[TowerTalk] Selecting Coax connectors

[Al Kozakiewicz]

My evidence is strictly empirical, but it appears to me that the effective working voltage of N connectors is less than UHF.

When doing dumb things - like trying to load a 30m antenna on 17m at full power - the attendant voltage from the SWR will arc over.

Now, if you avoid dumb because, say,  you have resonant antennas (by resonant, I mean on the band you're trying to load them on) N is quite satisfactory.

At one point I thought I was going to switch everything over to them.  I now have a bin full of crimp and chassis connectors. Since dumb seems to follow me around, I've since bagged that idea.

Al
AB2ZY

> N-Type. Not for those running "high power". By high power, I'm nor 
> referring to 1500 watts. 
> http://www.amphenolrf.com/connectors/n-type.html  OK, so they 
> represent less insertion loss with less impedance, but what do they 
> gain us at 160 through 10?.  Amphenol lists them "These connectors are 
> used in all systems where excellent RF and mechanical performance is 
> critical."  I'm not sure by what they mean when they refer to 
> mechanical performance, but I've never found the typical N-type 
> connector I couldn't pull off the coax with my hands (crimp type 
> excepted) In my experience, They have two limitations.  Mechanical 
> strength and center pin migration are the problems I've seen.