I could use some help and this area here with you guys are probably the ones I need to ask...
I lost the microwire to my Ring A ma Jig... I probably used too much of a package to blast off.... the contacts on the thing are a bit charred and to my frustration the unit doesn't give me much access to repair... the dealer was nice enough to send me some free microwire..(looks even larger than what I lost) and was told to solder the thing in... I tried...no luck...
1) easy question first..i best should clean the contacts before trying again.. you will probably tell me the charred contacts won't take the solder as it didn't

2)the wires are to be attached to two small pins about half an inch apart.. the pins are held by a capsule type thing that is open at the top... I have to dig down into the unit about 3 inches to get to the pins...to solder to.. which makes it seemingly difficult... might there be any technique that I don't know about that could hold the wire in place rather than just bending it over the capsule type housing?

3)I am on the threshold of looking for small clips to clip the wires... metal ones and if it holds and travels maybe that might bail me out...haven't tried it yet ..do you guys think the metal clips will absorb too much heat so the wire won't fire off the flashpaper bomb?

thanks in advance guys for any help you can be.. I want to keep using this but certainly don't want too much uncertainty of firing in the middle of the act.

Marty Shapiro
"solder novice"

This may be a totally useless reply,but you haven't stated whether you used any flux during the soldering process.
Without using flux,the solder will not stick.
Hope this can be of some help!
Cheers,Ray.

Ray ...thanks for your response..
the solder has a flux core... I was hoping that was enough. let me know

Marty

Usually, a separate application of flux is not required for soldering electronic components. I am not very familiar with Ring-A-Ma-Jig, but it soulds like a good cleaning, using a wire brush or fine sandpaper, would be all you need. Remember, when soldering, both surfaces must be hot. I can't tell you how many times I have seen solder joints fail because one of the surfaces wasn't at the correct temperature.

Also, make sure both surfaces are "tinned". That is, apply a thin layer of solder to both surfaces prior to soldering.

As for the clips, there might be too much resistance in the connection between the clips and the pins for the nichrome wire to work properly. I can't swear to this, though. You must have a good, solid connection for the proper voltage to reach the nichrome wire.

Hey thanks so much that puts me in the right direction.. I will tell you how it went.


Marty