[Elecraft] KE: issue with installation of K3EXREF interface

[Don Wilhelm]

One "trick" that I have adopted when tightening chassis mount BNC and 
SMA female connectors is to put a mating connector on the outside of the 
connector.  That mating connector can be held tightly with pliers or a 
wrench without damage to the female connector that you are trying to 
tighten, and you can secure the nut with a wrench.  The mating connector 
may or may not have coax connected to it - that makes no difference.

The other thing that is often shown in manuals which is IMHO incorrect 
is that the star washer should go between the grounding lug and the 
chassis so the teeth of the star washer bite tightly into the metal of 
the chassis as well as into the grounding lug - assuring a good ground path.
Another plus for the latter star washer positioning is that once the 
star washer begins to 'bite', the grounding lug is not apt to turn as 
you secure the nut.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/2/2016 6:52 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
> Were you only holding the nut while tightening and the ferrule cracked?
>
> That is the first case I've heard of in the 5 years the K3EXREF option has
> been shipped so it's possible there's an issue with some units, especially
> since there are two cases.
>
> I'm curious because we might need to alter the procedure in the manual a bit
> if it's something happening during installation.
>
> 73, Ron AC7AC
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Elecraft [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mike
> Cox
> Sent: Saturday, April 2, 2016 2:59 PM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KE: issue with installation of K3EXREF interface
>
> Mine broke off too. It appeared for be a crimped ferrule but it split and
> fell off as though it were already fractured. I carefully soldered the coax
> braid to the connector to maintain the electrical connection. I was careful
> not to overheat and melt the dielectric of the coax which could have shorted
> the center conductor to the shell. It's working well!
>
> Mike, AB9V
>
> On 4/2/2016 16:16 PM, Jim Spears wrote:
>> While installing the K3EXREF SMA-TMP cable, I ran into an interesting
>> issue which I do not yet know if it is a problem or just interesting.
>>
>>    
>>
>> There is a ferrule or something similar over the cable where it
>> attaches to the SMA fitting that is installed on the back panel.
>> while tightening the hex nut down, I must have torqued something as
>> the ferrule broke into two pieces and fell off.  I finished off the
>> installation and verified that the GPSDO does provide a suitable 10 MHz
> signal into the radio.
>>    
>>
>> So the question becomes:  is this interesting or a problem?   I took a
> close
>> look and the problem might be improper grounding of the shield to the
>> chassis at the SMA connector end.
>>
>>    
>>
>> If it is deemed to be a potential problem, I can request a new cable
>> from support.  It will not take long to replace the cable.
>>
>>    
>>
>> Jim/N1NK
>>
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