Low cost coax connectors

Maybe buy the RCA plug and jack from the same source ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

Or type-F ??

...Jim Thompson

Mini phone plugs/jacks should be fine at 100 MHz.

John

Cable TV hardware?

For the slow leftist weenies, that's what type-F is that I mentioned earlier today.

Sturdy versions, though, are NOT cheap.

When I get back from some errands I'll photograph what I've been using to replace the old connections in the house.

...Jim Thompson

Can you put small coax, like RG174, into an F? They're usually used with big ugly 75 ohm cable, like RG59.

John

See....

You strip the coax pretty much in the usual fashion, but the "crimping" is different.

The stripped coax slips in the blue end of the connector.

The "crimper" actually forces the blue sleeve into the metal barrel squeezing the coax.

(The Cox Cable technician, who introduced me to the method, says they are "weather tight".)

Really easy to use, and the threaded portion turns easily, as opposed to how some conventional crimpers distort the barrel.

Runs about 35¢ per connector when bought in Qty 50.

Available at Lowe's ;-)

...Jim Thompson

a 3 pin header works surprisingly well. center cond to the middle pin and shield to both outer pins...

Mark

How about those coaxial, "power" types, like this? (mind the wrap)

Cheers! Rich

They're probably as good as RCA connectors.

Radio Shack's new slogan is, "Do Stuff." Gag...

They are size-specific. Mine are for RG-6 and I know there were connectors at Lowe's marked for RG-59. It might be worth contacting the manufacturer to see if they're made for other styles of coax.

...Jim Thompson

What kind of "stuff" are they planning on "doing" ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

Those work well with RG-6, but the RG-174 Joerg is working with might not crimp correctly. Sometimes, thin coax can be 'padded' with a heat shrink sleeve over the inner insulator and over the outer jacket. But the end product isn't going to be a precise fit.

Sometimes the labor involved in making things fit costs more than using the correct connector system.

We don't use word like that over here. Get folks seriously calloused over it.

You're nuts.

That will probably work fine until someone plugs a live AC wall wart into the plug and vaporizes your radio. I think they call that an "attractive nuisance" or "warranty magnet".

About 25 years ago, my employer embarked on yet another bean counting cost reduction adventure. Someone decided that all the coax cables connectors going between boards was too expensive. So, I contrived a stamped, board mounted, receptacle. That by itself wasn't very interesting as those were already being sold by AMP. I eliminated the coax plug by simply tinning the coax cable braid and the center wire. We were using RG188a/u, which is the PTFE dielectric version of RG174a/u. Cut the end off squarely and remove the outer jacket. Tin the outer braid being carful not to let the braid bluge. Then run it through a rotary blade stripper to trim the tinned braid to length, expose some dielectric, and strip the center conductor. Tin the center conductor, trim, and you have the world's cheapest coax plug.

RG-59 or RG-6. Never seen RG-174 "F" connectors.

The new style DC power jacks would likely show better characteristics.

They are quite cheap. You just have to know how to "source" them.

Grab a cable TV installer dude, and he will likely give you a whole handful for a ten spot, or free even.

It all depends on where you grab him ;-]

Our cable system uses very high quality terminations.