The nebulous .05dB per connector in most cases will be SWR related, not ohmic.
SWR results in less power at the antenna, but by reflection, not heating.
By all means, minimize the number of connectors, but my main concern here is
minimizing the number of places things can go wrong, not loss per se.
People definitely go overboard at times. At one of the local radio stores,
I saw a 50' coil of LMR-400 with preinstalled PL-259s. This made no sense to
me - at a frequency where the loss was noticably better than 50' of RG-213
I would want N connectors!
Before I select cable for a project, I estimate the total length, and take that
and the intended frequencies and look at the loss chart in The ARRL Handbook
or the Wireman's catalog (and the prices) and trade off total loss budget
against my dollar budget.
Darrel KI6VY
darrel@dii.com
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