[TowerTalk] Reliability (or not) of SMA connectors

[Michael Tope]

Hi Pete,

Good SMA connectors are very reliable. They are used extensively in 
microwave test equipment as well as military and spaceflight hardware.

The torque spec is typically between 5 to 8 in-lbs. If you don't have a 
calibrated torque wrench you can snug them up with a 5/16 open-end 
wrench. Finger tight is okay for a quick and dirty measurement, but for 
anything where you want stability over time they need to be tightened 
with a wrench. This is especially true if the cable in question gets 
twisted or moved in such a way that it can transmit torque into the 
connector. That will loosen a hand tight connector and sometimes even a 
torqued connector.

73, Mike W4EF.......

On 12/4/2022 6:05 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
> I'm not sure if this is the right place or not, but thought I'd ask 
> because this is at least a feedline question.
>
> I have a number of SMA connectors in areas of my station like my RBN 
> SDR and my N1MM Spectrum Display.  It seems like every few weeks I 
> start running into problems, and have to go through and retighten them 
> to get rid of intermittent signal losses.  Is there anything that can 
> be done to secure them better?
>