[Elecraft] Importance of good coaxial jumpers

[mcduffie at ag0n.net]

On Mon, 11 Nov 2013 10:32:27 -0800, Jim Brown wrote:

> Real hams don't buy pre-made coax cables, they make their own. Pre-made 
> cables are often made with cheap coax with junk connectors.  And that 
> includes "big name" vendors who have big ads in QST and CQ.

I'm sure you'll get some flak for that, but for the most part, I agree.  Jumpers
should be soldered.  I never trust a crimped connection, be it RF or DC.  Some
people will say good crimp connectors are better than, or at least equal to,
soldered.  That depends on who made them up.  And NEVER trust those potted
connections on pre-made cables.  Normally, the shield is the culprit on bad
connections.  If you can't inspect the shield connection, you can't trust it.

Learn how to properly install soldered coax connectors and make your own jumpers
from high quality coax and connectors.  Why hook your radios and amplifiers that
cost thousands of dollars to your antenna with $2 jumpers that are begging to
fail at just the wrong time.  Is there ever a right time?

Gary