Topband: Replacing F Connectors with BNCs

[Guy Olinger K2AV]

I use F female to BNC male adapters in the shack with all "RG6" cables
terminated in F connectors.  I have gone completely to flooded "RG6",
matching connectors, and, yes Virginia, the particular tool for those, from
DX Engineering.

I just haven't found anything better than the F connector for terminating
"RG6" type coax, and I've never had the F/BNC adapters go bad.  Every cable
end and device outdoors and in between is entirely F. If they were
originally BNC, I modified them.  Using the naked bare center conductor of
"RG6" still seems the most reliable method. I went to the DXE stuff about
four years ago, and I simply have stopped having cable/connector problems.
 Like flipping a switch.

I have been expecting lightning-based cable conductor opens or shorts or
outright evaporation, but in spite of cutting down 6 trees scattered around
property that were split by lightning in that time frame, I have not had
that problem. That's a wonder, and the question left there is why not?

Yes, it does cost more, and I understand from the typical pinch-penny ham
viewpoint that's a violation of a religious viewpoint. However these days,
on my knees in the woods and bending to awkward places translates to a week
on aspirin or worse to assuage pain in knees and back. Further, I am trying
to spend my free time finishing a desperately time-consuming study on
ground TX signal loss from sparse counterpoise antenna systems, and loss
and signal behavior around trees. So time spent trying to find out what
went wrong in the RX coax for the umpteenth time is a ghastly waste of
time.  In these circumstances, if I were a business, going cheep with the
RX coax and fittings and the subsequent time lost in repair would get me
fired.

Sometimes, if you factor in the entire cost of your time, the Cadillac
solution is actually the least expensive path.

73, and may your knees never give you pain,

Guy.


On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 10:35 AM, Stan Stockton <wa5rtg at gmail.com> wrote:

> An alternative would be to use BNC females and an adapter to go from the F
> male with a male BNC on the other end.  I have a of them without any
> issues.
>
> 73...Stan, K5GO
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 9:19 AM, Hank Garretson <w6sx at arrl.net> wrote:
>
> > On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 4:38 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR <n4zr at contesting.com
> > >wrote:
> >
> > That is certainly possible, Frank - I've been using Ideal compression
> > > connectors from Home Depot.  I have not had any reliability problems
> with
> > > them at all - they are just a pita to connect and disconnect.
> > >
> >
> > The cable guys around here have some sort of neat slip on/over wrench.
> > Seems to work like a charm.
> >
> > Google f-type connector wrench.
> >
> > 73,
> >
> > Hank, W6SX
> > _________________
> > Topband Reflector
> >
> _________________
> Topband Reflector
>