I recently was able to use a crimp on tool for F connectors for RG-6 quad
shield coax. To make sure everyone understands, I am in Israel, and RG-6
quad shield coax is cheap and easy to find.

Any other coax is almost impossible to find. Pl-259 connectors, called
"UHF" connectors here are rare items. I can get them locally, but I have
to special order them and they are expensive. Since I can not see them
before I order them, I am as likely to get nickle plated ones with
phenolic insulation as I am to get any other kind, and once ordered are
not returnable.

BNC to PL-259 adaptors, are easy to get, and can be ordered from a reliable
local souce for a relatively small price. The same with N to PL-259.

Looking around at the crimp-on F connectors before I ordered them, I found
that you can get crimp on BNC connectors for RG-6 quad shield coax.

Here's my questions, Note when I say crimp-on, I mean the ones that crimp
from the rear, like commerical F connectors, not the ones that crimp
around the plug. I have never been able to get any of them to "fit right":

1. Can I connect a 75ohm BNC plug (which is a different size) to a
50oHm BNC socket?

2. Are there crimp on 50 ohm BNC plugs which will work with RG6 quad shield?
I know there are variations, but most are similar in size.

3. Are there crimp on N connectors that would fit the RG6 quad shield coax?
More likely due to the size a crimp on center element that screws into the
plug body?

4. Are there crimp on PL-259 connectors?

Thanks in advance,

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
New word I coined 12/13/09, "Sub-Wikipedia" adj, describing knowledge or
understanding, as in he has a sub-wikipedia understanding of the situation.
i.e possessing less facts or information than can be found in the Wikipedia.

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in
:

I recently was able to use a crimp on tool for F connectors for RG-6
quad shield coax. To make sure everyone understands, I am in Israel,
and RG-6 quad shield coax is cheap and easy to find.

Any other coax is almost impossible to find. Pl-259 connectors, called
"UHF" connectors here are rare items. I can get them locally, but I
have to special order them and they are expensive. Since I can not see
them before I order them, I am as likely to get nickle plated ones
with phenolic insulation as I am to get any other kind, and once
ordered are not returnable.

BNC to PL-259 adaptors, are easy to get, and can be ordered from a
reliable local souce for a relatively small price. The same with N to
PL-259.

Looking around at the crimp-on F connectors before I ordered them, I
found that you can get crimp on BNC connectors for RG-6 quad shield
coax.

Here's my questions, Note when I say crimp-on, I mean the ones that
crimp from the rear, like commerical F connectors, not the ones that
crimp around the plug. I have never been able to get any of them to
"fit right":

1. Can I connect a 75ohm BNC plug (which is a different size) to a
50oHm BNC socket?

There is such a thing as a 75 ohm BNC connector, but you are almost
certainly looking at 50 ohm connectors designed for use on 75 ohm cable.
My recollection is that the 75 ohm connectors are incompatible with the
50 ohm connectors, and in some combinations will spread the female inner
part.


2. Are there crimp on 50 ohm BNC plugs which will work with RG6 quad
shield?
I know there are variations, but most are similar in size.
Yes, see http://www.vk1od.net/transmissionline/RG6/index.htm .

3. Are there crimp on N connectors that would fit the RG6 quad shield
coax?

I haven't seen any. I use BNC compression connectors on the RG6, then
BNC/N adapters to connect to the antenna N connector. Works fine, all
waterproof.

More likely due to the size a crimp on center element that screws
into the plug body?

4. Are there crimp on PL-259 connectors?

Yes. They have most of the disadvantages of the PL-259.

If you are of the view that everything that comes out of China, leave
now.

I buy N, BNC, UHF, etc connectors that are of Chinese original that are
economical and excellent quality. But... you have to be picky, price is
not a good indicator of quality.

There is also a prejudice against RG6. Again, quality varies, and you
need to inspect carefully and test product that you might use.

Owen

Thanks in advance,

Geoff.

Owen Duffy wrote:

There is such a thing as a 75 ohm BNC connector, but you are almost
certainly looking at 50 ohm connectors designed for use on 75 ohm cable.
My recollection is that the 75 ohm connectors are incompatible with the
50 ohm connectors, and in some combinations will spread the female inner
part.

Thanks,

The ad I saw said they were 75 ohm. If they really are 50 ohm connectors
for 75 ohm cable, so much the better. Without buying them, I have no way
to tell, and it's awfully expensive to buy one or two.

Shipping from the US to here runs between $20 (USPS) and $50 (FEDEX/DHL/UPS)
for anything. I was going to buy $10 worth of soldering iron tips from
Farnell, and they wanted a flat rate of $35 to ship them. :-(

Yes, see http://www.vk1od.net/transmissionline/RG6/index.htm .

I haven't seen any. I use BNC compression connectors on the RG6, then
BNC/N adapters to connect to the antenna N connector. Works fine, all
waterproof.

Wonderful, thanks.


I buy N, BNC, UHF, etc connectors that are of Chinese original that are
economical and excellent quality. But... you have to be picky, price is
not a good indicator of quality.

URLs??? Please.

