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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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/

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

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