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[Towertalk] Coax Connecter Losses - Dose anyone know?

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Subject: [Towertalk] Coax Connecter Losses - Dose anyone know?
From: W8JI@contesting.com (Tom Rauch)
Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 10:43:16 -0400
> As a side note I called Amphenol for this information. The person I
> spoke to was very friendly but unable to provide me with any
> information. The comment from someone he spoke to was that the loss
> was insignificant within the frequency range up to 300 MHz. The
> connectors were tested many years ago but the results are not
> available.

Rich,

I measure things like this from time to time. I understand it is 
difficult, in the face of so many silly rumors and false claims, to 
accept the fact that virtually all connectors have negligible loss 
below 30 MHz, and it takes a very poorly constructed connector to 
have noticeable loss below 300 MHz.   

My analyzer goes down to .01dB resolution, and as a general rule 
noise and jitter masks any reliable loss measurements in the 
connectors you listed.

There are a few connectors that are exceptionally poor, such as some 
import right angle connectors that have a spiral conductor that acts 
like an RF choke, but they show up right away as an SWR problem.

By far the largest problem is power handling. ANY connector that 
handles 1000 watts without severe heating or failure will have 
negligible loss, so what the people at Amphenol told you is correct. 
Trust them, it is negligible.73, Tom W8JI
W8JI@contesting.com 


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