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Re: [TowerTalk] Antenna issue still puzzling me

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Antenna issue still puzzling me
From: K8RI <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2013 12:02:58 -0700
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 4/21/2013 6:23 AM, Crownhaven wrote:
I second that.  Used RF Connection for years.

I've used them and Davis. Tell them what you want and you'll get it.

I'm not as hung up on Amphenol maybe because I've had several that had no threads or an incomplete center conductor from them, but no one has 100% perfect QC. OTOH I do think they are a known quantity with a name. Without any name you don't know if you are getting the same make each time.

I remember the old "zero defects" mantra that went through industry like a dose of salts. It was good to strive for but impossible to reach and completely impractical from a cost/benefit analysis for any company that had much volume.

Inspect the things your self, before using them. It's a bit annoying to haul a run up the tower only to find no threads on the PL259, or a gob of solder you missed that prevents the connectors from going together. Sometimes they'll go together with a bit of extra force, which is tempting when you are way up there but when a good PL259 is used next time they suddenly become intermittent because of the now oversize SO-239.

Quality control shouldn't stop at the factory.

73

Roger (K8RI)



Hi Pete!

Steve N4JQQ




On Apr 21, 2013, at 6:37 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR <n4zr@contesting.com> wrote:

I recommend the RF Connection <http://therfc.com>.  They sell both junk and the good 
stuff (not just Amphenol, but other ones they have dug into). you can get junk from them, but 
if you ask they will steer you right, and the prices should be your guide.  I asked one time 
why they carried junk, and the reply was simple - "hams want cheap."

73, Pete N4ZR
Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at
http://reversebeacon.net,
blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com.
For spots, please go to your favorite
ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node.

On 4/21/2013 4:07 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
On 4/20/2013 6:28 PM, n8de@thepoint.net wrote:
My guess is that the balun has a cold-solder joint in it.

Perhaps.

I would also look for bad connections that are the result of junk connectors or 
badly soldered connectors.

99% of all connectors sold at hamfests, and even by most dealers selling to 
hams, are JUNK, and they can cause exactly this sort of problem that is hard to 
find.  This may sound biased, but it is not. If a coax connector does not say 
Amphenol on it, or if it is not a vintage connector with a UG number (military 
surplus) it is almost certainly TRASH.  This advice also applies to barrel 
(splicer) connectors, Tees, Elbows, and adapters from one connector type to 
another.

REAL connectors cost about twice as much as the junk, and you have to look for 
the good vendors that sell them.  That's an extra buck or two for each 
connector. But how much did it cost you to sell one rig and buy a new one?  And 
your problem is still there. :)

73, Jim K9YC
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