I work in the Radio Shop for a fairly large city. We deal with everything from WiFi in police cars to a regional UHF T-Band P-25 trunked system. Essentially every RF connector we put on (except hardline) is a crimp type connector. We have the proper cable stripping, and crimp tools for them as well. The crimps are FAR faster to install, and when done properly with the right tools, every bit as reliable (or more so) than a soldered connector. Personally I really dislike the "old school" Type-N connectors. Had way too many fail. The usual failure mode is that the cable is not mechanically attached to the connector well enough, and with some handling, the strands of the shield start breaking until the cable pulls out of the connector. For home use (where I don't own many hundreds of dollars of the proper crimp tools), I much prefer the newer Type-N connectors that are put together more like a PL-259. Yes, I know that they are not as perfect as the "old school" Type-N, they don't come apart.
Jim Walls K6CCC
---------------------------------------- From: "Joe" nss@mwt.net Sent: Wednesday, September 7, 2016 8:03 AM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Best Connectors? Hi All, I till last night thought I found the "Holy Grail" of a connector and connector source. But maybe was blown down by a "Professional" That does all this "Radio Stuff" for a living.
I always LOVED the old "N" connectors. With the big rubber clamping thing inside for the shield. And always wished that method was available on other connectors, even the old PL-259.
A few weeks ago I found them, Like this,
http://dxavenue.com/131-465-thickbox/pl-259-clamp-connector-uhf-male.jpg
and I found a source, that is not only CHEAP, but in any combination you could even dream of. So No losses from adapters. Like from LMR-400 to Male BNC, or even LMR-400 to female SMA.
I bought three connectors. (2) LMR-400 to Male BNC (1) Male BNC to Female SMA
Total cost only 9 bucks and 3 days shipping time!
OK, I was sooo happy I had to bring them to the club meeting last night to let everyone else know of this find. And a guy that works for a land mobile company. They do all the radio work around here for the police, FD etc. And he said he wished he knew I wanted them. They got a box of a hundred in the storage room. A lot of equipment comes with the connectors like these but they refuse to use them. He said they are not reliable and the ground connection fails.
I never heard of this before. What is everyones thoughts here?
Joe WB9SBD -- Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb