[TowerTalk] coax crimp tools

[Jim Lux]

On 11/16/14, 5:43 AM, N2TK, Tony wrote:
> That time of year to send my wish list to Santa.
>
> One item I am interested in is a crimping tool for coax and powerpole
> connectors.
>
> Looking at the DX Engineering DXE-UT-CRMP2 ratcheting crimper and also the
> TRIcrimp from powerwerx.com
>
>
>
> Any recommendations on which one or possibly other ones that are good for
> RG-8 and Powerpole connectors?
>
>

I have the TRIcrimp and it works great for power poles. What's really 
nice is that there's a sort of pocket that you shove the pin into that 
gets the crimp position in the right place, and it doesn't fall out.

You will also want a nice small strong screwdriver to use for removing 
the pin from the connector after you make a mistake and put the red wire 
into the black housing.

A slightly different screwdriver makes a good "push the pin into the 
housing" tool.


While you can change the inserts in the crimpers, over the years, I've 
just evolved to having a separate crimper for coax, for powerpoles, for 
Molex pins, etc.  The "handles" are the inexpensive part anyway, and I 
kept losing the other inserts in the bottom of the toolbox.

The other thing you should get is a good stripper.  A multilevel 
stripper for coax makes life MUCH easier.