There is also a prejudice against RG6. Again, quality varies, and you
need to inspect carefully and test product that you might use.

As in everything in life. :-)

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
New word I coined 12/13/09, "Sub-Wikipedia" adj, describing knowledge or
understanding, as in he has a sub-wikipedia understanding of the situation.
i.e possessing less facts or information than can be found in the Wikipedia.

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in
:

....
I buy N, BNC, UHF, etc connectors that are of Chinese original that
are economical and excellent quality. But... you have to be picky,
price is not a good indicator of quality.

URLs??? Please.


Jyebao is Taiwanese, not Chinese, and excellent quality. They have an agent
in Israel.

http://www.jyebao.com.tw/agent-u.htm

Owen

Owen Duffy wrote:

Jyebao is Taiwanese, not Chinese, and excellent quality. They have an agent
in Israel.

http://www.jyebao.com.tw/agent-u.htm

Thanks. Interestingly enough, they have F-plugs to N jacks, (i.e. cables
with F plugs on them to connect to a radio with an N jack) but not
F plugs to PL-259(UHF) jacks. :-(

73,

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
New word I coined 12/13/09, "Sub-Wikipedia" adj, describing knowledge or
understanding, as in he has a sub-wikipedia understanding of the situation.
i.e possessing less facts or information than can be found in the Wikipedia.

In message , Owen Duffy
writes
"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in
:



1. Can I connect a 75ohm BNC plug (which is a different size) to a
50oHm BNC socket?

There is such a thing as a 75 ohm BNC connector, but you are almost
certainly looking at 50 ohm connectors designed for use on 75 ohm cable.
My recollection is that the 75 ohm connectors are incompatible with the
50 ohm connectors, and in some combinations will spread the female inner
part.

For all intents and purposes, 50 and 75 ohm BNCs (both male and female)
are interchangeable. They have essentially the same dimensions. You
might just see that the 50 ohm male has a rather stubby point, whereas
the 75 ohm version has a somewhat more steadily-tapered pin - but,
unlike N-connectors, the 50 ohm male certainly doesn't cause damage to a
75 ohm female.

The thing which mainly causes the impedances to differ is the amount of
PTFE dielectric present, in both sexes. On the 75 ohm version, you will
normally see that it has been reduced considerably compared with the 50
ohm. Even with less dielectric, the 75 ohm version is still a bit
unhappy with having too much, and this tends to lower the impedance to
somewhat less than 75 ohms.

However, for all intents and purposes, you probably won't notice any
significant difference between 50 and 75 ohm BNCs (mixed or not).
--
Ian

[Sorry for being a little late to the party, but I was off newsgroups most
of this week.]

This thread had some discussion of adapters and I want to share my bad
experience with some low-cost items, proving, once again, that you get what
you pay for.

I am testing all my adapters and discarding some because the assemblies are
pulling apart with very little force. One manifestation: tightening the
threaded ring on a PL-259 (either cable end connector or adapter) and having
the ring just continue all the way on, separating from the connector body.

One test for a future failure has been any lack of smoothness when I rotate
the ring while tugging it gently. If it binds, rather than turning smoothly
in my hands, it's going to fail. Also, some of the cheap connectors are
press-fit together very poorly; they pull apart with only a few pounds of
pull.

Most of my early exposure to coax connectors was in and around the US Navy,
where reliable connectors are the rule, so I was a spoiled child.

"Sal"
(KD6VKW)

On 06/13/2010 01:50 PM, Sal M. O'Nella wrote:

[Sorry for being a little late to the party, but I was off newsgroups
most of this week.]

This thread had some discussion of adapters and I want to share my bad
experience with some low-cost items, proving, once again, that you get
what you pay for.

I am testing all my adapters and discarding some because the assemblies
are pulling apart with very little force. One manifestation: tightening
the threaded ring on a PL-259 (either cable end connector or adapter)
and having the ring just continue all the way on, separating from the
connector body.

One test for a future failure has been any lack of smoothness when I
rotate the ring while tugging it gently. If it binds, rather than
turning smoothly in my hands, it's going to fail. Also, some of the
cheap connectors are press-fit together very poorly; they pull apart
with only a few pounds of pull.

Most of my early exposure to coax connectors was in and around the US
Navy, where reliable connectors are the rule, so I was a spoiled child.

"Sal"
(KD6VKW)

PL-259's I can handle.
BNC's drive me nuts trying to get a good connection.
I gave up and just buy my cables now.
Bill

In article ,
says...

On 06/13/2010 01:50 PM, Sal M. O'Nella wrote:

[Sorry for being a little late to the party, but I was off newsgroups
most of this week.]

This thread had some discussion of adapters and I want to share my bad
experience with some low-cost items, proving, once again, that you get
what you pay for.

I am testing all my adapters and discarding some because the assemblies
are pulling apart with very little force. One manifestation: tightening
the threaded ring on a PL-259 (either cable end connector or adapter)
and having the ring just continue all the way on, separating from the
connector body.

One test for a future failure has been any lack of smoothness when I
rotate the ring while tugging it gently. If it binds, rather than
turning smoothly in my hands, it's going to fail. Also, some of the
cheap connectors are press-fit together very poorly; they pull apart
with only a few pounds of pull.

Most of my early exposure to coax connectors was in and around the US
Navy, where reliable connectors are the rule, so I was a spoiled child.

"Sal"
(KD6VKW)

PL-259's I can handle.
BNC's drive me nuts trying to get a good connection.
I gave up and just buy my cables now.
Bill

Sal's right - it's down to the quality of the item. I've seen some poor
BNCs, but many PL-259s which were REAL rubbish. I expect it's because
many of them are used for CB - and price is the usual decider there.

I've standardised on 50R BNCs for everything. Usually Amphenol or
Greenpar - the extra cost is insignificant, compared to rig prices these
days. Why 50R - the only reason is that the sockets are more robust.

Ready made BNC cables have been a disappointment - they are usually
crimped, and the crimps seem to relax with age. Cables can pull out,
given a bit of a tug. I use solder/clamped connectors and always solder
the braid to the clamping sleeve. Never had a failure.....

On Sat, 5 Jun 2010 21:49:32 +0000 (UTC), "Geoffrey S. Mendelson"
wrote:

I recently was able to use a crimp on tool for F connectors for RG-6 quad
shield coax.

Hopefully, it was a "push-on" tool and connector
http://www.arrisistore.com/digicon/Digicon-F-Connector-Installation-Guide.pdf
not the piece of junk with the small crimped ring.

To make sure everyone understands, I am in Israel, and RG-6
quad shield coax is cheap and easy to find.

There's quality RG-6a/u and junk. On the left coast of the USA, we
have both in copious quantities. I obtain mine directly from a
satellite DTV install company, so the quality is more towards quality
than junk.

Pl-259 connectors, called
"UHF" connectors here are rare items.

Be thankful. I find them to be a necessary evil as most ham radios
require them. Meanwhile, commercial radios are moving away from UHF
and toward other connectors, such as Type-N, BNC, TNC, Mini-UHF, and
SMA. However, Comerica base antennas remain UHF or Type-N.

BNC to PL-259 adaptors, are easy to get, and can be ordered from a reliable
local souce for a relatively small price. The same with N to PL-259.

That's what I do. Most of my cables are NOT terminated with UHF
connectors. If I need to go to UHF, I use an adapter.

Looking around at the crimp-on F connectors before I ordered them, I found
that you can get crimp on BNC connectors for RG-6 quad shield coax.

Yes, they work. I use quite a bit of RG-6a/u and prefer to have
everything terminated by the same connector, which is the CATV
standard F connector. If I need BNC, I use an adapter.

Here's my questions, Note when I say crimp-on, I mean the ones that crimp
from the rear, like commerical F connectors, not the ones that crimp
around the plug. I have never been able to get any of them to "fit right":

Agreed. The good ones are "push on" F connectors.

1. Can I connect a 75ohm BNC plug (which is a different size) to a
50oHm BNC socket?

There are such things as real 75 ohm BNC plugs and jacks. They're
easy to recognize because they lack the PTFE dielectric. The 75 ohm
connectors will mate properly with the 50 ohm connectors. There is
little risk of VSWR problems from using 50 ohm connectors on RG-6a/u.
http://www.qsl.net/n9zia/wireless/75_ohm_hardline.html
Basically, any small loss from VSWR is compensated by the lower loss
per meter of RG-6a/u as compared to RG-58a/u. Methinks you're safe
using all 50 ohm connectors.[1]

2. Are there crimp on 50 ohm BNC plugs which will work with RG6 quad shield?
I know there are variations, but most are similar in size.

They're nearly identical in dimensions. The 50 ohm variety have some
manner of PTFE dielectric. The 75 ohm variety use a plastic disk and
no dielectric.
http://www.amphenolconnex.com/products/bnc.asp
"50 ohm and 75 ohm connectors are intermateable to ensure
non-destructive mating"
The catch is that there's no guarantee that this is true between
different manufacturers. I've blundered across mutations and
variations that are NOT interchangeable.

3. Are there crimp on N connectors that would fit the RG6 quad shield coax?
More likely due to the size a crimp on center element that screws into the
plug body?

Probably, but I wouldn't use one. Just terminate in an F connector,
and use an F to N adapter. The price will probably be the same or
less. However, if you must go direct, any N connector that will fit
RG-59a/u will usually work with RG-6a/u. The problem is that
depending on the number of shields in the RG-6a/u, the outer diameter
will vary, making the diameter of the crimp ring an issue. Doing this
is risky and may result in a non-fitting connector. I would use an
adapter, which will always work.

4. Are there crimp on PL-259 connectors?

Also probably, but again, methinks you're better off with an F
connector and an adapter.

[1] I just counted 7 assorted coaxial cables going between my roof and
various RF devices in my house. All but one are 75 ohm RG-6a/u. Some
are double shielded, while others are quad shielded. The connectors
are slightly different. All the HF and VHF/UHF antennas use 75 ohm
coax. The one 50 ohm LMR-400 run is for the 900MHz antenna.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558