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soldering technique for Jena labs wire (paraglow)

I have the impression that my soldering technique is less than ideal. (Maybe the hum in my paraglow amp is due to cold joints?) In the manual it says:
"When you read the word "attach" in this manual, it means to insert a wire lead through a terminal strip hole, and wrap it around the outside of the terminal, inserting the end back through the hole". Makes sense. However, I find this quite difficult with the Jena lab wire. First of all, the holes in the terminals are not that much bigger than the diameter of the wire, especially if several leads end up at the same terminal. Secondly, I feel that bending the wire gives quite ugly results, with gauges in all directions. What is the best solution here? Related question: is it possible to heat up the entire wire, or is it sufficient to heat those gauges that are close to the terminal? (of course the solder will flow everywhere, but I wonder whether that gives me a good connection)

Second problem: I use magnet wire for the ground buss. When I remove the insulation material with my soldering iron, I get a dirty tip. Somehow this dirt seems to stick - many of my joints have traces of black stuff at the surface. Could I solve that problem by cleaning the tip more effectively (I use a wet sponge at the moment)? Or could that be a result of rapid cooling? (in which case I don´t really know what to do about that, since I let the joints cool unassisted)

Finally, concerning hum: in the manual it says "make sure the signal carrying wires are well away from the twisted AC carrying wires": Which wires carry AC in the paraglow?


Thanks for any hints!
Holger



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Topic - soldering technique for Jena labs wire (paraglow) - Holger H-R 09:13:05 09/26/02 (7)


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