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Re: [TowerTalk] Soldering PL-259

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Soldering PL-259
From: "Rroger (K8RI on TowerTalk)" <k8ri-on-towertalk@tm.net>
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:32:49 -0500
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 1/21/2011 2:08 PM, n4zkf wrote:
> There are holes in the PL-259 for a reason.
Except the comment was made specifically about soldering "N Type" not UHF
On top of that none of the PL-259s I have installed have those holes in 
them.<:-)) I use "crimp" type connectors on every thing except the 
LMR-600 for 160 and 75 meters.
> To solder the shield to on
> the inside of the connector. See the link below.
> Lots of hear "fast" is the trick. (along with flux)
>
> http://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Amateur%20Radio/Experimentation/SolderCoax.htm
When I used to use that type of connector I left the braid flat against 
the dielectric with the end trimmed neatly, tinned the braid, and then 
did the finish solder through the holes which only took a dab of solder.

There is a much better constructed "solder type" PL259 available that 
has a barrel that is similar to the RG58 and RG8X adapters.  The braid 
is soldered into the barrel, then the connector is assembled with the 
center conductor being soldered last. It's *almost* impossible to put 
one of these together wrong.  Like any others you have to make sure you 
get the ones made with quality components, quality materials, and good QC.
> 73 Dave
> n4zkf
>
>
> On 1/21/2011 1:57 PM, Tim Duffy K3LR wrote:
>
> http://www.k3lr.com/engineering/pl259/
This method is not recommended by most of the companies.  Yes, they will 
work and in days past I've use this approach in an emergency (and 
temporary installation) where I did not want to sacrifice the connector 
(like Field Day), but each copper wire strand forms a copper to (silver, 
nickle, or what ever) mechanical, bimetallic contact giving a source for 
potentially hundreds of contact junctions. As the connection ages the 
potential becomes worse.
Plus they just look crappy.
>> No longer using Made in USA generics
I've used many  connectors of different types over the years and at the 
present location.  Each run has a minimum of 10 connectors between the 
station and the individual antennas on the 45 G, the AV640 on the mast 
will have 7, and those on the 25 G will also have 7. That's a minimum of 
about 75 connectors. Add to that there are two stations set up for SO2R 
with 3 rigs each. By the time you count the HF and VHF/UHF rigs, 
amplifiers, interconnects and switching the total for the site is a good 
100 connectors.
I have had failures in all brands. I've had connectors come through with 
no threads on the barrel, I've had out of line center connectors, 
damaged center connectors, and mis-shapen dielectrics. These were all in 
UHF connectors and a good portion were "Brand name, made in USA" 
connectors.  Certainly I've had the same things with imported 
connectors.  There are also imported and home grown connectors that are 
"cheap", but I'm not going to quit purchasing the "home grown" ones 
because a few slipped through quality control, or that some make "cheap" 
connectors.  The same is true of imported ones.

Going through as many connectors as I do, I purchase from reliable 
vendors, stress that I want quality over price, and what I want for 
materials. That has led to very few disappointments.

The important point is quality and quality control. I've had very good 
luck with both US made and imported when making sure the vendor knows 
what I want and I purchase enough of the things that I normally get a 
price break. Often I even hit the second break point.

BTW, I have never found a bad N type connector from the factory. OTOH I 
sure have blown out a few on 160 and 75 when operating at the band 
edges.  I've also had nearby lightning strikes take them out.

Now it's back out to the shop. The main switch on my big DC supply 
failed mechanically last night, which means I'm back up to 4 power 
supplies that need repairing.  3 30A switchers and one 50A 
conventional.  Sure am glad I bought that 40A lab switcher last fall.

73

Roger (K8RI)

>> Only using the Amphenol 83-1SP - PL-259 from Mouser
>>
>> 73,
>> Tim K3LR
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
>> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Tom Martin
>> Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 12:45 PM
>> To: towertalk@contesting.com
>> Subject: [TowerTalk] Soldering PL-259
>>
>>       A few weeks ago, I started with a 50' length of RG-213 and, after many
>> attempts at soldering PL-259s, the coax was 44' long.  HI!
>>
>> Lately, I have been ordering coax lengths with the connectors already
>> soldered.  I use them for runs from external antenna relays to the antennas.
>>
>> DIN plugs are the job that I really hate.  I order a few more than I need
>> because of soldering errors.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Tom W8JWN
>>
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