[Elecraft] KX1 Kynar wire

[Craig Rairdin]

What's up with this Kynar wire in the KX1 kit? I seem to recall this problem
when building my first KX1. The second one is no better. It's impossible to
strip it without causing it to break - either during stripping or after it's
soldered to the board. My "as seen on TV" wire stripper just cuts it. If I
carefully roll it under my exacto knife it either breaks when I pull off the
insulation or after I solder it to the board and bend it allow the board to
mount flat against the KX1 board. I don't think stripping it is causing the
problem. Even when I burn the insulation off so there are no nicks in the
wire it breaks when you manipulate it.

 

I've blown through the supply in the kit. The wire just disintegrates when I
touch or move it. I'll order more on Monday, though I'm thinking I'm going
to need a spool. I may pick up some locally so I can continue building. The
wire seems unnecessarily fancy for this job. I'm sure Radio Shack has some
lamp cord I could use that would accomplish the same thing. Well, maybe
something a little lighter than that. But certainly anything would work,
right?

 

Any suggestions for handling this wire so it doesn't just fall apart in your
hands?

 

Craig

NZ0R

KX1 #1499

K1 #1966

K2/100 #4941

K3/100 #25