A crimped connection will break too in the same way if the wire is allowed to flex where it leaves the crimp.
That's why critical applications dealing with rather small wires subjected to lots of movement and constant vibration always employ strain reliefs, not matter how the wire is attached. Back in my days prototyping electronic equipment for the USAF, we were concerned about "wicked" solder up under the insulation only because if the wire did break it was hard to find. The break was hidden inside the insulation. We recommended crimping for many connections because: 1) Electrically, it was as good as solder *if* one used the proper tool and used it correctly. 2) It was cheaper because training an assembler to crimp properly was a lot faster than making them an expert at soldering. It was easy to justify a tool costing hundreds of dollars to do the crimping. 3) It was faster and avoided the danger of damage from burns and runaway solder while soldering a joint in tight quarters - especially hanging half upside down inside a cramped compartment in an aircraft fuselage. 3) In high current applications, not having solder in the connection eliminated the possibility of molten solder flowing were we didn't want it in case of a short circuit that overheated the connection (people have told me that's why electrical codes for homes and other buildings doesn't allow solder too). Many (perhaps most) Hams are willing to invest the time to learn to solder well and are happy to invest a little more time when needed rather than buy expensive crimp tools. But, for those who choose to crimp and spend the money on the right tool with the right dies and learn to use it correctly, they can save that time and end up with a joint that is just as robust and secure as soldering. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- Brian, What you say is true, a soldered connection used in a high vibration application will fail at the point where the solder has wicked up into the (stranded) wire. This is an important consideration in aircraft and other mobile applications. In ham home station applications where the wire is not subjected to severe vibration, a soldered connection is often more reliable than a crimped connection. That is especially true if the crimping tool is not exactly the proper type for the connector in use. A good crimping tool is a rather expensive tool - it must be matched to the connector and the wire to be crimped. Inexpensive substitutes may work for a while, but will result in a connection that is more unreliable than a soldered connection. The *real* answer is "it all depends ...". 73, Don W3FPR Brian Lloyd wrote: > > On Nov 14, 2008, at 10:06 AM, Joe Spencer wrote: > >> I have several Crimper tools but do not really trust crimped power >> connectors so...I solder all my PowerPoles connectors. It is easy to >> do...they work everytime and never a crimp problem. > > Crimp-only connections last longer than do crimp-and-solder > connections and are just as low resistance. When you solder the > crimped connection the solder wicks up the wire and creates fatigue > point where the wire will fail first. > > Of course, that does presume you have the correct crimp tool and you > are using the proper terminal for the size of wire. > > (This information comes from having wired aircraft.) > > > Brian Lloyd > Granite Bay Montessori School 9330 Sierra College Bl > brian AT gbmontessori DOT com Roseville, CA 95661 > +1.916.367.2131 (voice) +1.791.912.8170 (fax) > > PGP key ID: 12095C52A32A1B6C > PGP key fingerprint: 3B1D BA11 4913 3254 B6E0 CC09 1209 5C52 A32A 1B6C > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
