how to make fly tethers

fly tethers are needed for keeping a fly in place for fly on the ball, or flight experiments where imaging is not important.

parts

• gold contact pin - DigiKey part # 889-1118-ND
• Tungsten wire size .005 x 3 in
  • can also use thicker wire if you want something a little more stable
  • dont have link for this right now
• solder / soldering iron
• 3rd arm clamp to hold the contact pin while soldering

steps

1. add solder to the inside of the contact pin
2. cut tungsten wire to the appropriate length with some sharp wire cutters
3. heat up the solder inside the contact pin and place the wire in
4. remove heat while holding the wire in the center of the contact pin until the solder solidifies
5. you can add a bend to the wire if you want
6. make a bunch of tethers then cut the tungsten wire to the correct consistent length on each tether.
   • can also select just a few of your favorite to keep
   • if you cut too much off you can always heat up solder and pull the wire out a little bit

🥚 | § how to…

references

---

thanks to raveena c. for teaching