[TowerTalk] Heliax Connectors

[Ryan Jairam]

Actually when it comes to connectors for heliax, N connectors are
cheaper almost everywhere I've seen them. They are also in abundant
supply, unlike UHF connectors.

These aren't cheap knockoff nor are they "ham grade" connectors. These
are genuine Andrew connectors designed for commercial use. They
certainly feel more substantial than your typical PL259 connector.

So with this in mind it's a no brainer to use N when using hardline.
The performance is not the key factor here, even though N is better
(but insignificantly so on HF). Cost and availability is.

If you make your own jumpers it is trivial to make one with a UHF
connector on one end and an N connector on the other - exactly what
I've done. No adapters involved so less chance of mechanical failure
and less insertion loss (insignificant on HF, however).

The ONLY disadvantage I can see with N connectors is that they won't
handle very high power levels. But these are above what a typical ham
station running legal power will see.

73
Ryan,N2RJ

On 4/20/10, Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:57:19 -0400, Ryan Jairam wrote:
>
>>I would just get N connectors and adapters and use that instead.
>>Practically nobody else but ham and CB use UHF connectors anymore.
>
> Think about WHY. There's nothing wrong with GOOD UHF connectors for
> use at HF and VHF, and hams are almost the only users of HF in any
> volume. There's no advantage to using N connectors below at least
> 500 MHz, and they cost a lot more.
>
> Note that I'm talking about QUALITY connectors from major mfrs like
> Amphenol, Kings, and Pomona, not unbranded junk from ham vendors and
> hamfests.
>
> 73,
>
> Jim K9YC
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>

-- 
Sent from my mobile device

Ryan A. Jairam,