[TowerTalk] PL-259 - reuse or replace

[Les Kalmus]

I would replace it. They don't cost much and there's no point playing 
around with a PL-259 that has already arced over. It will do it again 
regardless of how well you think you have cleaned/restored it. Replace 
the barrel too to be on the safe side.

Always use the highest quality connectors you can afford because you 
don't want to save a small amount on a point of failure that will stop 
you from operating all that expensive gear and which will prevent you 
from doing what you set up your station to do in the first place, like 
contest.

Les W2LK



On 2/14/2021 4:25 PM, N4ZR wrote:
> I've discovered that one of the PL-259s on a pre-made RG-8X cable 
> shows carbon tracks inside and arcs when I try to use it - I run full 
> power through the junction on 40M and lower bands. Am I right to 
> assume that I need to replace the connector, or is it feasible to 
> clean up and reuse?  Should I toss the mating barrel connector as 
> well?  I don't mind replacing, but with ARRL DX next weekend and Radio 
> Shack out of business, time is a consideration.
>