[TowerTalk] PL-259 - reuse or replace

[john at kk9a.com]

Do not use Radio Shack or similar off brand PL-259s.  DX Engineering,  
Mouser, etc have Amphenol connectors and they ship them quickly. I  
believe that DXE also has quality premade cables with Amphenol  
connectors.  Buy extra so you have them when you need them next time  
and extra barrels too. I believe that you have a K3 and KPA-1500 amp,  
don't run a $10,000 station though a flaky connector.  Outside of  
lightning strikes, I have not seen arcing on my Amphenol connectors.  
You have plenty of time to properly fix this by the weekend.

GL,
John KK9A



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.

-- 
73, Pete N4ZR
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