[TowerTalk] Soldering and checking PL-259

[Tom Rauch]

> First off, I want to thank everyone for all the great
> suggestions and comments I've received with previous
> questions. Ok, here's another for you. I'm getting
> ready for various antenna projects and tower work this
> Spring/Summer, I need to know what to look for a how
> to check my soldering job on PL-259's

The  way I check a PL259 is with traditional ohm reading and
applying high voltage between the center pin and shield and
check voltage breakdown. Any stray strands or deformed
insulation shows up very well this way.

Typically the PL259's I test break down at more than 6kV
peak voltage by arcing across the pin to shell gap OUTSIDE
the connector body. A typical N fails around 3kV, again with
an external arc.

73 Tom