[Drake] R4B antenna connector

[Bob Macklin]

For all low voltage stuff (less than 300V) I use RG-174 on my RCA 
connectors.

RCA connectors are not intended extensive plugging and un-plugging. They are 
intoned to be plugged in and left alone most of the time.

Bob Macklin
K5MYJ
Seattle, Wa.
"Real Radios Glow In The Dark"




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Glen Zook" <gzook at yahoo.com>
To: <Drake at mailman.qth.net>; <collins at listserve.com>; "Jim Garland" 
<4cx250b at muohio.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 8:22 AM
Subject: Re: [Drake] R4B antenna connector


> The inner conductor mating before the shell happens also with the UHF 
> connectors.  The problem being "heard" in audio equipment is due to the 
> fact that people were plugging and unplugging cables while the unit is 
> turned on.  This is not a good practice with any kind of connector, let 
> alone the RCA, and in certain cases this practice can cause permanent 
> damage to the equipment.
>
> The problem with broken insulators is not the fault of the connector but 
> is primarily due to what people use to connect the coaxial cable to the 
> RCA jack.  Unfortunately, way too many people use some sort of adapter and 
> then connect that directly to RG8/U "type" or RG213/U cable.  The larger 
> cable definitely puts a strain on the jack and the typical adapter puts 
> even more strain on the jack.  When RG58/U cable is connected using an RCA 
> plug then there is no strain on the connector and that is what Collins, 
> Drake, Heath, and others, designed the equipment to use.
>
> Also, I have run into a number of SO-239 UHF connectors with broken 
> insulators.  Generally, this is caused by using the heavier cable and not 
> being careful when the PL-259 is inserted into the SO-239 or by moving the 
> cable after it has been connected.
>
> The engineers who designed the various units used the connectors for good 
> reasons.  Unfortunately, those engineers could not control what people "in 
> the field" did.  Remember, at least for the Collins S-Line and KWM-2 
> series equipment, those were built to military specifications and the 
> military did not have problems with the connectors.  Had there been 
> problems, the military would have required a change.
>
> Of course, today we can cuss or discuss the use of RCA connectors all day 
> long since the units in question have not been manufactured for decades. 
> However, when the units were still in production the "problems" that we 
> perceive today did not exist.
>
> Glen, K9STH
>
> Website:  http://k9sth.com
>
>
> --- On Sun, 1/9/11, Jim Garland <4cx250b at muohio.edu> wrote:
>
> Without meaning deliberately to pick a fight, there is another point of 
> view about the RCA (phono) connector, which I share, and which is aptly 
> described in "The Art of Electronics," by Horowitz and Hill. I quote (page 
> 56): "The so-called phono jack used in audio equipment is a nice lesson in 
> bad design, because the inner conductor mates before the shield when you 
> plug it in; furthermore, the design of the connector is such that both 
> shield and center conductor tend to make poor contact. You've undoubtedly 
> heard the results!" I don't dispute that RCA connectors present a 
> relatively low impedance bump in the HF region, but that is small 
> consolation given their inherent unreliability. Even the Collins RCA jacks 
> with the ceramic insulation are notoriously unreliable, which is one of 
> the reasons most KWM-2s and 32S-3s these days have RF output jacks with 
> broken and cracked ceramic. IMHO, the only worse connector is the "F" 
> Connector used in TV sets, about
> which Horowitz and Hill say:  "Not to be outdone, the television industry 
> has responded with its own bad standard, the type F coax "connector," 
> which uses the unsupported inner wire of the coax as the pin of the male 
> plug, and a shoddy arrangement to mate the shield."
>
>
>
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