K3 Solder Help

[Bob DeHaney]

I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset
audio plug is defective.  I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my
dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire.
Any suggestions?

Vy 73, Bob DJ0MBC/WU5T

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[Vic K2VCO]

Bob DeHaney wrote:
> I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset
> audio plug is defective.  I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my
> dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire.
> Any suggestions?

I don't know exactly what you have, but there is a common form of very flexible wire used
for headsets that has fine copper strands mixed with some fibrous material. It might help
to put a little liquid flux like the stuff that's used for SMT work on the wire. I've
tinned this stuff by passing it through a gob of solder on my iron, sort of the way you
tin toroid leads. Sometimes you can separate the copper from the fibers with your fingers
before tinning it.

If it's not copper, you may be out of luck and you will have to use a plug that has screws
or some form of mechanical connection.
--
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco
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[k6dgw]

It's likely some variant of "Litz Wire" which was commonly used in cloth
covered headphone wires 2 or 3 hundred years ago [I'm not older than
dirt, but I CAN remember when dirt was young :-) ].  Several very thin,
flexible strips of metallic conductors wrapped around a thin string or
two.  Virtually impossible to solder and the metallic strips may not be
Cu but some alloy.  Connections were made mechanically by crimping to
pins and lugs.

You might be able to crimp on a very small pin [like a Molex pin] which
will take solder and then solder that to the connector.

73,

Fred K6DGW
Auburn CA USA

> Bob DeHaney wrote:
>> I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset
>> audio plug is defective.  I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my
>> dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire.
>> Any suggestions?
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[Tom Hammond-2]

Bob:

>I bought a Sennheiser Headset to use with my K3, and the stereo headset
>audio plug is defective.  I wanted to put on a new plug and discovered to my
>dismay that my 60/40 solder does not stick to what looks like a copper wire.
>Any suggestions?

Chances are that it might be copper 'tinsel' (thin flat copper strips, twisted
with cotton thread) to give the cord a lot of flexibility.

If it IS tinsel, any time you attempt to solder to it (as-is) you'll burn the
threads first and they'll foul the copper for taking up solder.

The ONLY way I've found to satisfactorily solder to tinsel is to wrap the tip
of the tinsel with a VERY FIND BARE COPPER WIRE (like a single strand
of stranded
#24 wire... e.g a #30 or so bare copper wire).  Wrap the turns around the tip
of the tinsel and wrap the turns up against each other.  Once wrapped, solder
to the wrapped wire. This will quickly accept solder and transfer the heat to
the copper in the tinsel quickly enough that it'll accept solder before the
threads get to burn.

Good luck,

Merry Christmas,

Tom Hammond   N0SS

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[Tom Hammond-2]

Bob:

I should have included the same note that Fred, K6DGW, suggested.  If you just
flat cannot manage to solder the wires, go to your friendly hardware store and
find their 'brass hobby tubing' assortment.  Select the smallest I.D tubing
into which you can slip the individual headphone wire(s).  Cut off a short
(1/4" - 3/8") chunk of tubing, solder a 'connecting wire to it, insert one
of the (3) headphone wires into the tubing and CRIMP it tightly.

Good luck,

Tom Hammond   N0SS

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