Tom,
Your coax splicing is a reminder that connectors are a convenience, not a
necessity. A well done splice that passes muster mechanically and creates
the least impedance displacement (even in 50-75 ohm transitions) is as
good and often better than plugs and barrels, especially the UHF variety.
There are a number of techniques that can be used to minimize splice
problems, most of which take no more time than soldering up a connector.
Another coax note: saw some interesting notes on coax coil baluns wound
on a 5" diameter PVC core. Then I saw some figures on the most flexible
current coax with a minimum turn RADIUS of about 5." Wonder how much the
5" diameter cores might suffer from deformation and how that might affect
performance with time, unless the coil was made from thinner, more
flexible coax.
Coax is wunnerfull stuff, if--like all other things we use--we respect its
limitations.
-73-
LB, W4RNL
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