'Match Head' soldering tubes

[Andrew Mawson]

My recent search for miniature tubular crimps for cat5 cable modifications reminded me of something I came across many years ago (possibly 50???) consisting of a copper tube of perhaps 1/8" bore, half filled with solder and flux, and having a jacket of 'match head material' that could be struck like a match to heat up and melt the solder. For joining wires in the field but I cannot remember where I got them. Either ex Army or possibly ex GPO. Don't need any, just wondered if anyone else remembers them and there use?

AWEM

[Chris Hogg]

I remember using these in the Signals section of the school CCF back in the late 1950's, for joining field telephone cables, so Army, but I wouldn't be surprised if other people also used them. Very simple to use, IIRC: strip off about an inch of insulation from the ends of the two cables to be connected; push into the ends of the little tube; 'strike' the match-head stuff, and maintain pressure pushing the wires together into the tube. At some point, the flux and solder would melt and the two wires would move together into the tube as you pushed, and the solder then solidified. Residue of match-head stuff cleaned off and bound with insulating tape. Job done!

[Andrew Mawson]

That's probably where I saw them - being in the CCF signals myself when a teenager at school. Ah those were the days WS38's WS88's WS18's all battery powered and heavy

AWEM

[Chris Hogg]

Memory's a bit thin from those days. IIRC we had two types of portable transceivers, a biggish one back-packed and a smaller one that hung around your waist. 18's and 38's? We also had a bigger static transmitter/receiver in 'the hut', possibly a R107 or WS19. See

was never heavily into it, joining the signals section primarily because they got off parade early and discipline was very relaxed!

Later, at home, I had a Cossor CR100 comms receiver that I used for short wave listening. Great big steel box of a thing!

[Peter Parry]

Self soldering joints were used for field connections to D10 cable, a

7 strand (4 Copper 3 Steel) twin twisted and black field cable dating back to the second world war. The cable was sheathed in black PVC with an outer clear hard wearing polythene coat for strength. The thermal joint was replaced in the late 1960's by an insulated Hellerman crimp applied using the "Crimping machine cable hand".

D10 cable was designed to be laid using a backpack cable dispenser and was coated with an adhesive to help it feed from the pack. Unfortunately this adhesive (or the polythene coating) was very tasty to cattle who, if it was laid around a field, would line up to chew on it.

I probably still have a few of those awful self soldering joints in the garage somewhere.

[fred]

In article , Andrew Mawson writes

From memory they were dropped from Mil use as quality could not be assured on the 'uninspectable soldered joint' that they formed. Modern day solder sleeves overcome the inspection element by the use of a clear heatshrink cover eg:

[Andrew Gabriel]

You can still buy solder sleeves. Need an external heat source though (ideally a small hot air blower, but a blow lamp, and possibly even a match might work). I used these for field repairs to mini-computer wiring loombs ~20 years ago.

[Ian Jackson]

In message , Chris Hogg writes

IF8 and Safari do work, albeit maybe somewhat reluctantly.

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[Huge]

Not here.