Neil Sherman

Also i'm going to have a very careful google search about what dikes are.

It would need to be a plane trip for me! (Have heard the expression btw) Cool. I'll practice with the above cheap option until either: a. the mic is 50cm long and then i'll send it off to a man who can (don't know any women who can yet) b. get it right Then i'll look into buying the bits when i'm a bit more flush. I'm well up for practicing this a lot. PS. Don't tell anyone about the lead in my radio mics. Thanks folks! N

Just read about a product called HOTweezers which can do the job of cable stripping. Pricey though.

In my old staff job I used to repair a lot of cables. I'm starting to get pretty good with the more fiddly jobs, small connectors etc. However, like many, I struggle with the litz type cable that COS11's and other lapel mics are made from. I feel like i'm soldering bits of plastic. Specifically the black wire in the mic seems to have a strand of strong nylon in the core, that remains when the copper strands seem to be burnt away during tinning. I'm not expecting a simple solution to this, but i'm going to master this skill even if it kills me. Can anyone advise on the best solder and temperatures to use whilst tinning and terminating this stuff. I've tried temparatures from 360 - 450 degrees celsius and my success seems to be more luck that judgement at the moment. I'm using lead solder, burning off the insulation, rather than scraping it off and putting a dab of pen flux on the connector contacts. Any suggestions? Please don't tell me to send it to a pro wireman, i'm trying to become one!