[TenTec] Coax connectors

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson]

On Sat, 2008-05-31 at 15:35 +0800, Marinus Loewensteijn wrote:
> After an absence of 24 years I got back into ham radio. Lots of chances 
> have happened in the intervening period and back int he 80's the only 
> connectors I could lay my hands on was either BNC or PL239.

Virtually every radio in my shack has UHF (below 250 MHz) and an
immediate UHF to BNC adapter and most of the HF cables use BNC on
RG58A/U or C/U (stranded center conductor).
> 
> When I was browsing around looking for dummy loads I noticed a lot of 
> N connectors on these.

Partly because N was used as the first consistent precision connector
and its useful to a bit better than 10 GHz. Its a good connector.
> 
> I have only a few cables at this moment but more gear is due to come 
> into the shack and I am not exactly thrilled with the use of the PL239.
> 
> Out of the whole range of connectors that is available which are a better
> solution to move to than the cheaply (perhaps better mentioned: junk quality) PL239?
> 
> Main use will be for in the shack between equipment so I prefer to stay 
> away from the "heavy" cable. The antenna is being fed with twin wire.
> 
> Many thanks in advance for your input, 73, Marinus, ZL2ML
> 
TNC is a decent connector, same guts as BNC, but slower to connect. The
screwed ring supports the connection better than the BNC's bayonet ring
and so measurements through TNC are more consistent. Below 250 MHz BNC
is adequate.

I use type C for my antenna patch panel so I can disconnect quick when a
thunderstorm is approaching.

UHF connectors depend on the ring tightness for the ground connection.
That is their worst feature, neglecting their impedance change which is
not of a significant length at HF frequencies. Hand tightened rings
sometimes are not tight enough. Crunched rings don't tighten well even
with pliers or a small pipe wrench.

73, Jerry, K0CQ