[TowerTalk] Off-Brand Connectors and Adapters

[Jim Brown]

On Thu, 5 Feb 2009 18:11:29 -0600, Jim Walker wrote:

>Others may have had success using the less expensive brands. 

Off-brand adapters of all sorts -- elbows, tees, barrels, N to UHF, 
and so on, have caused me LOTS of grief, and they have sometimes 
cost me lots of MONEY. Off brand connectors are also a huge problem. 
Many of them use dielectric material that melts and deforms, even 
with a good temperature controlled iron. Some of them, especially 
cheap DIN connectors use contact material that won't accept solder. 

When you buy cheap connectors and adapters you are buying TROUBLE!  
They aren't even real connectors -- they are imitations. Buy the 
real thing. Even if the real thing costs 5X the price, it's often 
worth 100X the price. 

I am disgusted by ham vendors (including RF Connection) who sell 
imitation DIN connectors that I can't solder to!  Real DIN 
connectors (Switchcraft, Preh) cost $5-$10. 

73,

Jim Brown K9YC