EloyM

My Feedback: (194)

Model Aviation Magazine, Sept 2007, bottom on Page 88!

What do YOU see wrong???

DelRay

The splice being made does not have the mechanical integrity it should have before soldering, a Western Union splice here would be better.

Flying freak

Can someone post a picture for us that dont ahve the Magazine on hand

KidEpoxy

they need to find some of them itty-bitty grey wirenuts, the ones we tie cat5 with :;

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

The only reason you need some kind of mechanical joint is to hold the wires together when soldering. Once soldered, the joint becomes mechanically secure. In the picture, if the solder is applied correctly the joint will be as strong as one using a mechanical splice. The weakest part of the joint is that is where it transitions from soldered stiff to stranded wire. Wire nuts should not be used in a high vibration environment such as we see in our models.

PLANE JIM

My Feedback: (109)

Red I do not use electrical wire nuts either, I just twist them together and use masking tape, scotch tape or even blue painters tape-the heck with all that soldering .

abel_pranger

Don't see anything wrong, per se, but it's not the way I prefer to do it. I twist and the tin the wires first, even for a simple splice like this, and trim them to about 1/8-3/16 past the insulation. No use having an inch-long 'stiff neck' in a run of stranded wire that is supposed to be flexible.

Now what do you see wrong in the pictures of the Joe Nall coverage? I think somebody grabbed his cell phone instead of the digital camera. Of the 1st 4 pics, 3 look about VGA resolution.

Abel

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

I had the same problem until after my cataract operation.

EloyM

My Feedback: (194)

Abel Pranger - I will detail what I see wrong after a little more time for others to comment.
I do have to agree with you about the quality of the photos in the Joe Nall report. With the technology presently available, there is no excuse for such poor reproductions and it says a lot, all negative, about those producing MA.
Check also Page 52, upper, middle caption - a glaring, but admittedly somewhat funny, error. For those of you that don't see it - back to grade school.........Eloy

SPLIT S

Seems an excessive portion of bare wire exposed, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem if the joint is soldered correctly. The only other thing, unless it is out of frame, is that the heat shrink tubing is missing. Sort of difficult to get it on there after the fact.

Dan

decay

There should always be a solid mechanical connection before soldering
any wires together. Any textbook covering electrical soldering will
tell you this. For one, solder has 7 times the risistance the copper
wire does. For two, solder can fatigue from current flow and no
longer maintain a soldered connection. Anybody that says
different is uninformed. R E D

SPLIT S

Also the iron should only be used to heat the wires, feeding solder into the joint. Not that blob hanging off the end of the iron. But I think the picture is meant to convey the the handiness of the hands free aspect rather than a soldering how to course...

Dan

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

Somewhat easy to find the error if you are reading words, it might escape those reading the thought. But then if you are into nit picking get a copy of High Flight where Eloy has a flair for writing. His dissertations on parallel battery operation are classics. Forget that he use to write the Electronics column for MA when it was the leading model aviation magazine. Things have just deteriorated since then.

abel_pranger

Eloy-

Well hecky darn, I might have been fooled by another low-res picture. On second look it appears to be solid wire, not stranded. The dude is working on his door chime, not a model airplane! Should have taken a cue from the space between the clothespin supports. If that is multistrand wire, it must be on Viagra.

Abel

KidEpoxy

Able-
Maybe he already tinned the wires
... uh, with a MAPP torch that had the solder wick up the stranded 3" under the insulation, hence the stiffness

why all the hassle?
just tie them together with about 7 half-hitches, and hit it with the black tape

grbaker

My Feedback: (29)

Many years ago a guy showed up at the field with a Byron Bullet ducted fan ready for it's maiden.

One of the guys was looking over the installation and happened to pull on one of the servo extensions. The wire pulled right out of the heat shrink tubing where the extension was spliced. The guy had just placed the 2 stripped wire ends in the heat shrink tubing and hit it with a heat gun. The heat shrink was the only thing holding it together. Needless to say, the Bullet didn't fly that day.

jetmech05

decay is correct a good solder joint begins with a good mechanical bond...why? Helps prevent a cold solder joint. solder does have higher resistance. and solder flows to heat not to gaps. your not welding here where you heat the 2 pieces to a molden state and add a molten filler. when you solder you heat the 2 pieces and solder flows to the heated pieces.

AlW

My Feedback: (17)

Those soldering irons look like they have seen better days- if nothing else all the tips need to be replaced. A quality soldering job begins with a clean soldering iron!

flynavy

[>:]Can't remember what issue o M.A. it was in but it was recent a photo of a well known designer for a major distributor of arfs showing him flying an electric /indcoor model with the transmitter behind his back. To the general public things like this i do think will certainly raise curiosity as to how we conduct ourselves with regards to safetey .






flynavy

EloyM

My Feedback: (194)

The posts so far covered it very well, as I see it. The mechanical integrity is subject to some opinion, though all soldering texts and instructions stress its importance. But as Abel Pranger stated, it can probably be ignored if you are working on your door chimes.
There is another point, a result of the Surface Mount Technology, in which mechanical integrity is absent. However, the Technology is successful, due to the practically weightless components, lack of wires and proper soldering.
SplitS covered another point found in all soldering instructions - heat the parts being soldered to the point that the solder will melt on them - not on the iron. Bringing molten solder on the iron to the parts is not the recommended professional way.
A/W very nicely points out that the irons in the pictures have seen better days. I will go further and state the irons are junk and have no place on a self respecting craftsman's workbench. All afore-mentioned soldering instructions stress the importance of a clean, shiny, tinned soldering tip, not a corroded nail such as seen here. Actually, the initial quality of the irons is in question, as all irons for use in equipment such as ours should have replaceable tips. And they should be kept clean and shiny.
Do I practice what I preach? Well, I have a Weller, adjustable temperature displayed digitally, replaceable tip iron with a variety of tips for my purely electronic soldering and a Weller 40-watter for soldering music wire and other heavy chores.
Thanks to you who share my interests. Eloy