Questions from a Liberal Arts Major

[Jim Brown-10]

On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:56:31 -0700, Gary D Krause wrote:

> Are you
>implying that because you are a Liberal Arts Major, you are somehow less able
>to understand or comprehend than anyone else?  There are many of us with
>degrees in the arts that are also hams.  It's a hobby.  You have already
>proven yourself by acquiring a license.  Don't sell yourself short.

YES. It's really a matter of putting in the time to STUDY and learn the
technical side of the hobby. After all, that's what separates us from the CBers!
The ARRL Handbook is carefully written to be accessible to folks without
engineering education, but it DOES require study to learn it, just like it took
study to get that Liberal Arts degree. I've also done a lot of tutorial writing
with a similar focus, sharing what I've learned.

As a non-technical elective in my EE program, I took courses in Music Theory,
history, and writing. I've used all of them both in my work and for my pleasure.
In the 44 years since I finished my BSEE, I've been studying and/or reading
something almost every day. Everything from computers to photography to
acoustics to radio propagation to economics to personal investing to running a
business. That's life, and when we stop learning, it's time for someone to throw
dirt on us.

73,

Jim Brown K9YC



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[Brian Lloyd-6]

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




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[Don Wilhelm-4]

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
>

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[AC7AC]

CONTENTS DELETED

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[Chris Kantarjiev K6DBG]

Time for me to point to my favorite treatise on crimping vs soldering:

http://www.dimebank.com/misc/soldered_connections.html

(These days, I crimp, solder the lug end but don't let the solder
flow all the way to the wire end, and use heat shrink to prevent
flexing. If there is any chance it will get moist, I put hot melt
glue under the heat shrink!)

73 de chris K6DBG
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