Advice on repairing the phone wire sabre mask cords

[KD5MDK]

My girlfriend and I each have sabre mask cords made out of the spiral telephone wire. It's really nice to use, as it stretches, is light, etc. However, they've also broken at one end, and it's been a real pain (read, too hard for us) to repair them, particularly soldering that little wire. Any advice on how to fix it, or is it just pretty much too much trouble and we should switch to speaker wire?

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by KD5MDK

My girlfriend and I each have sabre mask cords made out of the spiral telephone wire. It's really nice to use, as it stretches, is light, etc. However, they've also broken at one end, and it's been a real pain (read, too hard for us) to repair them, particularly soldering that little wire. Any advice on how to fix it, or is it just pretty much too much trouble and we should switch to speaker wire?

Make sure you strip a sufficient amount of each wire, wrap them togetherm tin them together, put some heat shrink down the cabel aways, solder the tinned wire to the clip, slide teh heatshrink into place, heat it into place....presto...

[foily]

I beg to differ - some of that phone wire material is hard as a ***** to solder. Is there a way you can replace the whole wire?

[Mergs]

Originally Posted by foily

I beg to differ - some of that phone wire material is hard as a ***** to solder. Is there a way you can replace the whole wire?

Usually when wire is deemed 'too hard to solder' it is because you are not getting it hot enough. Try soldering the Favero stainless steel body cord wires! I can be done, though.

As for the shrink wrap my good friend Sam (somewhat wrongly) suggests, make sure that it doesn't cover your solder joint, or it won't pass inspection!

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by Mergs

Usually when wire is deemed 'too hard to solder' it is because you are not getting it hot enough. Try soldering the Favero stainless steel body cord wires! I can be done, though.

As for the shrink wrap my good friend Sam (somewhat wrongly) suggests, make sure that it doesn't cover your solder joint, or it won't pass inspection!

Clarify the shrink wrap issue for me, Michael...

I understand not covering the solder joint, but is there a physical reason you can't use it for the strain relief/widening the bend radius part??

Keep in mind that I just dragged my carcass outta bed and am not thinking clearly at the moment...

[Inquartata]

Och, the whims of armorers! I reinforce the wire-clip intersection of my mask-cord wires with a coat of Shoe-Goo. The first time I had them inspected at a NAC I was told that it could not cover the solder connection, because they had to be able to see that it was a good solder. So I pared the Shoe-Goo back far enough to expose the solder connections, and the cords passed without further comment for years.

At Pittsburgh, I was told that the Shoe-Goo shouldn't be there at all. Make up your minds, guys.

[DHCJr]

Did you ask why? As Dan DeChaine is apt to say, he is not to blame for Armorer's who don't know the rules. The rules say the wire must be soldered, so you must be able to prove it. Where does it say you can't have Shoe-Goo?

[Inquartata]

No, I didn't ask---the fellow passed the cords, albeit reluctantly, so I opted to reserve my obstreperousness for the strip.

[telkanuru]

It should be noted that for anything with an alligator clip, a soldering gun of 100 W or more is almost imperative for any real success. I also find it much easier to melt the insulation off of the strechy-phone type cord then to bother stripping it.

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by Inquartata

Och, the whims of armorers! I reinforce the wire-clip intersection of my mask-cord wires with a coat of Shoe-Goo. The first time I had them inspected at a NAC I was told that it could not cover the solder connection, because they had to be able to see that it was a good solder. So I pared the Shoe-Goo back far enough to expose the solder connections, and the cords passed without further comment for years.

At Pittsburgh, I was told that the Shoe-Goo shouldn't be there at all. Make up your minds, guys.

Michael actually called me at home today and clarified my question. The way I put the heat shrink on the A line clip I recently soldered is fine...it only goes to just under the little area at the back where the metal is crimped over and doesn;t cover the solder at all.

As for your cord....I wonder who that was....Michael was working the table...

