Ian White GM3SEK wrote in
:

Owen Duffy wrote:
Thanks Owen. BTW, what type of coax connector? Not PAL surely!

No, but they are not all that bad. Almost no one manufactured VHF land
mobiles here with UHF connectors, but they did use PAL (Belling & Lee)
once (Pye Reporters for instance).


Do Australian TVs use "Bloody Belling Lee" connectors like we still do
in the UK? What does "PAL" stand for?

Yes, the TVs invariably have the Belling Lee connector, now known as the
PAL connector. I don't know how it got the PAL label, perhaps related to
its use in the UK where PAL colour encoding was used (as it is here in
Oz). Apparently the PAL connector was invented in 1922 and complies with
BS and IEC standards.

I did some tests on BL connectors in the seventies and performance up to
2GHz was better than UHF connectors, and quite acceptable. The BL
connectors that I tested were plated brass bodied male connectors with
soldered centre pin, and plated steel bodied female connectors (all in
good condition).

Modern practice is to install F connectors in fixed wiring. There is a
range of quality in F connectors, but the Gilbert style connectors seem
reliable so long as they are done up tight with a spanner. A 'feature' of
F connectors that might mitigate against widespread adoption on
appliances.

On a related subject, the so called 'compression type' F connectors seem
to properly terminate RG6, and are available in BNC. They are a ready and
inexpensive source of weatherproof BNC termination of RG6. (Some pics at
http://www.vk1od.net/RG6/index.htm .)

Owen