[Elecraft] toroid prep with Hakko 808

[Lonnie Juli]

A few readers of this list have asked for this info.

I wish I had thought of this, but the idea came from a set of notes on the
Hakko 808 put out by Tom Hammond N0SS. The entire article is at
http://home.earthlink.net/~n0ss/hakko_808_notes.pdf .
Tom has collected some really excellent ideas so I advise that you download
the entire file.


Tom identifies the original source of this superb practice as Don Brown
(KD5NDB):

"The Hakko 808 is still the best way I have found to remove heat-strippable
enamel
from toroid leads. Just flow some solder into the nozzle, slowly insert the
lead into
the nozzle, wait 5 to 10 seconds (you'll see the melted enamel smoke and
'boil'
up), pull the trigger and remove the lead. Works wonderfully every time,
leaving a
nicely tinned lead ."

It's every bit as easy and reliable as it sounds.

If you do not own a desoldering tool, I recommend the Hakko 808. It's a
superb value for the price. I have even removed SMT devices with it and
never fried a component. Some of the units with long hoses and more of the
soldering iron form factor might be more useful on very crowded boards, but
I haven't run into any problems yet. I once totally screwed up two rock
mites by mixing parts and was able to reclaim and rebuild both the units
with no problem.

Now if I could only remember where I left my Dremel tool...


72,

Lonnie
NY2LJ