[Elecraft] Soldering PL-259's

[Ken Kopp]

I use a hand-held taper reamer and enlarge the four
solder holes until they're as large as the space between
the shoulders.  This will allow your iron's tip to make
better heat transfer contact with the braid.

Another suggestion;  Lightly tin the braid and then trim 
it to length with a tubing cutter as you would if you were 
cutting copper tubing.  The free end of the braid is then 
removed by cutting it away with sharp wire cutters or a 
box knife.  Leave about 1/16" of inner insulation exposed 
beyond the end of the tinned braid.

A touch of silicone grease will make screwing the 
connector body onto the coax's insulation easier.

I wish I could attach photos.  I do hamfest talks about
installing the various kinds and sizes of coax connectors
and have a set of step-by-step photos that really make
it easy to show how it's done.

The matter of the reducers for RG-58 and RG-59 is 
another part of my talks.  There are a number of ways
to do this ... some good and MANY bad.

BTW, if it's not obvious, keep soldering guns away from
"sensitive" electronics, IC's, etc.  The electric field around 
the tip is very strong!  Great for de-magnetizing tools, drill
bits, etc., though.

73! Ken Kopp - K0PP
k0pp at arrl.net
or
k0pp at ixpres.com