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Re: [RFI] Weird RFI Episode

To: RFI List <rfi@contesting.com>, Frank W3LPL <donovanf@starpower.net>
Subject: Re: [RFI] Weird RFI Episode
From: AA5CT via RFI <rfi@contesting.com>
Reply-to: AA5CT <jwin95@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2023 13:52:04 +0000 (UTC)
List-post: <mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
 There is a device known as "Connector Pliers" too. They have soft jaw inserts 
made of a hard rubber ... used by us at TI many moons ago to tighten and loose 
Type N connectors on equipment. The rubber jaw inserts serve two purposes - 
provides a torque limit and a non-marring/scraping surface to contact the 
connector body.


de AA5CT Jim

    On Sunday, September 24, 2023, 10:22:11 PM GMT-5, Frank W3LPL 
<donovanf@starpower.net> wrote:  
 
 Hi Pete, 

A PL-259 backed 1/16th of a turn from fully hand tightened 
is a very unreliable connector. 

Get in the habit of tightening all of your PL-259s just tight enough 
so they cannot be loosened by hand and all of your loose PL-259 
issues will be forever eliminated. 

73 
Frank 
W3LPL 






From: "Pete N4ZR N4ZR" <pete.n4zr@gmail.com> 
To: "Frank W3LPL" <donovanf@starpower.net>, "RFI List" <rfi@contesting.com> 
Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2023 6:01:39 PM 
Subject: Re: [RFI] Weird RFI Episode 



I wish I could tell you I found a "loose" PL-259, Frank - I think the most I 
took up on any of them was about a sixteenth of a turn. Fortunately, at 100 
watts, carnage was nil. I have a hunch that yesterday's torrential rain may 
have been implicated, because a couple of the connectors are sheltered but not 
waterproofed and may have gotten wet. 
73, Pete N4ZR 
On 9/24/2023 7:15 PM, Frank W3LPL wrote: 



Hi Pete,

As you know, that's exactly why I recommend that PL-259 connectors
always be lightly wrench tightened, just enough to make it not
removable by hand, no more.

Next, check you entire station to verify that all of your PL-259
connectors can not be removed by hand

You were fortunate that no damage was caused by the loose PL-259
When shield integrity is broken, the return circuit must take an
alternative path that can do lots of damage.

73
Frank
W3LPL


----- Original Message -----
From: "Pete N4ZR N4ZR" [ mailto:pete.n4zr@gmail.com | <pete.n4zr@gmail.com> ] 
To: "RFI List" [ mailto:rfi@contesting.com | <rfi@contesting.com> ] Sent: 
Sunday, September 24, 2023 3:16:20 PM
Subject: [RFI] Weird RFI Episode

This morning I got up and went on the air in the CQWW RTTY Contest.  
Everything had been fine yesterday, but as soon as I made my first 
transmission, both of my monitors shut down.  Eventually, I found that 
the cause was RFI - anything over about 40 watts and blooey (the 
computer was fine).  Without a lot of excruciating detail, I think the 
cause was a hand-tight PL-259 somewhere in my feedline out to my antenna 
switch.  Initially it looked fjne, and then it started showing me high 
SWRs on all bands.  I snugged them all down and it went away.

This is a first to me in some 40 years of playing radio and computers. 



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