Hello All This weekend I needed to solder some of these beasts for the first time in several years and had a thought. One of the biggest problems is soldering the braid. I played about with a lateral thinking idea. Most people solder through the holes in the body of the plug. Why not cut a small amount of outer insulation off more than needed and solder carefully the braid into the back of the plug? It may not look pretty, but it is a lot easier with out sight, and reduced thermal capacity of the method makes it quicker. Also, chance of melting the insulation in the plug is greatly reduced. 73 de G3YXX