a shameful admission for a ham: i don't (yet) solder

[n6hcm]

Actually, I did when I was a kid, but not in recent decades. Back then I used a soldering gun, not one of these pencil things. I didn't do much with it back then, so am generally unskilled.

How to restart? What kind of equipment for general-purpose (for a ham) tasks, ... ?

[N8YX]

Get thyself two:

A Weller temperature-controlled soldering station for the small stuff;

A Weller or similar quality soldering gun in the 100-140w range for things such as soldering coax fittings or large ring terminals.

[NQ6U]

Get thyself two:

A Weller temperature-controlled soldering station for the small stuff;

A Weller or similar quality soldering gun in the 100-140w range for things such as soldering coax fittings or large ring terminals.

Never had much luck with a soldering gun on coax fittings, the tip is too small to hold and transfer heat to something that thermally massive. After trying and failing a number of times to find a working version of one of those big old honkin' irons from the days of yore, I ended up with a 40 watt Weller pencil iron with a nice, fat tip that I found at, of all places, the Home Despot. I stumbled across it while looking for something else, hadn't even given a thought to looking for one there, but the thing works great for PL-259s and only cost eight bucks.

[kf0rt]

Agree with Fred, but with one caveat.

Instead of the 100-140w gun, get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-P2KC-Pr.../dp/B000WOHSHM

Best thing since sliced bread if you ever have to solder in a car (truck, ahem) or do anything outdoors. And it heats plenty for those PL-259's.

[KB3LAZ]

My soldering station is much older than me. :) I was lucky that way, my grandfather being a ham and all. First thing I got from my grandfather when I got my ticket was Two crates of ham tools, a spool of wire, a Radio shack 202 and 242. :) Actually, I dont remember if it was a 242 or a 212...I had one of each at one point.

Have never used a butane soldering iron though. Mine is an adjustable electric soldering station and stand alone soldering gun. I tend to use the gun more often as I dont solder many small things. Mostly just antennas and coax.

Now as a ham I have a major downfall, I cant read a schematic for shit.

[W5GA]

For outdoors/PL=259 use, I have a huge old electric soldering iron that I picked up in an antique store. The problem with most guns is they don't have enough recovery capacity. These old irons were used to solder sheet metal, the tip on mine is a 4 oz. piece of copper. Takes a while to heat up/cool down, but once hot it never runs out of enough heat to do the job.

[KB3LAZ]

For outdoors/PL=259 use, I have a huge old electric soldering iron that I picked up in an antique store. The problem with most guns is they don't have enough recovery capacity. These old irons were used to solder sheet metal, the tip on mine is a 4 oz. piece of copper. Takes a while to heat up/cool down, but once hot it never runs out of enough heat to do the job.

Not sure if it is what you mean but my grandpa has one that is damn near the size of my arm! The tip is the size of a shot glass. Dont think it works. Lol. (Im exaggerating but not by much)

[W5GA]

Not sure if it is what you mean but my grandpa has one that is damn near the size of my arm! The tip is the size of a shot glass. Dont think it works. Lol. (Im exaggerating but not by much)

It may be the kind that gets heated by a blowtorch.

[n2ize]

For outdoors/PL=259 use, I have a huge old electric soldering iron that I picked up in an antique store. The problem with most guns is they don't have enough recovery capacity. These old irons were used to solder sheet metal, the tip on mine is a 4 oz. piece of copper. Takes a while to heat up/cool down, but once hot it never runs out of enough heat to do the job.

Yeah, I have one of those relics. I use it for the bigger and heavier soldering jobs. It has a wooden handle and an old fashioned cloth covered cord. The heating element inside it glows red when plugged in and the tip is made of heavy gauge copper. I don't know the wattage but it does get hot as hell. I use it often for soldering coax connectors or ladder line connections.

For small jobs I use a regular 30 watt soldering pencil. I was always very good at soldering. I do excellent soldering work whether it be old fashioned chassis wiring or small pc board stuff.

Best advice for soldering. Clean the iron frequently and keep it well tinned.

[KK4AMI]

I was taught to solder. My first soldering exercise was soldering together a cube using 12 pieces of 12 Ga 1 inch long bare copper wire. It taught you heat control and using a heat sink or you kept popping corner joints.