[Elecraft] K3 just goes off - SOLVED

[Fred Jensen]

I have been told, sometimes by reliable sources, that proper crimping 
actually pressure welds the contact to the copper wire.  Soldering on 
the other hand heats the copper to around 750F and it then cools fairly 
fast which hardens it.  Then, under vibration, it fatigues and breaks. 
I've heard this said about soldering dipole connections too.

I can tell you that NASA crimped [very carefully] and did not solder on 
the Apollo program.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2012 Cal QSO Party 6-7 Oct 2012
- www.cqp.org
On 6/24/2012 4:55 PM, Hisashi T Fujinaka wrote:
> What does the maritime industry use? Anyone work at Boeing who can tell
> me why they (I think) crimp instead of solder? I thought I remembered
> that it's because crimps are stronger over the long-term under
> vibration. I could be making it all up.
>
> I'm just curious if there's a reason or if people are just talking for
> the sake of talking. I've had lots more solder joints fail than crimps,
> but I've had crimps fail too.