Unsolderable wire?

"Kennedy"

As anyone with REAL experience of soldering knows.

What is your experience ?

Other than child molesting, that is.

Use Snap-N-Seal type F-connectors. They are moisture proof and positively crimp correctly.

The easiest way to spot good headend cable was to try to bend it. It drapes, like mic cable; not stiff.

My ham radio antennas are all 50 Ohm designs, but I do cheat on the receive loops and repurpose old Echostar cable around the house.

I don't have TV at home, and there's no way I'd use F connectors for anything but entertainment.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Ok, I'll bite. What's wrong with F-connectors? There are zillions installed on indoor and outdoor CATV installations with no failures or issues. Certainly there are connectors with better specifications, but for the intended purpose and cost ($0.30/ea), F-connectors are more than adequate. The only real problem I've found is the wide variety of cables claiming to be RG-6/u. Making a connector that will fit all these RG-6/u mutations is tricky, but T&B has done a decent job with their "red" SNS1P6U Snap-N-Seal connectors:

So, what's wrong with F-connectors and what would you recommend the CATV industry use instead?

That's your choice. I can't help that you are absolutely clueless about the technology. There are millions of miles of Rg/6 with F fittings used into the UHF range outdoors with a very low failure rate, and lower leakage than some BNC connectors. If they were crap, they wouldn't be allowed to use aircraft and commercial two way frequencies. A couple bad connections in a cable system can shut down an airport, or the local fire and PD.

The easiest way was to look at the imprint: 'Belden headend cable'.

If the CATV industry likes them, well, I'm happy they're happy. Instrument use is quite a different regime. F connectors use the centre conductor of the coax as the contact, and are very susceptible to damage with repeated mating cycles. The ones I've seen are also fairly far from constant-impedance.

BNCs and SMAs for me.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

The CATV industry is never happy. If it were happy, innovation would cease and the status quo would become permanent.

I believe that I mumbled something about "for the intended purpose". I don't think anyone uses F-connectors for precision test equipment. They're not really good enough. Looking at the pile, most of my CATV specific test equipment uses BNC connectors. However, that's not because the F-connector is in some way electrically inferior. It's because the F-connector receptacles were not designed to survive repeated insertion/removal cycles. The few that have built in F-connectors allow for easy replacement, such as my Wavetek SAM-1000 which uses a panel mounted F barrel adapter.

The F-connector is certainly not constant impedance. On a TDR, the bump is rather obvious. Yet, some cable and connector combinations are rated and tested to 4.5GHz: The recommended connectors are T&B SNS1P6 or FSNS6U compression F-connectors.

I partly agree with you about center conductor problems. I assume that you're referring to the copper plated steel center conductor, found in most cheap RG-6/u cables, which is not intended for repeated insertion/extraction cycles. Still, the rating is 500 insertion/extraction cycles minimum. The copper will eventually scrape off. However, solid copper center conductor RG-6/u (such as Belden 1694A) works quite nicely, without any damage. I couldn't find a spec for insertion/extraction cycles for 1694A.

Crimp or compression plugs, in quantities of 100 on eBay: F-connector $0.30/ea SMA male $0.70/ea BNC male $1.00/ea For test equipment, the price difference is not enough to justify using the cheapest. For CATV, which consumes connectors by the millions, every penny counts.

Thanks.

Which end is the head? (Sorry, I couldn't resist).

Sure, horses for courses. I'm not telling them how to run their lives, because I couldn't care less about their lives. ;) (Well, as individuals, sure, but as for the industry, if CATV went away completely tomorrow, it would suit me fine--provided only that they took their tarts and talking heads with them.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I assure you that the selection of RF connector will have no effect on CATV content quality. I like the tarts, but can do without the talking heads.

For what little it's worth, I didn't own a TV for about 15 years. Except for being somewhat culturally deprived, I didn't miss TV in the slightest. However, I then picked up a contract to review some technical videos and needed a TV and VCR to play them. I soon found myself watching broadcast TV, buying DVD's, putting together a media center, subscribing to DirecTV, Netflix, etc. Today, I find that I can't sleep without the TV running. I'm now watching a 1931 Boris Karloff movie as I type. I'm addicted.

Hint: Don't judge connectors by the content they carry.

Nah, sufficiently crappy connectors could improve the content a lot. ;)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

If you have to ask, you aren't qualified for the job. :)

The entire system of amplifiers is marked as Forward or Reverse so just follow the reverse path to the head end. Unless it's Fiber enhanced CATV.

It's easier to find in the dark if you feel for it. I knew a lot of CATV people, including the Chief Head End Technician at Time Warner in Houston; and we prized the supple stuff for personal use.

I had a full 1000' spool stolen from me.

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hmmm. After all this, I do not know what Bob has, what the metal is. Bob, i f you really want to "solder" it, and assuming ts not lead solderable (ie s ome SS), then get a small butane torch, come in right off the inner tip of the flame, and use silver solder with fluoride or boraxo flux. You may have to dip the coax in water and have the braid just above it. This is ugly be havior, I admit, but you just have to show it who is boss sometimes. :) If it IS lead solderable, that same torch can be used with the 60-40 and Sn Cl4 flux or HCl or even the rosin. Rinse well.

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if you really want to "solder" it, and assuming ts not lead solderable (ie some SS), then get a small butane torch, come in right off the inner tip o f the flame, and use silver solder with fluoride or boraxo flux. You may ha ve to dip the coax in water and have the braid just above it. This is ugly behavior, I admit, but you just have to show it who is boss sometimes. :)

SnCl4 flux or HCl or even the rosin. Rinse well.

I have a bottle of something meant to tin metal sheet, looks like it basica lly tin and a flus

I tried using it as flus and with that stainless solders beautiful with nor mal solder and a soldering iron

-Lasse

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b, if you really want to "solder" it, and assuming ts not lead solderable ( ie some SS), then get a small butane torch, come in right off the inner tip of the flame, and use silver solder with fluoride or boraxo flux. You may have to dip the coax in water and have the braid just above it. This is ugl y behavior, I admit, but you just have to show it who is boss sometimes. :)

d SnCl4 flux or HCl or even the rosin. Rinse well.

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interesting. I never heard that. It might be SnCl4. I find scrubbing the me tal surface with SS wool helps during the tinning. I'll try it sometime. (T here are many SS's, so not sure which one you had - 303, 304, 326, etc.) Ca n you say more what you had?