[TowerTalk] connectors

[Tom Rauch]

Hi Bryan,

> > If the cable has a loose braid, or a flexible jacket, the center pin of
> > the N will move all around when you pull on the cable. Mechanically,
> > they are poor connectors for gripping the cable although they hold all
> > right with thick braid hard jacket cables.
> 
> I will give you that.  but if you use them with 9913 and larger they
> work fine.   For smaller cables i use harbor industries RG 142 and RG 400.
>  i have had no problems with these cables. in fact i just made 6 phasing
> lines for a 6 meter duplexer out of RG 142.

I just made a phasing harness for my six meter stack. I figured out 
how to have the N's on the 50 ohm cable handle any unintentional 
pull. After I installed them, I potted the cable and connector end for 
about an inch or so in epoxy. If they ever fail, I'd have to recut the 
end anyway.

Now they are like PL-259's. I can almost hang on them without 
pulling the pin back out.
 
> > My biggest gripe is they are low power connectors. They have the
> > same approximate pin size and air gap as a BNC connector. Not
> > exactly high-power construction.
> 
> well how much power are you running?  if properly tightened they are
> usable to the legal limit.

They are useable, but not reliable. If you look at an N, it is 
dimensionally almost identical to a BNC connector. As a matter of 
fact, if you grind off the locking ring on a male BNC you can use it 
as a "quick connect" that mates to a type N female! 

I prefer to not have the weakest links in the system 200 feet in the 
air, during humid weather. I'm getting too old to climb a tower in the 
middle of the night in the rain, and too stupid to always use the 
right antenna on the right band. I especially don't like spending a 
half-hour trying to install a connector while hanging on a tower.

Of course I don't have a problem using them where they are 
needed, but that certainly isn't anywhere below a couple hundred 
MHz in most applications.
73, Tom W8JI
w8ji@contesting.com

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