Electronics > Repair
Boonton 41-4B power sensor repair advice
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xrunner:

--- Quote from: Kosmic on October 30, 2023, 11:57:05 pm ---The pins are hollow, and as Ed said, it's not required for the solder to go through up to the tip. As long as the wire is soldered correctly to the pin.

I got some Boonton cables here and some of them are exactly like that.

--- End quote ---

I've always seen pins like that with holes at the end soldered at the end and the excess wire cut off afterwards. That's always the way I've done it too, but hey, I haven't seen it all in in this field and never will.

 :-//
Kosmic:
Probably depend how it's soldered. Heatkit was recommending to have a extra long wire and cut the excess.

edpalmer42:
The problem with trying to solder those pins from the end is that it's almost impossible (for me, anyway) to finish the job without getting solder on the outside of the pin.  If that happens, the pin won't fit in the socket so then you have to remove the excess solder and if it takes too long, the plastic holding the pin softens and the pin moves and it still won't fit in the socket and now the plug is ruined and I have to cut it off and start everything from scratch!!!  :palm: :rant:  |O
xrunner:
OK now I have to ask it ...

If you don't solder it at the end where you can clearly see the quality of the work, then how do you know it's a quality solder job on the inside of the pin down in there.

 :scared:
edpalmer42:
There are lots of situations where it's difficult or impossible to visually inspect a soldered joint.  You do the best you can with the specifics that you've got, the limitations imposed, and the quality demands that are present.

You might dump the soldered joint and go for a crimped joint, if you can find such a connector.
You might get a roll of super small solder that you can fit through the hole in the end.
You might cut a small piece of solder and shove it into the open end of the pin, then heavily tin the wire, heat the pin, shove the wire in.
You might search for a connector where the pins are removable so you can solder the wire externally without worrying about melting the plastic.
You might inject a drop of liquid flux into the pin to help ensure that the solder wets the surface.

In all of the above, you're working blind.  Being able to see the wire at the end of the pin tells you little about whether you got a good joint or not.

We have to deal with:
- old oxidized connectors vs. new, clean ones
- old solder which, oddly, sometimes doesn't want to melt
- unknown heat resistance of the plastic surrounding the pins

The solution to the problem is critically dependent on whether you're doing a repair or building new or, as in our case, dealing with an almost unobtainium connector.  Remember that the connectors available on the auction site might be NOS that have been sitting around for 20 years.  Solder might stick to the inside of those pins with no trouble or it might be almost impossible to get it to stick.  One brand might work fine while another brand might be a disaster.

This is what you have to deal with when you're working on equipment that's old enough to vote!

Ed
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