TwoCables Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 No self respecting DIY'er should be sans soldering gun! I agree, but I haven't needed one yet. lol I can't think of anything that I'd use it for other than this. Since when does "NEED" have anything to do with getting a new tool? Hey, I have to be realistic at least ONCE in my life. hehe I agree with you though, but unfortunately, I can't afford to buy anything other than groceries and things like that right now. Maybe in a month or two though! I admit that I think it would be very fun to own a good soldering iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCables Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) what sort of distance do you need to cover? i think i purchased around 30ft and it was enought to rewire my crossover-to-driver connections and about 10ft from amp to each speaker. Oh, nothing much; just a 60" wide computer desk with a cable hole on top. It would be for my ProMedia 2.1. My left channel's wire could be as short as 3-4 feet while the right could be as short as 5-6 feet. Edited March 18, 2015 by TwoCables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) Go to Harbor Frieght if one is in your area. The sell DIY stuff, like sanders, soldering iron and other things pretty cheap. They may not be the best if you are using them on a daily basis but, will do the job if you are an occasionally diy'er. Edited March 18, 2015 by derrickdj1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxr dad Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 The reason I ask is, I don't want to cut and restrip the ends if I'll no longer be hearing the benefit of that Silver solder. I'll go ahead and say it,I aint skeered. No, you wont hear a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCables Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) Go to Harbor Frieght if one is in your area. The sell DIY stuff, like sanders, soldering iron and other things pretty cheap. They may not be the best if you are using them on a daily basis but, will do the job if you are an occasionally diy'er. Oh, if I were to buy a soldering iron, then it would be over the internet and I'd heavily research the best one that I can afford too. The reason I ask is, I don't want to cut and restrip the ends if I'll no longer be hearing the benefit of that Silver solder. I'll go ahead and say it,I aint skeered. No, you wont hear a difference. Yeah, and you know, the ProMedia 2.1 system isn't exactly an audiophile-grade system (lol), and so I need to relax a little bit. lol I mean, if there IS a difference, then I'd probably only hear it on the very best audio system that money can buy. Edited March 18, 2015 by TwoCables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 " Silver solder requires a lot of heat to melt" The stuff for electronics is the same as 63/37, or 179°C. See if you can get 63/37, unless you are working with SMD parts, then you need some silver content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 " Silver solder requires a lot of heat to melt" The stuff for electronics is the same as 63/37, or 179°C. See if you can get 63/37, unless you are working with SMD parts, then you need some silver content. My point was that if it was indeed 'silver solder' not solder with some silver content then it is not normally used in electronics and requires somewhere in the range of 650 - 700 degrees to melt. We use it occasionally at work (with torch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 We use it occasionally at work (with torch) I've used it on copper pipes as well. You need to get the copper cherry hot top melt it. Normally comes in long thin flat sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Oh, I'm not making a hobby out of it. If you're posting here, it's already a hobby hehe I suppose. I mean, I'm definitely a DIY'er. No self respecting DIY'er should be sans soldering gun! Just to clarify you need a soldering iron not a gun. We're not doing wood burning projects. A soldering gun will lift the foil on a circuit board faster than you can say WTF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 As others have stated, the silver content is either 3% of 4%, completely normal. They probably don't tin with a soldering iron, they undoubtedly use a solder pot. A bar of solder goes into the thing, it melts, and then they dip the end of the wire into it. If you try this with a soldering iron, you will probably end up melting some of the sheathing - unless the jacket is Teflon. If the copper is very fine, it's not abnormal for some of the strands to break off. It will make absolutely no difference to the sound -- just leave it alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Silver melts at 962°C (1763°F). Please specify the alloy used when discussing melting points. Copper melts at 1085°C, so close to silver that you must use an alloy to avoid damaging the copper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_brazing_alloys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCables Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 As others have stated, the silver content is either 3% of 4%, completely normal. They probably don't tin with a soldering iron, they undoubtedly use a solder pot. A bar of solder goes into the thing, it melts, and then they dip the end of the wire into it. If you try this with a soldering iron, you will probably end up melting some of the sheathing - unless the jacket is Teflon. If the copper is very fine, it's not abnormal for some of the strands to break off. It will make absolutely no difference to the sound -- just leave it alone. What if the person who did the work stripped away several strands when they stripped the ends of the jacket off? To my eyes under a magnifying glass, it appears that a bunch were stripped away, kind of like the cable was skinned in a sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 As others have stated, the silver content is either 3% of 4%, completely normal. They probably don't tin with a soldering iron, they undoubtedly use a solder pot. A bar of solder goes into the thing, it melts, and then they dip the end of the wire into it. If you try this with a soldering iron, you will probably end up melting some of the sheathing - unless the jacket is Teflon. If the copper is very fine, it's not abnormal for some of the strands to break off. It will make absolutely no difference to the sound -- just leave it alone. What if the person who did the work stripped away several strands when they stripped the ends of the jacket off? To my eyes under a magnifying glass, it appears that a bunch were stripped away, kind of like the cable was skinned in a sense. Removing strands simply reduces the gauge or diameter of the conductor but the strands are very fine. It seems that this concerns you so clip, snip and re-do then you won't be sitting in the sweet spot and wondering .....but what if? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCables Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) As others have stated, the silver content is either 3% of 4%, completely normal. They probably don't tin with a soldering iron, they undoubtedly use a solder pot. A bar of solder goes into the thing, it melts, and then they dip the end of the wire into it. If you try this with a soldering iron, you will probably end up melting some of the sheathing - unless the jacket is Teflon. If the copper is very fine, it's not abnormal for some of the strands to break off. It will make absolutely no difference to the sound -- just leave it alone. What if the person who did the work stripped away several strands when they stripped the ends of the jacket off? To my eyes under a magnifying glass, it appears that a bunch were stripped away, kind of like the cable was skinned in a sense. Removing strands simply reduces the gauge or diameter of the conductor but the strands are very fine. It seems that this concerns you so clip, snip and re-do then you won't be sitting in the sweet spot and wondering .....but what if? Yeah, I might. I have another reason for doing it: I'd like to see the special Monster winding without having to look at it through the jacket. You're right though that I'm sometimes sitting in the sweet spot and I'm like, "Wow, if it sounds this good now, then could it sound even better if I did that?" Or, maybe they did that on purpose so that they can fit into the amp's wire connectors. Edited March 19, 2015 by TwoCables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Just use regular 60/40 multicore solder and quit worrying and arguing about stuff that doesn't matter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 "Magnifying glass" - yeesh, talk about a bad case of audionervosa. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCables Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) "Magnifying glass" - yeesh, talk about a bad case of audionervosa. Well I'm sorry, but while appreciating my wires, I noticed frayed strands and I also saw that some of them were short. So I looked a little closer. When I looked closer, I saw what looked like the ends of a lot more strands that appeared to have been cut off and stripped away with the piece of the jacket that was stripped off. So, I used my magnifying glass to see if I was right. i didn't know that anyone on here would have a problem with that. Edited March 19, 2015 by TwoCables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Sorry, don't mind me. Really, unless there's quite a bit missing, I wouldn't sweat it. Redoing it might risk damage to the jacket, that's why I suggested not messing with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Hills Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 As was mentioned earlier in the thread, solder "cold flows" under pressure. Never tin mains power wires - when they loosen off, the connection will heat up and may cause a fire. It's not such a big deal for speaker wires, the poor connection will only lead to poor sound. Just remember to tighten the binding posts occasionally. You can avoid the issue by crimping good quality spade terminals to the wires. For the wires under discussion, if their quality control is as poor as it appears, I'd steer clear of them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoCables Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) As was mentioned earlier in the thread, solder "cold flows" under pressure. Never tin mains power wires - when they loosen off, the connection will heat up and may cause a fire. It's not such a big deal for speaker wires, the poor connection will only lead to poor sound. Just remember to tighten the binding posts occasionally. You can avoid the issue by crimping good quality spade terminals to the wires. For the wires under discussion, if their quality control is as poor as it appears, I'd steer clear of them anyway. Since I have absolutely no experience in this area, it's entirely possible that what I'm seeing is really no big deal and is totally acceptable. Now, what I'm about to say will sound like I'm contradicting myself a little, but here it is: besides, this is just for the ProMedia 2.1. So, it's not like it matters THAT much. However, I can't afford anything better, and so I'm trying to do everything that I can to get the best audio quality that I can out of this speaker system without doing any physical modifications to it. So, that's why I'm concerned about this small detail and asking if it's even making a difference. If I feel ambitious later, then I'll attempt to take some macro shots with my parents' Canon EOS Rebel SL1 (they have two different lenses for it too, so I would probably end up trying both). If I do this but they don't turn out, then I'll see if I can get macro shots of the wires through my magnifying glass. I don't know if I'll even attempt this though because it could end up being a little bit of a project, but still, it would be the best way since I know some of you would know right away just from looking at it whether it's an issue. Edited March 19, 2015 by TwoCables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.