On 21 May 2009 at 0:06, Glenn Little WB4UIV wrote:

If you like throwing money at the problem, try Pasternack.

5 feet at $83.00 at S. M. Electronics. 5 feet at $78.25 at Pasternack.

I always build my own. That way I can only blame myself for bad cables.

73 Glenn WB4UIV

You can check e-bay or the various Hamfest where you can get nearly all what you want. I personally got some 8' foot run with male N type connector of Cellflex 50ohms semi rigid cable at 10$ a piece. I also got 3 X 45' roll of heliax 3/8" with interchangeable N-type or UHF connector adaptor at 40$ a piece. (First time i saw those type of connector seems to be design for some military aircraft carrier use with their wire mesh pulling sleeve already installed?)

But you should be ready to sneak a whole day in a human hamfest crowd "always an adventure for your 5 senses...:)"

"-"

Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE

Glenn Little and others,

There is a neat way to use type N connectors on LMR400 and LMR400UF. I wrote an article for QST/QEX on the method and passed it to Ray Mack, W5IFS, who is an editor for QEX. He has not passed the article on as yet, though. Basically, the diameter of the inner conductor is too large for the typical N connector, therefore that diameter must be reduced to fit. The way to do that reduction effectively when you are making up a number of cables is to make a set of "Center Conductor Reduction Dies." Start with inch-long sections of 3/8-inch cold rolled steel and drill all the way through each piece with a series of numbered drills starting with the largest drill that is the diameter of the center conductor and ending with the drill that just enters the center pin of the N connector. This work is best done on a metal working lathe to get a concentric hole. Center drill the entry end to provide a starting chamfer. Using a thin cutoff wheel in your Dremel Moto-Tool, make two cross cuts on the centerline to about 1/8-inch below the chamfer on that end and once on the other end without a chamfer. Now, using the dies in descending sequence, chuck the die in an electric drill. Strip the end of the cable and expose a little more of the center conductor than is needed. Insert the cable into the reduction die and spin the drill motor until the end reaches the insulation (there will be a short section of unreduced center conductor). Reverse the die in the drill and finish the cut to the insulation. Move to the next die. Occasionally, trim the copper flash that develops. Stop when the center conductor enters the center pin of the N connector. For LMR400UF, you must make the center conductor a solid conductor by tinning the exposed center conductor. Again, inspect the face of the insulation and remove any copper flash to prevent a possible short. Now, you can assemble the cable to the N connector just as you would assemble it using RG8 cable. The cutting edges of the reduction die are those slots that you cut using the Dremel (you could do it with a hack saw as I did at first, but the Dremel is much faster). I have assembled about 40 N-M and N-F connectors to LMR400 cables using this method which really beats trying to reduce the center conductor with a file when you have many connectors to install.

73,

Lloyd Crawford, N5GDB, EM10bf n5gdb@austin.rr.com Roadrunners Microwave Group ----- Original Message ----- From: "D. McGarrett" dmcgarrett@optonline.net To: "Glenn Little WB4UIV" glennmaillist@bellsouth.net Cc: "Microwave list" microwave@echo.valinet.com; "'Amsat - BBs'" amsat-bb@amsat.org; "Jim Sanford" wb4gcs@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 6:41 PM Subject: Re: [Mw] [amsat-bb] Pre Fab Coax sections

Glenn Little WB4UIV wrote:

...

If you like throwing money at the problem, try Pasternack.

5 feet at $83.00 at S. M. Electronics. 5 feet at $78.25 at Pasternack.

I always build my own. That way I can only blame myself for bad cables.

73 Glenn WB4UIV

I don't have a solution for you, but when I was a working engineer, I found that Pasternack was one of the most expensive solutions (to anything!) there was. I never heard of S.M. Electronics. Google will give you a list of connector manufacturers and sales people. I'm with Glenn--build your own! LMR-xx cable is a product of Times Microwave. Excellent cable! (If you can use LMR-400, it will be a lot cheaper, but you _can't_ use regular type N connectors on it.) On the other hand, type N connectors are a lot easier to use than the GD UHF connectors, and work a heck of a lot better--but you probably know that already. _______________________________________________ Microwave mailing list microwave@lists.valinet.com http://www.valinet.com/mailman/listinfo/microwave