I've seen it done and I don't like it either.
It makes for a poor mechanically sound connection and provides another way
for water to get into the braid. It's also a good way to get corrosion in
the connector.
Roger Halstead (K8RI, EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
N833R, World's Oldest Debonair (S# CD-2)
www.rogerhalstead.com
> I don't like it. On many types of coax, the threads can barely be screwed
> over the jacket alone. If you wedge the shield braid in between, it will
be
> shredded as you screw the connector on.
>
> 73, Dick WC1M
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Bill VanAlstyne [mailto:w5wvo@cybermesa.net]
> > Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2004 2:32 PM
> > To: _Mailing List Tower-Talk
> > Subject: [TowerTalk] Alternate method, PL-259 on RG-8-type coax
> >
> >
> > I read through an extensive, several-years-old archived
> > thread the other day, -- somewhere, maybe on QRZ.com -- on
> > UHF vs. N-type connectors. While the recent discussion of UHF
> > connector loss at various frequencies has been very
> > enlightening, the caveat "high-quality, properly installed"
> > is always stated or implied.
> >
> > One of the things I read in the aforementioned thread was
> > from a guy who believed that the PL-259 connector is much
> > better installed in a manner that differs significantly from
> > the "standard" method. I'm wondering what the group here
> > thinks of this idea. This is paraphrasing from memory:
> >
> > "Slip the connector sleeve ring and a length of heat-shrink
> > 2-3" long over the coax. Strip the outer jacket and center
> > dielectric using the same dimensions as for the "standard"
> > method, but don't trim the shield braid. Instead, pull the
> > shield braid inside-out back over the outer jacket. Screw the
> > connector body over the prepared cable end such that the
> > braid is compressed between the connector threads and the
> > jacket of the cable. This will be hard and will require hand
> > tools, but keep screwing it on until you can just see the
> > braid through the solder holes. You stop there. You don't
> > solder it through the solder holes, but rather around the
> > rear edge of the connector body. Then trim off the excess
> > braid and apply the heat-shrink over the connector body and
> > the cable behind it. Solder the center conductor and trim off
> > any excess length. Then thread on the sleeve ring."
> >
> > That's it. I don't recall that the guy said exactly WHY he
> > thought this was a better method, but after thinking about
> > it, I'm not sure I like it. The good point is that it would
> > result in less deformation of the dielectric material by
> > soldering heat. But the shield connection seems problematical
> > to me. While compression of the braid against the inside of
> > the connector body would make a good unsoldered shield
> > connection (assuming you were using good-quality silver
> > plated connectors), that connection would degrade over time,
> > as the connector is not weather-resistant like the N-type.
> > Soldering it as proposed in his method, on the other hand,
> > would effectively relieve the beneficial pressure of the
> > braid against the inside of the connector body by melting the
> > jacket material. Of course soldering would provide its own
> > permanent electrical connection to the shield, but only at
> > the back edge of the body. Because of the squirrelly
> > back-looped path of the shield to the connector body
> > attachment point, it seems to me that this method would
> > create even more of an impedance hump that the "standard"
> > method. (Though at HF, as discussed here earlier, it probably
> > wouldn't matter a hill of beans one way or the other.)
> >
> > But I could be completely off the wall here. What do y'all
> > think of his method?
> >
> > Bill / W5WVO
> >
> >
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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