[Elecraft] soldering tools

Thu Jan 22 21:09:02 2004

This is an email Question I had  about soldering iron tips and such. It =
may be useful to others so I am copying it to the reflector

Don Brown

Hi

I use a 1/16 or about 2mm short reach tip. It is also good to have a =
larger tip so you can solder larger items like RF connectors or some of =
the transistors and transformers in the KPA100 100 watt amp. For that a =
3/16 or about 5-6 mm is about right. I set the temperature to 750 =
degrees F  or 400 degrees C. The tips on these irons will last a long =
time if you always keep a light coat of solder on them. Wipe the tip on =
a wet sponge just before making a series of connections then return the =
iron to the holder without wiping. This leaves a coating of solder on =
the tip. When turning off the iron apply a coat of solder and allow it =
to cool in the holder. The first thing when turning on the iron apply =
some solder to the tip as soon as it is hot enough to melt the solder. =
Never file or scrape the tip.  They have a plating that will be damaged =
and the life of the tip will be shortened. The tip should last several =
years if you take care of it.=20

If you are new to soldering check out the soldering tutorial on the =
Elecraft website written by Tom Hammond.

Don Brown

  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: [email protected]=20
  To: [email protected]=20
  Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 6:39 PM
  Subject: Re: [Elecraft] tool to build info

  hello Don=20
  many thanks for this info=20
  and what TIP size do i need please ?
  many thanks for this info=20
  Elan

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