Re: [amsat-bb] NASA SPEC Connectors

[Glenn Little <glittle@xxxxxxxx>]

This is the reply that I sent Bob in private mail.  I think that it answers 
the question.  Solder is fine, just not against gold.

73
Glenn
WB4UIV

To: Bob Bruninga <bruninga@usna.edu>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] NASA SPEC Connectors
Bob
Gold/tin form a very brittle alloy. One that cracks with very little
vibration. What is the crimper that you need. For the Phase 3D
project, when gold plated material had to be soldered, the gold surface
was soldered then desoldered a number of times. I think that this
number was 5. This removes the gold plating from the surface to be
soldered. This produced a reliable connection.
73
Glenn
WB4UIV


Bob Bruninga wrote:
 >
 > I hate to ask this here, but we have a 10 pin NASA flight connector.
 > SPecs say the pins are to be crimped on to the wires. But the Crimper
 > costs hundreds of $$$ and no one has one. Our question is "why cannot we
 > just solder the pins to the wires? THey are hollow, gold, and the wires
 > slip inside beautifully. Would take 5 minutes to solder them...
 >
 > I can understand that in "production" a crimper is "reproducible,
 > measureable, and certifiable" But for a one time connector it is an
 > impossible bureaucratic snafu requiring hours of coordination and search.
 >
 > Can anyone that works in the space business tell me why we cannot just do
 > a good soldering job on these 10 pins?
 >
 > Bob
 >
 > ----
 > Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
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--
Glenn Little
Engineer
HARK Systems, Inc.
Voice (843) 764-1560
Fax (843) 764-3692

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Glenn Little                         glittle@awod.com   QCWA  LM 28417
Amateur Callsign:  WB4UIV            wb4uiv@amsat.org   AMSAT LM 2178
QTH:  Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx)                      ARRL  TAPR
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