[Elecraft] Antenna Question

[Richard Fjeld]

(I am trying to get caught up on my email. Forgive me if this has been closed.)

This caught my eye, and I agree.  I have found when buying PL-259's that are made in a 'metric' country, there can be slight problems converting to the dimensions used in North America.

I have chased SWR troubles almost in circles only to find the tip of an imported PL-259 was making intermittent contact with the SO-239 socket.  A simple fix was to apply a bit of solder to the tip and then file it down until I could feel a gentle friction as I plugged it into the socket.

Another important item in a PL-259 is a good tinned surface for soldering.  I like the so called 'silver plated' plugs when I can find them.  I don't know if they are truly silver plated, but they do take solder beautifully.

Dick, n0ce


On 10/11/2016 11:36 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
On Tue,10/11/2016 6:29 AM, Charlie T, K3ICH wrote:
I'm curious as to exactly why a "junk" connector supposedly has so much more loss than a "good" connector?

Junk connectors have several issues. One of the issues is control of dimensions -- the diameter of the tip must be "right" to make a solid and reliable connection to the mating connector. I've seen junk barrels, tees, and elbows that had a tiny spring between the ends of the connector.