http://www.stormcam.org/coax-amphenol/
How do I solder splice awg #6 wire to Amphenol (T) Ten-6 coax cable to use as a 1/2 wave dipole cb antenna?
I’ve tried a soldering gun@140 watts, but can’t seem to get the awg#6 hot fast enough, to get the solder going. I would like to insert the braided (unbraided then hand twisted) coax outer mesh copper shield, and its center conductor, each into two separate awg#6 cable lengths (both halves of the dipole antenna), like a pencil into a sharpener. I keep getting cold welds though I’ve tried different types of solder and SP-30 paste flux. The soldering gun (140 watts) gets the wire hot but not enough it seems, though I can feel the heat traveling down the wire. How can I get this heavy gauge wire to accept the flux for a good splice (Electrical/Mechanical), before I melt or crystallize the insulator within the thinner coax cable? Would this give the best type of connection? Is awg#6 “too big” for use as a dipole antenna? Lastly, is there such a thing as a 5/8 wave homebrew dipole (horizontal) for use on both 10 and 11 meter band?
Well, this is a problem for working with coax, or any long length of wire.
Basically, what you need is a heat sink, not like the heat sink on your radio, but its basically a pair of tweezers that grip the wire close to the connection, and keep the heat from radiating down the wire, concentrating it on the connection.
You can get these at Radio Shack, for a few dollars, or use your needlenose pliers and a rubberband around the handle, so that it squeezes the tip of the pliers very tightly.
TFC / Amphenol $.50/FT. 75 Ohm RG6 Underground Quad Coax Cable TFC-T10 T6Q-FEC T6Q FEC