have a traditional monster soldering iron, I *have* used it
and of course it *does* work. But not as well. This way works so much
better, I've forgotten where the monster iron is...)


--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)

http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek