I always solder standard PL-259's. Must have done several hundred over the
years, and only recall screwing up maybe half dozen. All types of cable,
foam, Teflon, including RG-8, 213, 214, 58, 59, 8x, LMR-400,8214, 9913 and
Buryflex. Most were with a Weller 8200 Gun, but I have used something as
small as a 25 watt Hexacon (my favorite) Iron. It was tough with the iron.
Lately I have used one of those butane irons. Seems to work the best--plenty
of heat and gets into the holes. I solder because it works well, that is how
the connector was designed, I do not find it difficult and many are used in
Duplex systems (repeaters etc) where a dissimilar metal connection such as
you describe, can generate noise. I do like your method over soldering on
the outside of the connector as I like the strain relief threading the
jacket into the connector provides. Much better than most crimp on
connectors. I suspect trying to thread jacket and two braids (like on
RG-214) into a PL-259 is almost impossible.
A technique I use is that when starting the soldering, I just blob some into
the first hole and quickly move on to the next hole and continue around the
connector. By the time I get back to the first hole, the whole body is hot
enough to let the solder flow properly. Keep changing holes until solder
flows into the braid. Then, let it cool completely before moving the
connector. --Mike, WV2ZOW
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Roger Kissel
Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 9:20 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Coax Connectors
Hi All
I'm curious about coax connectors and how YOU assemble yours.
Of course, we all would like to use Type Ns for the impedance uniformity, in
comparison to the old fashioned PL-259s.
What I'm wondering is:
Do you solder the braid into the connector body when you mount a PL259 onto
a piece of RG-8 or RG-213 ?
If you do, TELL US WHY YOU SOLDER IT. Then tell us how successful you are
with your solder job.
I have never successfully soldered the braid because I have never had an
iron that would heat the body hot enough to flow the solder without melting
the dielectric. And then these people who use a 50 watt iron so they can get
inside those holes are, in my opinion, fooling themselves.
I fan the braid back over the outer jacket and screw the body over it,
capturing it with a fairly good mechanical connection. However, sometimes,
the jacket is too stiff/thick and/or the braid is too bulky so I have to
remove some of the braid to be able to do the screw-job.
Then, of course, I solder the center pin and am good to go.
BTW HF and PL-259s are synonymous. I don't know any SERIOUS ham who would
use a 259 for UHF. Uhhh, why do they call a PL259 a "UHF connector" ?!?
73
RoGrrr
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