I don't want to start a brouhaha but would like to solicit opinions as
to the best crimpers for crimping crimp type PL-259 connectors. I have
seen some pretty poor examples and would appreciate knowing what are
some good ones. I don't mind paying a premium for a quality tool that
does a good job and is robust and long lasting.
Patrick NJ5G
On 5/26/2015 10:32 AM, Bert Almemo wrote:
Use crimp UHF and solder the center pin. Much better!
Bert VE3NR
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
Patrick Greenlee
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 10:24 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Fwd: sealing PL259's
Good stuff Roger! One thing you left out. You mention the gob (or
glob) of solder on the center pin but soldering the shield through the
supplied holes seems to be difficult to impossible for many users. I have
seen good lookig solder jobs that didn't contact the shield, others that
looked great but had melted the dielectric, and so forth.
I vote for sealing the entire connection after the male and female are
tightened together with coax seal tape or whatever AND THEN applying the
shrink (with the hot melt glue coating inside so that it covers the male and
female connectors entirely. Inconvenient as a rock in your boot but gives
good waterproofing and good mechanical strength compared to many other
approaches. Wrapping everything tightly in tape before putting on the
shrink works too.
Patrick NJ5G
On 5/26/2015 1:20 AM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
The UHF connectors are fine for HF, and you can put 10 of them in a
row and still have negligible loss, BUT the UHF connectors are
mechanically weak. They depend on the shield/braid being securely
soldered in and still the construction still allows linear motion.
They are also poor at keeping water out on either end as well as the
the threads. You can seal the threads, but that does little to keep
water out of the connection at either end.
There seems to be a reluctance to use any material that sticks to, or
leaves residue on the connectors. This in no way detracts from
reusing the connectors, so has no logical basis in the use of the
connectors.
Coax seal, the various self vulcanizing tapes that adhere to the
connectors add strength to an otherwise mechanically weak
connections. The flooded heat-shrink tubing (coated with hot melt
glue on the inside adds the most strength to the connectors and it's
rare to see one that leaks.
There is nothing wrong with going to the extra work to assure that no
residue is left on the connectors other than the extra work that
leaves a relatively weak connector water proofed, but still
mechanically weak.. It's strictly an appearance issue.
As for N-type you are likely to have one of those develop a poor
connection on a vertical run, ot exposed to movement from the wind or
temperature extremes. Ask Jim what he thinks about N-type connectors.
I used to use a lot of them, but have replaced all used at HF with UHF
connectors.
Other than water and being weak, the UHF connector suffers from poor
soldering techniques with "the gob" on the center pin.
73
Roger (K8RI)
On 5/25/2015 9:49 PM, Hans Hammarquist via TowerTalk wrote:
Maybe even better; the type of plumber dope they use to seal the
threads.
What I don't like with the PL-259 is the lack of springs to keep the
connection good at the screen side. All other connectors have some
type of spring that ensure a good connection such as BNC and N. You
have to tighten the PL-259 "well" in order to keep a good contact and
there are no insurance they will losen up over time.
Hans - N2JFS
-----Original Message-----
From: Kris Mraz <n5kilomike@gmail.com>
To: towertalk <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Mon, May 25, 2015 6:19 pm
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] sealing PL259's
What about plumber's Teflon tape?
Kris
N5KM
-------------------------------------------------
Jim K9YC said:
On
Mon,5/25/2015 4:45 AM, Marsh Stewart wrote:
Timely question. I've been
wondering about how to waterproof the shell of a
PL259 to the flange of an
SO239.
I use Scotch Mastic tape, 2228.
73, Jim
K9YC
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