J-STD-006 defines the requirements for solder (alloys) for electronic applications.
The relevant sections describe preparation, suitable environments, process, and specific cases associated with wires and cables, such as allowable strand damage, insulation damage considerations, tinning wire, and etc. Within the standard, there are descriptions of soldering practices for a variety of electronics and assemblies, though only the general sections and sections on wire and cable apply to coaxial cable assemblies. Two other documents, IPC-HDBK-001 and PIC-A-610, are often considered companions to J-STD-001 and help to elaborate and clarify certain aspects of the standard. In the case of Hi-Rel coaxial cable assemblies, these coax assemblies are usually considered Class 3, which faces the most stringent requirements involving inspections and testing. Includes products where continued high performance or performance-on-demand is critical, equipment downtime cannot be tolerated, end-use environment may be uncommonly harsh, and the equipment must function when required, such as life support or other critical systems.
These defects can compromise the integrity of the solder joint, reduce the reliable lifetime, increase insertion loss, and lead to hard-to-diagnose failures. If improper solders or soldering practices are used, instead of forming a mechanically and electrically strong bond, a bond may form with a variety of contaminates, undesirable intermetallic compounds, and other defects. This concept is essential for critical use cases like coaxial cable assemblies for Hi-Rel applications, and is part of creating MIL-DTL-17 assemblies. These standards attempt to ensure that the end results of a soldering operation produce a reliable connection that can be inspected and ensured to meet minimum standards of performance. Initially, the United States military used MIL-STD-454, MIL-S-45743, DOD-STD-2000, and MIL-STD-2000 to define soldering practices before merging with industry standards, such as IPC J-STD-001 and IPC J-STD-006. Standardization and quality control surrounding solder and soldering practices for military electronics has been around for decades.