My recent search for miniature tubular crimps for cat5 cable modifications
reminded me of something I came across many years ago (possibly 50???)
consisting of a copper tube of perhaps 1/8" bore, half filled with solder
and flux, and having a jacket of 'match head material' that could be struck
like a match to heat up and melt the solder. For joining wires in the field
but I cannot remember where I got them. Either ex Army or possibly ex GPO.
Don't need any, just wondered if anyone else remembers them and there use?

AWEM

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:55:38 -0000, "Andrew Mawson"
wrote:

My recent search for miniature tubular crimps for cat5 cable modifications
reminded me of something I came across many years ago (possibly 50???)
consisting of a copper tube of perhaps 1/8" bore, half filled with solder
and flux, and having a jacket of 'match head material' that could be
struck
like a match to heat up and melt the solder. For joining wires in the
field
but I cannot remember where I got them. Either ex Army or possibly ex GPO.
Don't need any, just wondered if anyone else remembers them and there use?

AWEM

I remember using these in the Signals section of the school CCF back
in the late 1950's, for joining field telephone cables, so Army, but I
wouldn't be surprised if other people also used them. Very simple to
use, IIRC: strip off about an inch of insulation from the ends of the
two cables to be connected; push into the ends of the little tube;
'strike' the match-head stuff, and maintain pressure pushing the wires
together into the tube. At some point, the flux and solder would melt
and the two wires would move together into the tube as you pushed, and
the solder then solidified. Residue of match-head stuff cleaned off
and bound with insulating tape. Job done!


That's probably where I saw them - being in the CCF signals myself when a
teenager at school. Ah those were the days WS38's WS88's WS18's all battery
powered and heavy G

AWEM

On Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:55:38 -0000, "Andrew Mawson"
wrote:

My recent search for miniature tubular crimps for cat5 cable modifications
reminded me of something I came across many years ago (possibly 50???)
consisting of a copper tube of perhaps 1/8" bore, half filled with solder
and flux, and having a jacket of 'match head material' that could be struck
like a match to heat up and melt the solder. For joining wires in the field
but I cannot remember where I got them. Either ex Army or possibly ex GPO.
Don't need any, just wondered if anyone else remembers them and there use?

Self soldering joints were used for field connections to D10 cable, a
7 strand (4 Copper 3 Steel) twin twisted and black field cable dating
back to the second world war. The cable was sheathed in black PVC
with an outer clear hard wearing polythene coat for strength. The
thermal joint was replaced in the late 1960's by an insulated
Hellerman crimp applied using the "Crimping machine cable hand".

D10 cable was designed to be laid using a backpack cable dispenser and
was coated with an adhesive to help it feed from the pack.
Unfortunately this adhesive (or the polythene coating) was very tasty
to cattle who, if it was laid around a field, would line up to chew on
it.

I probably still have a few of those awful self soldering joints in
the garage somewhere.

In article , Andrew Mawson
writes
My recent search for miniature tubular crimps for cat5 cable modifications
reminded me of something I came across many years ago (possibly 50???)
consisting of a copper tube of perhaps 1/8" bore, half filled with solder
and flux, and having a jacket of 'match head material' that could be struck
like a match to heat up and melt the solder. For joining wires in the field
but I cannot remember where I got them. Either ex Army or possibly ex GPO.
Don't need any, just wondered if anyone else remembers them and there use?

From memory they were dropped from Mil use as quality could not be
assured on the 'uninspectable soldered joint' that they formed. Modern
day solder sleeves overcome the inspection element by the use of a clear
heatshrink cover eg:

http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/displayPro...sp?sku=1654700
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

In article ,
"Andrew Mawson" writes:
My recent search for miniature tubular crimps for cat5 cable modifications
reminded me of something I came across many years ago (possibly 50???)
consisting of a copper tube of perhaps 1/8" bore, half filled with solder
and flux, and having a jacket of 'match head material' that could be struck
like a match to heat up and melt the solder. For joining wires in the field
but I cannot remember where I got them. Either ex Army or possibly ex GPO.
Don't need any, just wondered if anyone else remembers them and there use?

You can still buy solder sleeves.
Need an external heat source though (ideally a small hot air
blower, but a blow lamp, and possibly even a match might work).
I used these for field repairs to mini-computer wiring loombs
~20 years ago.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In message , Chris Hogg
writes



See http://www.async.org.uk/Tony.Davies/...N-ACDavies.pdf

FFWIW, Firefox (fixed and portable) baulks at that download.
IF8 and Safari do work, albeit maybe somewhat reluctantly.



--
Ian