I think cost new less than $50?
Why would I want to spend $50 (plus shipping, of course) for a crimper when the soldering iron I already own works really well? Some of my techniques:
1) The biggest inserts are the most difficult to use, so I use them only for the #10 wire for which they are designed. I first carefully strip and tin the wire long enough so that the stripped conductor will just fit inside the shell once the pin is inserted. That's because the insulation of a larger cable often does not fit inside the shell. I find that liquid flux applied to the wire before tinning keeps the solder layer thin enough to fit in the insert. I then use the pliers to fold the "wings" over the wire so that, when soldered, it will fit in the shell. I also use a drop of flux when soldering.
2) The middle-size insert will handle #12 if carefully stripped and tinned, as above. Again, I use flux for the tinning, and also for soldering to the pin.
3) I use a lot of the smallest inserts for small diameter cables, like those from small accessories. I strip the conductors long enough that I can fold the stripped part over itself with the folded length just enough to fit in the pin. Again, a drop of flux helps the soldering process.
4) I use a nice bench vise to hold the cable to which I am soldering, orienting the cable upward so that the pin sits on it, and oriented so that the V+ cable is on the right with the lip facing away from me.
Once the pins are installed, I mate a red and black shell, put the two shells in the vise, then carefully orient the pins and push them in one at a time until the lip latches to the blade in the shell. For smaller cable, I use a little green Xcelite screwdriver to push the pin over the blade.
In general, these techniques work well for almost any connector I need to install, all the way up to PL259s and multipins of various sorts
73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
