On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 01:05:36 -0600, Chris W wrote:

I am new in ham radio and want to get set up to make the coax assemblies
I will inevitably be needing in the future. I am planing on using only
LMR style coax 240, 400, 600 and maybe some 900 if I get into the 1.2ghz
stuff. So is it better to use the crimp, clamp or solder on
connectors. In the case of the center conductor, there are some where
that is solder and the outer is crimp or clamp so is crimp and or clamp
ok for the outer conductor and solder better for the inner? I welcome
all points of view on this. Thanks for you input.

You should not dismiss crimp connectors as inferior to soldered
connections. Crimp connectors, properly executed with correct fitting
dies, produce a very good result, they are good electrically, and they
often have superior strength compared to "field serviceable"
connectors (the solder / braid clamp) type.

For my own use, I:
- avoid PL-259 type connectors (that is not to mean UHF);
- prefer N type for thicker cables and all outdoors (whether or not in
the weather);
- on Heliax, prefer the connectors that are sealed by injection of
silicone into the backshell, ambivalent about whether the centre pin
is soldered or spring contact (which are usually cheaper and quicker);
- prefer BNC on thin patch cables and fly leads;
- prefer crimped connectors to "field serviceable" connectors in
indoors applications;
- prefer sealed connectors for all outdoors applications, and question
whether most sealed crimp connectors are actually effective through
life;
- keep a pair of multigrips handy for times when UHF connectors must
be used.

If you are choosing to use LMR cables, you might want to look at
LMR195 (I think) which is dimensionally similar to RG58 and can use
low cost RG58 crimp connectors.

If you use BNC (or TNC for that matter), look at whether the
connectors you buy locate / retain the centre pin independently of the
wire connection.

Owen
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