DrEntropy said:
I made no implication making a good solder joint was: "...as simple as just sticking some solder to the tip of a hot iron in the vicinity of the wires." If I'd thought a tretise on "Proper Soldering Techniques for Electrical/Electronic Wiring" were called for, I'd have referred 19_again to Google.
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif
Reminds me of another life very long ago at Lockheed Missiles & Space Division. All new shop employees were required to attend, pass, & be certified at a "solder school".
Much of the missile assemblies had multi pin electrical connectors. Each pin was soldered to a wire end. The pins had "solder cups" for the wires. A carefully stripped wire end, no nicks, was inserted into the cup. A resistance soldering "unit" which looked like tweezers with needle tips was clamped over the solder cup & an adjustable current passed through the cup. When the cup was considered to be the correct temperature a bit of 60/40 rosin core solder was applied to the joint & filled the cup. Heat maintained only long enough to get a perfect joint.
Each row of soldered pins was inspected & marked if acceptable by an inspector. The objective was a bright, fully filled joint, with no solder on the outside of the pin & most importantly, no solder creep up the wire strands above the joint which would make the wire brittle above the pins. A perceptible insulation gap above the connection allowed solder creep to be observed.
The completed wiring & various component assemblies were subjected a rigorous vibration test on a "shaker table" to further verify that things were able to stay intact under the very severe vibration & "G" forces encountered in a misile launch.
Later on, crimped connections with no solder were used. I believe that crimped connections are still used in aircraft & considered to be superior to soldered connections for reliability. (Maintaining a good vibration resistant connection). Solder creep destroys the needed flexibility in the wire.
Newer automotive electrical connections are also crimped only. Not just to save labor costs but to improve reliability.
Some folks crimp LBC pins, others solder them, & a few do both. IMO, a properly crimped connection - Pin ID properly sized to the wire, & with the correct amount of crimp, is only degraded by soldering. A pin designed for crimping & fastened with a ratcheting crimper that is calibrated to apply the proper pressure & not release until the crimp is fully made, is all that is needed. Bullets designed for crimping come in specific internal sizes the match the intended wire size.
Further "insurance" by also soldering the crimped connection is likely to cause solder creep up the wire strands which degrades the wire flexibility & vibration resistance.
Then again, we're not driving rockets, so wire nuts may even work.
D