[Mergs]

Originally Posted by Purple Fencer

As for your cord....I wonder who that was....Michael was working the table...

Wasn't me. Issues I had were more with masks and saber lame's

[KD5MDK]

Since we're talking about what gets passed, would I be hassled about my Allstar lame not having a big enough mask tab or is that understood to be illegal but ok?

[Mergs]

Well, now that you have brought it to our attention, yes, we'll be looking for it! That said, by in large, most local and some NACs may overlook that, as long as it is functional. It depends on: a) if it is presented before the first pot of coffee per Armorer is gone, b) how many argumentative a******S we've had to deal with that day so far, c) if you are within an hour of beer-thirty and it's been a long day or d) all of the above (and they aren't necessarily mutually exclusive).

[KD5MDK]

Well, I sort of assumed at the National level that Allstar/Uhlmann have at least a 50% marketshare and if everybody was getting trouble about it I'd have heard.

[brtech]

The reason you are having so much trouble is that the wire in a phone cord is not made to be soldered, it's made to be crimped, and it has some fine threads mixed in with the wire strands that screw up the flux wicking action.

I've seen people suggest the flame method of getting rid of the threads. I never liked that way. I'd just burn through it with the soldering gun/iron (which, as was stated, really has to be pretty beefy; at least 100 watts) feeding solder until you have a shiny solder coat on the wires.

Phone cord typically has 3 or 4 individual wires inside the outer insulation. Please use them all. After all, you paid for them all, you should use them. We want a low impendence (small number of ohms) connection, and more copper is lower impedence. I find with that kind of wire, you really are better off without the screw (if it had one in the first place). I push the wires through the screw hole and solder from the back of the clip. With this kind of wire you really have to solder the wire before you crimp the outer insulation in the barrel.

A good solder joint is shiny, and flows around the clip. A bad one is dull or has a ball of solder around the wire, with no real obvious hold on the clip itself. You can't really pry up a good connection.

If you put insulation on UNDER the barrel crimp at the base of the clip, we won't complain; it's when it covers up the solder joint that we really have a problem. Some armorers do get a little suspicious when they see the barrel crimp covered, but as DHCjr says, show me the rule that says you can't do that.

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by brtech

If you put insulation on UNDER the barrel crimp at the base of the clip, we won't complain; it's when it covers up the solder joint that we really have a problem. Some armorers do get a little suspicious when they see the barrel crimp covered, but as DHCjr says, show me the rule that says you can't do that.

That's why I try to leave just a bare bit of the wire insulation sticking out from under the heat shrink....so you can see it!

Michael....COFFEE????? What....no Guiness? I thought you were paying attention those nights at the Walkabout!

[MyrddinsPrecint]

the wire stripper i got with my ColdHeat soldering iron works perfectly to get the insulation off, for those of you that don't like fire.

but i realize i'm not speaking to many, there...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/too...3/images/1339/

[Mergs]

Originally Posted by Purple Fencer

That's why I try to leave just a bare bit of the wire insulation sticking out from under the heat shrink....so you can see it!

Michael....COFFEE????? What....no Guiness? I thought you were paying attention those nights at the Walkabout!

Coffee in morning, Guiness afternoon! Except the coffee has to have the consistency of the Guiness!

Weren't YOU paying attention? Hmmmm?

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by Mergs

Coffee in morning, Guiness afternoon! Except the coffee has to have the consistency of the Guiness!

Weren't YOU paying attention? Hmmmm?

I'm one of those ultra-rare armorers who don't drink...remember? I don't have to pay attention to that!

BTW...I think I spent more time at the Walkabout during that one week than I have in any other bars combined!

[Mergs]

Originally Posted by Purple Fencer

I'm one of those ultra-rare armorers who don't drink...remember? I don't have to pay attention to that!

BTW...I think I spent more time at the Walkabout during that one week than I have in any other bars combined!

Ahh. See what you've been missing?