[TowerTalk] Some advice about crimp ;type coax connectors

[Mike Reublin NF4L]

Gary -
Take a look here. http://www.hamcq.com/crimp-die-for-powerpole-andy-crimp-pro-andycrimpprodie.html
73, Mike NF4L

> On Nov 17, 2014, at 10:56 AM, Gary J - N5BAA <qltfnish at omniglobal.net> wrote:
> 
> I crimp all my coax connectors now too, and horrors upon horrors made the jump from UHF Pl-259's to Crimp N connectors at the same time.  I made the change to N connectors because I was buying new crimp connectors anyway and it made sense to change to the much better connector at the same time.  The next time I am inside my Elecraft K3 and P3 I will change out the SO-239's for female N connectors, and until then I just use adaptors.  I must admit I am probably not a "Real Ham Operator" since I am not a good solderer.  I can manage to solder the N pins though.  I say all the above with trepidation though, as recently on our club reflector I started a UHF vs N and solder vs crimp war that has resulted in one of our club members resigning his membership.  Being a 3 year ham, I had no idea that the opinions on connectors ran so deep.
> 
> Is there a source for just the crimping dies for Power Poles that might fit in my crimpers??  My crimpers came from below - they are the same as 90% of the crimpers out there and buying here gets you two crimper pliers vs one crimper and two sets of dies.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KNC6E4G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> 
> Gary J
> N5BAA
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Bill Turner
> Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2014 8:55 PM
> To: Towertalk
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Some advice about crimp ;type coax connectors
> 
> I haven't seen this discussed before so I thought I'd throw in my 2
> cents. Might help someone.
> 
> I love crimp type coax connectors. Done right, they are faster and
> more reliable than solder type. I will never go back.
> 
> First, there are two types of crimp connectors. They both are designed
> to have the braid crimped, but some of them are designed to have the
> center pin soldered. Do not mix up the two kinds. The solder type has
> a small cutout for the solder like PL-259's have had forever. The
> crimp type has a round pin with no cutout. DO NOT try to crimp the
> solder type and do not try to solder the crimp type. It won't hold.
> Don't ask how I know. :-)
> 
> Always crimp or solder the pin first and then give it a good pull
> before you crimp the braid. It should not pull out, obviously. How
> much pull? I don't know exactly, but i think it should withstand at
> least ten pounds or so. More is better.
> 
> In order to get a god crimp on the braid of the coax, all the braid
> wires must all be intact. In other words, if you nick a few strands
> and remove them, the crimp will not be as tight as it should be.
> Do it over.
> 
> In order to get a really tight crimp, I like to put a single wrap of
> electrical tape over the braid first. The ferrule is not part of the
> electrical connection, so don't worry about that. it's only purpose it
> to press the braid tightly to the connector. The tape just enlarges
> the diameter and increases the pressure applied by the ferrule. You
> could instead use heat shrink tubing of the appropriate size.
> 
> I highly recommend using a coax cutting tool, the kind that makes two
> cuts at once - one down to the center conductor and one down to the
> braid. It is well worth your time to get the depth of cur just right.
> These cutters are adjustable so practice on a piece of coax and figure
> wasting a foot or two until you have the cut perfect. You will be well
> rewarded in the long run.
> 
> I learned all this the hard way. Hope this saves someone some grief.
> Comments welcome.
> 
> 73, Bill W6WRT
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