Toroid enamel covering

[Al & Dianne Bruce]

  I am curious about the removal of toroid wire enamel covering material in preparation for winding. Is it essential that bare wire not touch the toroid ring?  
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[Don Wilhelm-3]

You can (and should) tin the leads all the way up to the core.  The cores
are not conductive (although the ferrite cores do have a high resistance),
so it will not short out.  The thing to be careful of is not to allow two
adjacent turns to short together.

I suspect you are not using enough heat to melt the enamel.  It is vital
that you get the leads stripped and well tinned - your K2 will not work well
if you are careless about tinning the leads.  Toroid Lead Tinning and
soldering are the two most important items in construction of your kit.
Practice until you can make a clean tinned lead - your kit has extra wire.

I suggest the 'solder blob' method for tinning the toroid leads.  Using a
soldering iron with a wide chisel type tip helps because it can hold a
larger blob of solder.  Run the iron temperature at 750 degrees or so (I use
800 degrees - the extra heat helps), melt a pool of solder on the tip and
initialy hold the end of the wire still in the solder pool - when the enamel
begins to make smoke wisps, the enamel is melting - touch a small bit more
solder to the wire (which adds a bit of fresh flux at the solder/wire
junction) and begin to move the wire slowly through the solder pool, you
will be rewarded with a clean stripped and tinned lead.

It helps to secure the soldering iron to the workbench (I just lay a heavy
tool on the handle) and manipulate the toroid and solder with your (now)
free hands.  I have problems if I try holding the toroid and moving the
iron - YMMV, but try securing the soldering iron and see if it helps you.

73,
Don W3FPR

> -----Original Message-----
>
>   I am curious about the removal of toroid wire enamel covering
> material in preparation for winding. Is it essential that bare
> wire not touch the toroid ring?
>
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[Tom Hammond-3]

Bruce/Dianne:

>I am curious about the removal of toroid wire enamel covering
>material in preparation for winding. Is it essential that bare wire
>not touch the toroid ring?

Most of the toroidal cores (ferrite, colored cores) used in Elecraft
kits are NON-CONDUCTIVE, so it's not nearly as important to not have
a bear wire touching the core.

However, some of the non-ferrite cores may be somewhat conductive.

I usually try  to tin the lead up about halfway PAST the bottom edge
of the core, so that when I install the inductor, and when I PULL on
the lead, to snug it down, I'll pull the TINNED part of the wire into
the plated-thru hole while NOT pulling in any UNTINNED part of the lead.

Hope this helps a bit.

73,

Tom Hammond   N0SS

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[Jacques Gaudron]

Hi
Someone on the list some time ago gave a very efficient way for cleaning the
wire, but you need a desoldering iron with a "sucker" tip. You prepare a
good blob of solder which you suck inside the tip, then slip an inch or so
of your enamelled wire in the tip, wait 5 or ten seconds and you press the
button of your desoldering iron, which sucks in both solder and enamel, and
you can retrieve a perfect tinned end of your wire.
I hope you get what I mean. I should add that a Hakko or other brand of
desoldering iron is a most useful tool in a ham shack.
73 to all
Jacques
F9OJ   K2 # 0937

----- Original Message -----
From: "Al & Dianne Bruce" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 12:53 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Toroid enamel covering


  I am curious about the removal of toroid wire enamel covering material in
preparation for winding. Is it essential that bare wire not touch the toroid
ring?
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17:40



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[Ian Stirling, G4ICV, AB2GR]

On Tuesday 06 March 2007 08:40, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> I suggest the 'solder blob' method for tinning the toroid leads.

  I was told, twenty seven years ago, that this puts
carcinogenic chemicals into the air.
 I use a scalpel blade to scrape the enamel off.
Seeing the shaved enamel on my workbench, I'm glad
I haven't breathed it in.

Ian, G4ICV, AB2GR, K2 #4962, LP-100 #278
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[k6dgw]

Ian Stirling wrote:

>   I was told, twenty seven years ago, that this puts
> carcinogenic chemicals into the air.

So does soldering.  You could assemble your K2 with glue, however that
too has toxic solvents.  Best bet is a fan and hood to suck up the lead
fumes and deposit them somewhere outside [like your neighbor's back
yard?], but that requires a hole in the roof which is decidedly
non-spouse-friendly.  I have a table-top "smoke eater" from back in the
days when Californians still smoked which does a pretty good job of
keeping the toxics out of my lungs [I hope].

>  I use a scalpel blade to scrape the enamel off.
> Seeing the shaved enamel on my workbench

You're more adept than I am.  I tried that and found I invariably nicked
the wire and I had a couple of leads break as I was pulling them tight
in the holes.  I tried sandpaper which worked but took forever and made
a lot of dust.  Solder blob with the iron up to 800F works for me,
however I do it backwards to N0SS' method ... I start at the core and
work out to the end.  Perhaps it is because I'm left-handed, my wife
says I do everything backwards.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2007 CQP Oct 6-7
- www.cqp.org
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