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Re: solder vs crimp Re: MOT supply construction question



Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

I'd sort of agree here... Soldering is much more tolerant of non-optimum
technique.  I think that crimped connections, done right, are probably
ultimately superior, but, as Terry points out, there's a lot that can go
wrong.  No question that tooling is critical for crimped connectors, while
for soldering, the tooling is simpler.

Case in point.. SMA connectors on semirigid coax.. The tooling for soldering
is a decent vise to hold stuff in place and a soldering iron with the right
tip.  For crimping, you need the crimp tool, the right dies, and so forth
(around $500, last time I ordered it from Kings).  The crimped connector
will either be perfect, or horrid, and it's easy to tell. Once properly
crimped, it's good forever.

The soldered connector, on the other hand, can work fine for a while, then,
as the solder gets vibrated, it can work harden, or the coax outer conductor
will get microcracks in it.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Sunday, October 13, 2002 11:21 AM
Subject: Re: solder vs crimp Re: MOT supply construction question


> Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>
>
> Hi Jonathan,
>
> Since I work in the electronics industry, I see this stuff all the time.
> "Good" solder wire connections just don't fail.  If the metals are
> solderable, the solder is good, and the skill is there, the connections
are
> fine.  Of course, the average guy off the street with a cheap soldering
> iron, little skill....  mileage may vary.
>
> Crimp connections fail about 30X more.  Bad tool, didn't insert wire far
> enough, crimped on insulation, pulled loose...  A lot "happens" with crimp
> connections.  Stranded wire can also move around in there and loosen
things
> up too (big problem with screw clamp connections).  In general, in the
> industrial electronics world, I would say crimp connection failures are
way
> up there in the charts compared to solder wire connections.  Connections
> that get moved around a lot can also fail a crimp easily.
>
> If one crimps a connection and then goes back and flows solder into it
> (kind of tricky) the connection will never fail.  I often do that on
really
> important connections like grounds.  The wire will tear and break long
> before the connection fails there.  That is often done on test probes and
> such were it gets a lot of rough use.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Terry
>
>
>
> At 08:43 AM 10/13/2002 -0700, you wrote:
> >Jim,
> >
> >I have seen this debate  before, but it seems as if the discussion
centers
> >on solder VS crimping. What are the drawbacks of crimping AND soldering?
I
> >have seen solder only connections "eject" the wire, I have seen many
crimp
> >connectors "lose" the wire, but I have never seen a crimp and solder
joint
> >fail for any reason other than extreme mechanical damage or heat, which
> >would have ruined things regardless of the nature of their connection.
> >
> >Anyway, is there a failure mode that occurs only (or more often) when
> >soldered and crimped?
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >Jonathan Peakall
> >
msnip...