[TowerTalk] Strange coax failure

[Jack Brindle]

May not need the Tek TDR. The RigExpert AA-170 has a very good TDR function that would be able to tell where the discontinuity point is in the coax. No idea if the Comet device has this functionality, but it’s worth a look.

Jack B, W6FB

> On Dec 15, 2014, at 1:58 PM, Richard Solomon <dickw1ksz at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> If you can find a TDR, like a Tektronix, you can see where the defect is.
> 
> 73 es HH, Dick, W1KSZ
> 
> On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 12:19 PM, Ray Benny <rayn6vr at cableone.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Patrick,
>> 
>> I had a case once of a shorted coax due to a manufacturing defect. The coax
>> was a 100 ft piece. I had first cut off the connectors one at a time but
>> found the coax still shorted. I cut the coax in half, one half open, the
>> other shorted. I kept cutting the shorted section in half until I had about
>> a 6 inch shorted piece remaining. I slid off the braid and found that
>> during the manufacturing process the center conducted was bent outward and
>> through the dielectric causing a direct contact with the braid. Don't know
>> why the short was not caught in a QC check, but maybe only random
>> pieces/rolls were checked.
>> 
>> In the end, I still had 50ft of coax to use, plus a bunch of shorter
>> pieces...
>> 
>> Ray,
>> N6VR
>> 
>> On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 11:09 AM, Tom Osborne <w7why at frontier.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi Patrick
>>> 
>>> Don't think I'd cut them in half.
>>> 
>>> I'd just cut the plugs off and replace them and check the cable again.
>>> Might be something in the plugs that are bad and you would be wasting a
>>> bunch of cable.
>>> 
>>> If still bed, then start cutting them.  73
>>> Tom W7WHY
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 12/15/2014 8:09 AM, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I'm going to cut the bad jumper in half and test the halves and then cut
>>>> the bad piece in half and test those pieces.  Whichever is bad will
>> then be
>>>> dissected carefully to see, if possible, what was physically wrong with
>> the
>>>> coax.  This is a real head scratcher for me.  The good news is I'm back
>> on
>>>> the air with a pan adapter full of signals again and loving it.
>>>> 
>>>> Patrick     NJ5G
>>>> 
>>> 
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