[time-nuts] HP 5370B low frequency modulation

John Ackermann N8UR jra at febo.com
Sat Jul 28 09:58:27 EDT 2007


Didier Juges said the following on 07/28/2007 09:39 AM:

> One problem with crimping coax cables is that crimping the braid is usually
> done against the plastic (term used generically) insulation between the
> center conductor and the braid. If the plastic softens, or cold flows
> (typical with Teflon), the crimping pressure will drop over time and
> eventually the connection between the shell and the braid becomes loose. The
> better crimped coax connectors have a sleeve that slides under the braid
> against which the braid is crimped. These are considerably more reliable.
> 
> The crimping on the center conductor is typically more reliable, if done
> right.

I don't know that I've ever seen any crimp connectors that don't have a
sleeve between the coax and the dielectric.  Maybe I've just been living
right...

I can say from my own experience since I bought a set of AMP crimp tools
that my success rate in doing crimp connectors is much higher than it
ever was with the solder and clamp types, and that (particularly with
the addition of a $30 stripping tool), it's much faster as well.
Between my hamshack and my lab, I've probably put on around 100 cable
ends, and I shudder to to think what it would have been like doing  all
those the "other" way.

For what it's worth, I mainly use connectors from RF Industries
(http://www.rfindustries.com).  They have a very wide range available,
they're reasonably priced, and have they've worked well for me.  I
usually buy them through Davis RF (http://www.davisrf.com) because
they're really good about small orders of both coax and connectors, but
I think you can buy direct from RF Industries as well.

John



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