[Amps] soldering vs crimping

[Carl]

Ive had commercial installations on my 180' tower for 20 years and there has 
never been a connector problem with the RG-213 or LMR-400 jumpers.

For my own use I do solder the center since Im running more power and use 75 
Ohm cables with 50 Ohm connectors.

Carl
KM1H


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charles Harpole" <k4vud at hotmail.com>
To: <amps at contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 12:25 AM
Subject: [Amps] soldering vs crimping


>
> Anyone who thinks a crimp is better than soldering is just fooling 
> himself.  Maybe they are equal the day of proper installation, but what 
> about 7 years later at the top of the tower in lots of vibration?
>
>
>
> Of course, it is basically impossible to prove this matter partly because 
> "test to destruct" just destructs and tests over time take too long for 
> most.  But crimping means deforming the material, risking a larger change 
> in impedence.
>
>
>
> 73
>
>
>
> les Harpole
> k4vud at hotmail.com
>
>
> ----------------------------------------
>> Date: Tue, 1 May 2012 16:33:07 -0400
>> From: dhallam at knology.net
>> To: amps at contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [Amps] every db lost re Tubes vs. Solid State
>>
>> I realize that the investment of a proper crimping tool and dies for UHF
>> is an investment of not insignificant proportions. But compared to the
>> investment in a modern SS transceiver, it's a small price to pay to get
>> the expensive RF to the antenna. In every comparison test I have seen,
>> crimped connectors were equal to or better than soldered connectors.
>>
>> I gave up on soldering braid on PL-239's sometime ago.
>>
>> David
>> KW4DH
>>
>> On 5/1/2012 4:13 PM, Manfred Mornhinweg wrote:
>> >> Some years ago, I discovered a 'cure' for the problems brought to my 
>> >> station by
>> >> cheapie connectors. They ALL went into the S***can!
>> > Much the same here. And it's a real problem, because every connector I
>> > can buy locally (Chile) is Chinese-made, and while the best of them are
>> > satisfactory, most of the rest are junk.
>> >
>> > But not always is the problem attributable to a bad connector. Very
>> > often it's bad installation. I don't know how it's in the USA, but
>> > around here it's truly surprising how few hams know that the holes in
>> > the sides of a PL-259 connector are there to solder the braid! People
>> > will strip the coax, push or thread it into the PL-259, solder the
>> > center conductor, and leave the braid to contact the shell by 
>> > proximity,
>> > telepathy, good luck, or by the never-failing (so they think) spring
>> > action of the plastic jacket...
>> >
>> > Only the internal conductor is hot with RF, right? So it doesn't matter
>> > if the braid makes no contact, right? That's what they think.
>> >
>> > And then there are those who have emancipated from this step. They will
>> > push the coax cable into the connector, and then try to somehow patch
>> > those pesky solder holes with some half-melted, pasty solder. The braid
>> > inside stays untouched.
>> >
>> > Or those who want to do it right. They push in the cable, then heat the
>> > whole connector with a torch, and flow abundant solder into those 
>> > holes.
>> > This time the braid gets properly soldered to the body. And so does
>> > the center conductor. To the body, I mean.
>> >
>> > I have held workshops at three different radio clubs, to try teaching
>> > people the correct installation of a PL-256 connector, and I have found
>> > that many hams just plainly lack the ability to understand why it 
>> > should
>> > be that way, or the discipline to actually do all necessary steps,
>> > specially tinning the connector body on the inside before pushing the
>> > cable in, and tinning the braid...
>> >
>> > I have seen PL-259 connectors in which the braid had been unbraided,
>> > twisted into two bundles like Salvador Dali's mustache, pulled through
>> > the solder holes, and the two ends knotted together outside the
>> > connector's body! A great, safe contact, sure! ;-)
>> >
>> > Oops, I'm in ironic mode today. Forgive me... Must be because it's 1st
>> > of may...
>> >
>> > Manfred
>> >
>> >
>> > ========================
>> > Visit my hobby homepage!
>> > http://ludens.cl
>> > ========================
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